Mrs. Stiles, a River Dell history teacher, donated a large number of pups from the a behemoth of an aloe plant from her home garden. In order to reduce the size of the plant, Mrs. Stiles decided to give the “pups” (the official name to the new growth of an aloe plant) to the River Dell community.

The plant originally came from Mrs. Stiles’s brother who gave her it as a Thanksgiving offering in 2013.

This Aloe plant over 10 years old, it still stands, living peacefully in Mrs. Stiles’s home.

Mrs. Stiles explained that, “Several years ago I just forgot about it this plant just kept growing, I didn’t even give it water for several months but it kept growing.” Mrs. Stiles, desperate to get rid of the vicious plant, cut the plant in half and gave the other half to Mr. Drywa who stills cares for the plant In room 314.

“I cut this plant in half and gave it to Mr. Drywa in hopes to get rid of it, but the plant kept on growing, I had to do something” Mrs. Stiles explained.

Mrs. Stiles came up with the brilliant idea of cutting the plant up and handing it out to River Dell staff. Over 30 River Dell staff accepted the proposal and are now proud owners of aloe plants to take care of.

Mrs. Ceppaglia, a River Dell Chemistry teacher, is one of the faculty members who accepted this plant. We asked Mrs. Ceppaglia what she’d do with the plant, “I’ve a terrible past with plants, everything I touch, I kill, I wanted to test the waters with this aloe plant.”

Meanwhile, Mrs. Bartelloni, a River Dell Art teacher, stated that she plans on using the plant for cuts instead of band aids. She explained that, when possible, if a kid get a little cut, “Instead of band aids I’ll be providing a dash of Aloe.”

Many teachers are giving back to the community with this plant and hope to help River Dell become a better… or, at least, greener place.