When you walk into Assistant Principal of Organization, Health, and Physical Education Ellen Fee’s office, you may notice some furry and scaly friends jumping and swimming around. Ms. Fee allows students to interact with her betta fish, aquarium fish, turtle, and, her most recent addition, her mouse, all of which live in THHS.
Harriet Tubman the mouse is the newest to the Townsend Harris family, quickly becoming a favorite among students. Harriet has been making an appearances in Ms. Fee’s third band Algebra II class and has captivated many. Sophomore Victoria Fraczek said, “Whenever Ms. Fee tells us that she’s going to bring Harriet, I look forward to math class and I’m actually really eager to learn math. We all get really happy.”
“I’ve never had a class pet before so I was really excited when she [Ms. Fee] said we got one,” added sophomore Naomi Pan. “Ms. Fee is really close with us, so Harriet feels like more than just a class pet; it’s like he’s our pet.”
Ms. Fee also shares videos with her students of Harriet jumping around and doing tricks. Mehakpreet Kaur, a freshmen in Ms. Fee’s math class, stated, “ I feel that even though you would expect only homework assignments or special announcements to be posted on [Google] classroom, the surprise of seeing Harriet on the class page is a really great one.”
Although all her pets are important to her, Harriet has a special place in Ms. Fee’s heart. Ms. Fee explained, “I really enjoy feeding the mouse so I am happy to do that.”
Ms. Fee’s other pets have left behind positive memories for students as well. Senior Carmela Lopez had the chance interact with Charles Dickens, the cockroach. “There was one time where Ms. Fee brought a cockroach, and she put it in a jar,” she said. “We searched up what cockroaches eat, and they eat hair and orange peels. So, I put piece of my hair in there and we took care of the cockroach.” Sadly, Charles Dickens died only days after he was taken in by Ms. Fee.
Although owned by Ms. Fee, students are also helpful in taking care of the animals. For instance, senior Melissa Wong helps to take care of the fish and turtle by feeding them every day.
Apart from her school zoo, Ms. Fee is also a proud dog owner and has a snapping turtle at home. Her turtle, Junior, however may become a part of the THHS community when he is brought to his new home in the biology lab next year.
Harriet will continue to entertain students and running around his tank. “We can play with him [Harriet] anytime,” Naomi said. “We have our own cheerleader [during] tests.”
