Mrs. Boyes, our middle school counselor, is excited to announce that we are partnering with Caring Canines, a local nonprofit organization specializing in animal-assisted therapy. Caring Canines was founded to help students in a school setting. Research shows that interacting with pets can help students deal with stress and emotions, along with increased perceptions of social support, decreased anxiety levels, and can help reduce levels of depression. Furthermore, working with animals can help foster reading abilities, provide a source of motivation, provide stimulation and focus on learning, and positively impact students academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively.

We recently began piloting the program with our very own trained volunteer and Mysti, a Goldendoodle. Mysti is currently visiting our building on Wednesdays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. to meet with select students. Middle school students involved in this program have been carefully selected and their parents have given consent for their participation. Next semester, we will look at other ways to positively impact our middle school students using our Caring Canines support.