On Dec. 2, Stacy Thomson, Secretary at Manitou Springs High School, and the front office staff adopted a betta fish named Clark after a prank on Social Studies teacher Lawrence Housely.
Housely started this prank war about a month ago between himself and Thomson over the office snacks. After a student was sent by Housely to grab him a snack from the front office, only to have granola bars.
“So one day, I bought 25 bags of chips for the front office and I covered them with little sticky notes that said things like ‘Quakers a psychopath,’ ‘Granola sucks,’ ‘It’s full of sugar,’ ‘You hate children.’ I filled her office with them,” said Housely. “Some teachers and students wrote really detailed emails while some were to the point. So she got like, 80 to 100 different emails.”
Thomson then went to her husband’s work holiday party, and won the fish in a game of White Elephant.
“She pranked Mr. Housley with it,” said office aid Hailey Troxell (12). “After finding it in his room, we realized that Mr. Housley does not know how to take care of a fish; so it was given back to miss Thomson as a new pet.”
There was a friendly debate over what the fish should be named, a popular nickname used by the office was “Little Stace”, while Housely had his own name in mind, “Evil Devil Stacy Fish,” said Housely.
After the fish was given back, Thomson named it Clark, though the front office has many different names for it.
“I think its current name Clark is perfect. I know there’s a few names floating around, but I think Clark is a good name for it,” Troxell said.
Thomson feels that Clark has brought the office together.
“It’s just kind of another cool addition to the office and something that just brings people, people like the weirdest stuff,” Thomson said. “They’ll come down and meet it or just check to see at least doing so. But we love it. We need it in the office.”
Hallen • Jan 12, 2024 at 3:18 pm
I love the addition of the fish in the front office. It gives something else to look at when I don’t want to be in class. I also noticed Donovan cant read because it says what kind of fish it is in the first sentence. I think Stacy will be great with Clark.
Nya • Jan 10, 2024 at 3:12 pm
I think that Thomson is going to be an amazing fish mom. The prank war is amazing and I am happy that we now have Clark. I also think that Little Stace was a good idea and should’ve been his official name. Welcome home, Clark!!
donovan • Jan 10, 2024 at 3:09 pm
This is very cool what kind of fish is it? I also wonder if the fish Clarke will ever get any friends I feel like that would be a cool thing to implement to the front office. This is a very good article thanks for the good read.
Kloe Roth • Jan 10, 2024 at 2:07 pm
When I first heard of this battle I thought it was the most entertaining thing. I was hanging out in the front office, when I heard Housley scream at children for coming into the room during advisory! I started laughing so hard! If I had to pick a side, I’m team Stacy!
Stiles Nice • Jan 10, 2024 at 2:06 pm
I think the fish’s name should be cat. Hopefully Mr Housely doesn’t have kids anytime. He can’t just give those back. I think Ms Stacey should have put a fish from the deli on his desk. But I didn’t suggest that.
Lily K • Jan 10, 2024 at 2:02 pm
Okay overall, I like the name “Evil Stacy Devil Fish”. Currently I am leaning towards Housely, because I am in one of his classes, and when one of the pranks happen, he makes it so funny. It is going to be fun to see who wins this. Go Housely.
Abbigail Reeves • Jan 10, 2024 at 2:00 pm
I love this article about the front office prank war. I enjoy reading and hearing about the constant war going on between the pranks and what’s going to happen next. Personally I’m on Mr. Housely’s side because there should be more snacks than granola bars. And over all I like the name Clark for the fish, I agree it fits him.
Madison Sharon • Jan 10, 2024 at 1:55 pm
This battle between Stacy and Mr. Housely is so funny. It brings entertainment when I am in AP U.S. history just wondering what is going to happen next. My favorite name for the fish is Evil Stacy Devil Fish. It fits it very well in my opinion. I can’t wait to see who wins this.
Dylan McVerry-Reese • Jan 10, 2024 at 12:51 pm
This is a hilarious story, and I’m sad I missed it. I hope this prank war continues throughout the year, even if those don’t fully seem like pranks. Having pets in the school reminds me of going through elementary school with pets in our classes. I think the staff or the school should start phasing pets into classes.
Morrigan Schulz • Jan 8, 2024 at 6:51 pm
I enjoyed this article, it was informative and funny. I liked that not only did you tell us about the fish but also about the story that led him here. It was very descriptive, someone who was not from Manitou would have no problem understanding what was going on. It was nice to see the use of quotes and the nice picture at the top. I love fish so the addition of this little office aid is adorable, and I’m very happy Clark has a nice home where he will get loads of attention.