What's a skink?

So another fun planning day in which absolutely nothing was planned is now over. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings were the order of the day. I must admit, though, this was the best planning day ever. Simply for the way it ended. I was on the phone with Amee when I heard shrieks and clattering in the office. Naturally, I went to investigate. I walked in to find the principal, vice principal, secretary, and Title 1 coordinator standing on chairs and tables. Lynn is laughing hysterically. Ms. Boulie looks both scared and angry as hell. "Is there another snake?" I ask, because we have had several snakes in the building this year. Noone knows what it was, just that it was roughly the size of a chihuahua. The principal is on the phone with animal control who is saying not to kill the beast because if it's endangered then we'll be fined $500. Neat. So 3 burly custodians, 5 buckets, and 2 brooms later, the thing is firmly entrenched in the hollow of Ms. Beckman's bookcase. Finally, the calvary arrives. Ms. Leverett, resource teacher extrordinaire. Lynn calls her the crocodile hunter. She goes in. Mark stands bravely at the door with a 3-sided presentation board (they're so multipurpose) blocking the reptile's way back into the main office. At this point, Kathy looks like she's about to cry. Also, she's having hot flashes so she points the fan on her desk to blow right up her shirt. She really freaks out when Peggy comes out holding the thing's tail. Bloody little stump. I want to make Kathy a necklace out of it to ward off evil and small creatures. She says she'd rather have a pistol. Gail announces the thing is a skink. A what? A skink. By this time Linda is on the phone with animal control.
Linda: "It's a skink."
Man: "A what?"
Linda: "Skink. S-k-i-n-k."
Man: "A skunk?"
Yes, sir, and would you like to come in so my first graders can tell you how to correctly pronounce an i? You're a big help. He does finally find someone there that knows what a skink is, and this person says that they don't bite so there's no need to be afraid of it. So then please explain to me why, if it doesn't bite, does Gail emerge with its mouth in a vice-like grip on her finger...Hm. Lynn and I want to change our mascot to the Tusculum Skinks. I think it would be catchy. Here's a picture of a skink. I don't know if this is our skink, though, because ours was actually about 10 inces long. Nasty little beast.