Bats in the school have been one ofthe most popular topics among students the past few weeks as school officials scrambled to get them captured and relocated .  

Because of our freezing winter this year the little Brown bats must find some way of dealing with winter, so they have made their way into our school.

“A lot of bats live in dead or dying trees,” bat expert Dawn Vezina said. “However, most people remove those tree from their yards and this makes it hard for bats to find a place to live. So they turn to buildings for shelter.”

Although the bats were a surprise to students, the school’s staff knew exactly how to deal with a problem like this.

“There have been bats before,” Principal Hughes said. “There were bats last year, and we had a couple of incidents before I came to work at Langham almost 5 years ago.”

The school district hired professionals that know how to safely remove the bats from the school without hurting them, and urge students to tell a teacher if one is spotted.

“The district has hired personnel,” Principal Hughes said.  “They have been coming to the campus and dealing with the situation as best they can.”

Students shouldn’t try to catch or kill a bat if it’s spotted. They should always report it at the first sight of one whether it’s dead or alive.

“It’s never okay to kill a bat, bats are protected by law and are very important to the environment,”  Vezina said. ”That’s why an adult wearing thick gloves should catch the bat and release it outside.”

The big thing that worries school officials during situations like this is student safety.

“Bats are not a danger to humans, and bats don’t attack people unless threatened,” Vezina said. “But if someone was to come in contact (bitten, scratched, or touched with their bare hands) with a bat they should report it immediately.”

If you do come in contact with a bat, tell your teacher and go see the nurse. Students are encouraged to just avoid the situation by staying away from the animals.

“I can’t stress enough,” nurse Raquel Cunningham said,” Stay away from the bats.”