My Days at CMS

February 1st

Today I joined Mrs. Tanguay’s TA group, we focused on wrapping up the 30-day Wellness Challenge.  The students reported what their goal was and how successful they were at keeping them for the week and overall.  For the most part, everyone selected reasonable goals and were able to fulfill their personal obligations.  We went out to the hall and took down the goal certificates and passed them around our circle to write one (or two) nice things about each person in our group.  When the students were dismissed they each got to take their certificates with them to read all the great things their peers wrote about them.  The hardest part for me in TA today, was watching all the kids eat the healthy snack the school provided for everyone..I happen to love grapes and bagels.

As I reported last week, I got to attend Art class which was very cool.  Mr. Albright  taught us about Kurt Wenner who is an amazing sidewalk artist. 

I also attended a small reading group.  Each student in the group took turns reading “Love That Dog,”by Sharon Creech.  They even got my handler to join in and read a few pages.  Everyone really liked the book.  My favorite parts were the poems that are shaped like pictures.  Sharon Creech also wrote, “Hate That Cat,” I hope to have this read to me soon.

My last group of the day decided to play a game, guessing what our reactions would be to different scenarios.  They even put me on the list to guess what my reactions would be.  One of the questions was related to my reaction if I found a snake.  What do you think I would do?

The last bit of news for the day is that this will be my last visit for the pilot program, “Dogs Rule in School.”Administrators decided we have enough information to assess the program and to decide what direction they want to take the program.  If you have anything you would like to share during this assessment period regarding me or this program, please feel free to contact Deb Maddalena or Dovid Yagoda at The Colchester Middle School.  Cross your fingers for my return!

January 25th

Today I joined Mrs. Gillard’s TA group.  We talked about stress management and how stress changes physical aspects of your body, for example it can raise your blood pressure causing damage to your heart.  We thought of ways to reduce stress.  We came up with things like taking a walk, deep breathing exercises, exercise and petting a dog (that was my idea). 

I listened to a story about running and waited patiently with the student while they answered question about what they read.  The best part was all the pats the student gave me while they focused on the lesson.  After that, I got to go out for recess and spend time with a large group of students....that was a lot of fun.

One of the students noticed how thirsty I was and offered me a drink of cold water.  The school has a waterbottle filling station where I can get as much water as I need. 

In the last lesson of the day, students focused on interpreting body language.  We learned that body language is a non-verbal form of communication, which is primarily the form of communication that I use. 

Here I am with Mr. Albright, the Art Teacher.  My interpretation of his body language tells me that he loves me and possibly all dogs.  Which is great because next week I get to join one of his classes and it looks like a lot of fun in the art room.  If you are interested in learning about my body language, attend the free seminar being offered through the Humane Society of Chittenden County. 

January 18th

My day at CMS was yet another adventure.  I’m learning so much from the students here, they all seem so excited to share what they are learning.  Here I am helping a friend work on a program called Lexia, he showed me how good he was at spelling.

Another student showed me an amazing video that the Colchester High School students made, it’s called CHS Lip Dub-Matisvahu-One Day…..so cool!  What I love about this video is that it’s inspiring the CMS student to brainstorm how he could produce something like this in his own school.  I hope it happens and I hope he includes me in the video!

I also got to listen to stories today, I wonder how they knew that I like being read to.  Today’s story was called “Little House on the Prairie.”  After story time I worked with more students on vocabulary, one of the words was “faithful.”  I’ve heard people use that word when they talk about me.  Finally, after all the hard work, students made sure to pat/hug me and tell me how cute I am – I love them too!

January 11th

Today was the first time I got to join a TA group, in the Gym!  I got to introduce myself and then check-in (share what’s good or what’s not) with everyone.  It was also the first day of the 30-Day Wellness Event, so all the students wrote down a self-improvement goal on a “certificate” to be posted throughout the school, they are going to try and reach their personal goal each day for a month.  I tried to help decorate the certificates with them, but they kept taking the crayons out of my mouth.

Later in the day, I worked with a group of students as they finished their history lesson.  While I sat close by, I learned about Paul Revere and The Boston Tea Party.  I also paid a quick visit to Mrs. Kendrick’s class.  They were learning about the properties of dry ice, very cool in a baby pool with water and liquid soap.  The students were careful not to touch the ice with their bare hands and careful not to let me lick the water.

One of the educators made me homemade biscuits with carrots and applesauce, mmmmm and a parent brought in another kind of tasty treat….Thank you so much!

My First Day at CMS

Today, January 4th, was my first day visiting the Colchester Middle School.  I made so many friends, I lost count.  But before I went in, my handler got me ready for work by putting on my working harness, called a Hilti or gentle leader.  This leash is my signal that tells me it's time for work.  When most people see my harness, they think it's a muzzle, but it's not.  With my harness on, I can open my mouth wide, eat, drink and give unlimited kisses.

One of the classes I visited today was Mrs. Tosch's, everyone welcomed me so I made myself comfortable and got to work.  I spent a lot of my time introducing myself, although I was included in a few lesson plans and loved being the center of attention.  I noticed the students were very focused and excited to share what they learned with me, my handler and other students.  One of my new friends taught me how to say dog in sign-language.

Here I am with, with my handler (Deb Maddalena) and two more friends. I saw many smiles and heard lots of awwwwws. I can't wait to come back next Wednesday.