Dogs at School

This morning we had a special visitor. Jazz is an eight year old Irish Wolfhound cross (much smaller than an Irish Wolfhound!) that Miss Huls walks each day for her disabled owner. She is very calm and friendly and loves being around people. We are trialling having Jazz at school as a school dog one morning per week in the Year 6 homeroom. There are many benefits of having dogs at school including-
-increased attendance due to improved immunity
-a more calm and inviting environment
-animal husbandry skills
-social and emotional skill development- if you can build a positive relationship with a dog, those skills are transferrable to human relationships,
and it goes on...
Dogs can also be used for reading dogs- children can read to a quiet listener. There is a lot of research to back up these claims.  In Year 6 we came up with some guidelines for having a dog at school:

GUIDELINES FOR HAVING A SCHOOL DOG

*We will still be working hard even though there’s a dog in the room

*We will treat the dog with respect;

-gentle hands

-we won’t shout- dogs have sensitive ears
-we will not chase the dog- we can pat her at the right times

 

-respect the dog’s space- if she wants to rest, let her
 -remember she is an animal, she can’t always understand us

*We will be kind- it is not safe to tease a dog

*We will not feed the dog- she has her own food

 

Mrs Jackson is considering training her new dog to become a school dog.

Check out the Year 6 student blogs for our persuasive writing about why schools should have school dogs........keep your eyes peeled for doggy updates!!!

Jazz is very interested in the rats!

She was very well behaved during prayer time

 

Miss Huls loves Jazz

She watches over us while we work

She loves cuddles!