Sheila Harrison allowing the third grade students to carefully feel the owl.

The third grade classes at Mountain Pine Grade School had a special opportunity to learn about and also to touch and feel a screech owl. The owl visited the school on March 28^th through an outreach program conducted by the Little Rock Museum of Discovery.  The Museum provides a live animal from their collection to visit classrooms accompanied by an employee or a trained volunteer.  Through these visitations the students learn about the animal’s habits and habitat as well as having an opportunity to actual experience a live animal in the classroom.

The Mother Teresa Guild of Sacred Heart Parish has supported the third grade classes at Mountain Pine for a number of years.  Their support has included providing students with needed school supplies, conducting parties, providing volunteer readers and various projects.  Last year, Sheila Harrison, a member of the Mother Teresa Guild for 10 years, took the training for the Lively Science Program which provides the animals.  Over the past two years Sheila has been a regular visitor to the third grade students accompanied by a new animal each time.  For her March visit she brought along a screech owl which the children really enjoyed learning about.  After introducing the students to the owl, Sheila carried him around the classroom for each student to see it close up and to gently touch its feathery back.  Other animal visitors have included snakes and even an alligator.  This program certainly helps to bring natural science to life for the Mountain Pine third graders.