Students in the French Immersion JK and SK class at St. Charles Catholic Elementary school dove into the story of a lovable African penguin that resides at the California Academy of Sciences’ aquarium. The children first enjoyed the book “Pierre the Penguin” by Jean Marzollo which tells the true story of Pierre’s unique experience. Alarmed when Pierre lost most of his feathers, an ingenious biologist designed a little wetsuit for Pierre which allowed him to swim in the cold pool with his fellow penguins. His feathers regrew shortly thereafter. Through this story, students learned about compassion to all, including animals.In the afternoon, the students watched the celebration of Pierre’s “Hatch Day” (birthday) on a live stream from a webcam at the aquarium in California. Pierre turned 29 on this day! Teacher Michelle Robinson said: “Pierre’s live “Hatch Day” celebration on the Internet offered a great opportunity to use technology for a literacy activity – and the children loved watching the penguins swim and eat fish!”