I am going to say that my therapy dog is an extremely useful tool in my school counseling program. I work in a rural elementary pK-6 school. She comes 1-2 days a week for about 1-2 hours. She normally just comes to visit classrooms on Mondays or Fridays as a motivational tool for all students (Tier 1). I have used her for kids in small groups as we discuss coping with Anxiety (Tier2). And I have had specific individuals that I have brought her to comfort them. For example, the day a child returned to school after a parent passed away. There are so many more ways that she has helped our students, school, and school counseling programs over the years. I have her in my school counseling program plan to share her benefits with my stakeholders.
I will say that I feel my dog is a very special animal. I honestly feel God created to be a therapy dog. She honestly loves and is excited to see the students. She is certified with Pet Partners which provides her insurance. I have paid for everything myself, out of my pocket. I live close to the school, so it is easy to run her home. I try to never overwork her and give her breaks. The only downside for me is that her visits wear me out. I've not got the energy that I used to have, lol. It's a lot of work on my part when she is here. As her trained and certified handler, she must stay with me during her visit. I have to be constantly aware of her needs as well as the students. But, the kids love her and even some of the teachers come to pet her on their breaks. I think it helps them as much as the kids. These are the steps I took, not saying everyone has to do everything like I did. 1. Got permission from my admin for a therapy dog program. 2. I researched breeds that I thought would be the best fit for my program. After talking with some of the staff in my building about introducing a therapy dog, I learned that I had a teacher who was afraid of large dogs, so I considered that when I chose a breed. Based on my research, I chose a Pugapoo (1/2 pug and 1/2 toy poodle) Pug for the temperament and poodle for the intelligence and their hair. We bought Pooh La Rue the Pugapoo as a puppy from out of state. 3. I started by taking her to baseball games and other after school activities to desensitize her to being around kids as much as possible. I have had other dogs (and horses) that I have trained myself, so I felt comfortable training her. 4. I trained online as a therapy dog handler for her. You can also take this course in person if you want. There is actually training coming up. You can click here to find more information about that. 5. When Pooh was a year old, I registered her to take the Therapy Dog Evaluation. Here is the link for the requirements for that. Be aware that both the Handler and the Dog Evaluation cost money. Here is the link for the cost of the fees. 6. Choose a dependable vet who keeps records. I use Pallone Veterinary Clinic in Rose Bud to make sure she stays up to date on all her vaccines and medical care. I also trust them to keep up with all of her records as well as her care. Pooh just turned 5 years old and we have never had an incident with her. We recertified back in October. It is usually a 3 year certification, but Covid messed up the timeline. The recertification was basically the same evaluation as the initial one. She actually did better than I did because I have become so comfortable with her doing everything that I was slack on what I needed to do. The Evaluation Course is at Children's hospital and it takes about an hour. In the classroom, I use the Muttigree program developed by Yale University. This used Dogs to teach empathy to kids. You can read more about it here.
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December Counseling Lessons are all about Conflict Resolution. We learned about making and keeping friends and skills that help us get along with our peers. Rose Bud Pee-Wee Basketball Games kicked off and it's always fun to see our little ones show off their athletic abilities. Last year we had many of our teams win their District Championships. Mrs. Monique Davis did a wonderful job on her Winter Music Performance! Our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders showed off their amazing talents in the vocal arts. Student Council sold hot chocolate and cookies at the Performance. This year they also hosted a Holiday Shoppe to give students an opportunity to shop for their parents and family. Student Council also hosted a Cereal Drive and raised over 500lbs if cereal for local food pantries. Mrs. Garrard's class raised the most, Mrs. Teague's class was second, and Mrs. Wingert's took third. The kids work hard on this project, but so do our teachers and parents. We couldn't do it without them! At our Monthly December Assembly, Mrs. Kirkpatrick recognized students for reading with the RISE award. And a few teachers volunteered to be decorated like trees by their students. These assemblies are always a lot of fun. They are held each month to recognize students, to review character skills learned each month, and to to increase motivation and morale in our student body. On the last days of December there were lots of hands on learning projects and several special visitors even made an appearance. The Rose Bud community never ceases to amaze me with it's giving spirit and the caring hearts that I see during this time. November: Flu Shots, Thanksgiving Dinner, Veteran's Day Assembly, and Student Council at RBES12/1/2017 November just seemed to fly by this year at RBES. We started the month with our Annual Flu Clinic. A huge thanks to Nurse Jeannie for all of her hard work to make this available to our community. On the 9th, we had our Annual Thanksgiving Dinner. The cafeteria ladies really outdid themselves this year. They fed over 400 parents this year. On the 10th, we held a Veteran's day assembly. Rose Bud City Council Member, Nick Cartwright spoke about his efforts to honor veterans with the Rose Bud Veteran Memorial at the city park. Our own RBHS ROTC presented the flag for us. And our 2017-2018 Student Council Members were announced. Student Council members are elected from each homeroom in both 5th and 6th grades. They are sponsored by myself and my awesome Librarian, Amanda Tharp and our new and equally awesome Music Teacher, Mrs. Monique Davis. Student Council is one of the small groups that I meet with each month, as well as a student service project. We hold meetings in a formal setting for students to experience the professionalism for how meeting should be conducted. These students are expected to be leaders in our school and have the conduct and exceptionalism in their classrooms to demonstrate this. They also understand that they are the voice of their peers. They meet with our principal, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, to discuss student issues and concerns. They also raise money for various needs they vote to help with around our school.
The school year is almost over and we are counting down the days until summer break. This school year has been busy. We have learned a lot of new things and made a lot of new friends. The teachers have made us work hard to get ready for the next school year. There is a lot more things to do in this school year. We need to start getting prepared for the ACT Aspire for grades 3-6. Then we will have the Benchmark Bash to celebrate all of our hard work. We just have a few more weeks left until school is out, so keep working hard until the end of the world-or just this school year. By Haily Lawson and McKenna Shearer |
AuthorChristy M. English, Ed.S |