Principal's Report
It’s good to be starting to get back to some normality at school. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the school community for being supportive of encouraging Echuca College students to wear their uniform and demonstrate their commitment to being a part of the college community.
Our Year 12 class of 2021 are currently undertaking their final exams or have finished off all course work and VCAL. It is great to see that they have achieved success even while experiencing significant adversity. They had a lovely final celebration day at the college where they dressed up, had breakfast with their teachers before parading their costumes to show the year 11 students.
At present we are working through the transition process for students for year 7 in 2022. Over the last term many students have been able to come in for interviews and are preparing for next year.
This term has seen Dorinda Watson and Stacey Bacon running the SELFIE program with small groups of current year 7 students. The purpose of this program is to build resilient learners who understand what it means to have a growth mindset. It has also been a great way to build connections amongst the year 7 cohort.
As a school we have been allocated some extra funding for inclusion. This has allowed us to appoint an inclusion leader. This role is to help support teachers to make reasonable adjustments for students with their learning needs. Carlie Jones has been appointed to the role and has already commenced. One initiative she is working on is organising training for some therapy dogs.
Therapy dogs have been active in schools for some time. Teachers and administrators have witnessed the effects therapy dogs have on students and themselves.
The benefits of having therapy dogs in the classroom include:
Physical benefits. Interaction with therapy dogs has been shown to reduce blood pressure, provide physical stimulation and assist with pain management.
Social benefits. A visiting therapy dog promotes greater self-esteem and focused interaction with other students and teachers.
Cognitive benefits. It has been empirically proven that therapy dogs stimulate memory and problem-solving skills.
Emotional and mental health benefits. A recent national survey of adolescent mental health found that about 8 to 10 percent of teens ages 13 to 18 have an anxiety disorder. A therapy dog can lift moods in the classroom, often provoking laughter. The therapy dog is also there to offer friendship and a shoulder to lean on for students.
https://www.therapydogs.com/therapy-dogs-classrooms-campuses/
What are therapy dogs?
It's important to note therapy dogs are not service dogs. A service dog is an assistance dog that focuses on its owner to the exclusion of all else. Service dogs are trained to provide specific support for individuals with disabilities such as visual or hearing difficulties, seizure disorders, mobility challenges, and/or diabetes.
The role of therapy dogs is to react and respond to people and their environment, under the guidance and direction of their owner. For example, an individual might be encouraged to gently pat or talk to a dog to teach sensitive touch and help them be calm.