Class pets, weed boom, school robots: News from around our 50 states
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May 5, 2021, 7:33 AM·51 min read
Alabama
Birmingham: Declaring the COVID-19 pandemic “absolutely” managed despite lagging vaccinations, Gov. Kay Ivey said Monday that she will end a health order meant to guard against the spread of an illness that has killed nearly 11,000 people statewide. Citing improved infection rates, fewer hospitalizations and more widespread immunizations, Ivey said the current order recommending that people follow health guidance and requiring some precautions for senior citizens and long-term care facilities will end May 31, barring a sharp rise in cases. The declared state of emergency will end July 6, she said in a statement. “For over a year now, Alabamians, like people around the globe, have made sacrifices and adjusted to a temporary ‘new normal.’ We have learned much since last year, and this is absolutely now a managed pandemic. Our infection rates and
She has had her class pet, Daphne Phyllis, a red-eared slider turtle
for almost 20 years.
“She is a little staple,” Guehl said of the roughly
25- to 30-year-old turtle named by her students after studying mythology. “The kids know her and … are excited to befriend her. They may not remember my math lesson at the end of the day, but they’ll remember feeding the turtle.”
When COVID-19 shuttered schools in March 2020, Daphne Phyllis went between the houses of two students during the spring and summer months.
Guehl, who is still teaching students remotely because of parent requests, brought Daphne Phyllis back to the classroom this past fall and starts every school day by wheeling her laptop on a cart right up to the tank.