Sir Stanford is a little diva

By: Alexia Rizea

Right now I’m a Caretaker, my job as a caretaker is to feed Sir Stanford Edmond De Mimsy Alfred Wellingthorp The 3rd (don’t ask what happened the first & 2) and I make sure the fish have enough food. I also take care of the hydro room.  The hydro room is easy to look after. It’s really calming to water the plants, you can hear the water flowing and the air in there is really clean. As much as I like taking care of the hydro room, I’d have to say that feeding Sir Stanford, the class turtle, is my favourite thing to do. Sir Stanford is only 14, so I’d say he is a teenager as much as we are. Whoever says turtles are boring has never spent a day with Sir Stanford. He is a little bit grumpy most of the time, and honestly, he behaves like a cat. He likes attention, but he will act as if he doesn’t care about you. He likes to jump into the water and make a lot of noise when the class is quiet. He will follow your finger around the tank but don’t tell him I told you, we wouldn't want to ruin his reputation as a tough guy. He likes his turtle food, and he gets a little too excited when you feed him, so excited that it takes a bit for him to realize that the food is upstairs and not in the water. Because turtles don’t produce saliva, he has to jump in the water to make the food soft. He likes to stare at us when we eat in the sitting area and have lunch with us. He is a fun friend to look at when you get bored. Even though he is a bit of work, he brings more life to our classroom. People say that turtles are dull but I have never seen an animal with more personality than Sir Stanford.