Roseville High School Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher CJ Addington has had his turtle, Jeffrey, in his class for over 20 years.

“When I first started teaching here, about 24 years ago, there was a ceramics teacher named Bob Vlasic. I guess his kids had the turtle and then for whatever reason, they couldn’t keep it anymore and he came to me and asked me if I’d be interested in having the turtle,” Addington said. “Years have gone by and he’s still here and still a class pet.”

Jeffrey interacts with students in both biology and AP Environmental Science. According to senior Environmental Science student Haley Littlejohn, Jeffrey is oftentimes the subject for labs.

“We use his fish tank for labs and we’ll get data from it. Sometimes we’ll do labs with him so every other week we’ll probably use him,” Littlejohn said.

Bonds between Jeffrey and students are strong because of his participation and vitality, according to senior Environmental Science student Sean Granucci.

“I think Jeffrey the turtle is a huge part of our class,” Granucci said. “Our class has really great chemistry with Jeffrey.”