Support Pup in Training

AUTHOR: RACHEL FROST

Region 10 Chief Communications Officer

BURNEY SITS PATIENTLY on the curb as buses enter the school parking lot one by one. This is his favorite part of the day - getting to greet his little friends as they get off the bus! The students seem equally excited to see his sweet face, floppy ears, and wagging tail. After a quick bathroom break, he heads over to the car rider line to make sure all of his friends are happy and accounted for before the school day begins. During the morning announcements he takes a quick snooze and then he’s back to work - making rounds to classrooms to visit his buddies.

Much like the three-, four-, and five-year-old students at Terrell ISD’s W. H. Burnett Early Childhood Center, Burney is in the early days of his education. With lots of encouragement, guidance, and a seemingly endless supply of treats, he’s well on his way to becoming the campus therapy dog. Though he’s only a few months old, Burney’s mom and campus principal, Jodi Schleter, explains that he has the perfect temperament for the job.

“He is so well behaved...He was just chill from day one. He doesn’t have any of those typical puppy characteristics,” Schleter said. “When I first saw his picture I was joking with some of the staff that we needed this dog. That night I went home and started researching, and I realized that this idea of having a campus therapy dog has become a thing. I just decided that this is exactly what our kids need right now.” There’s something about the clumsy cuteness of a puppy that puts people at ease. As Burney walks through the halls and visits classrooms, you can see the joy he brings to the young students and staff. Emily Kefayati, who serves as a campus

behavior specialist and is a self-proclaimed dog lover, has started envisioning the various ways she can put his training to good use.

“We have a particular student who has already benefited so much from Burney being here. We don’t get a whole lot of verbal interaction from this student very often, but he will talk to Burney. You know, the student won’t communicate with us, but he will communicate with the dog, and that’s beautiful,” Kefayati shared. “I think there’s a lot of benefits of having a therapy dog, and I am really excited about our kids getting to be exposed to that.” For now, Burney’s main job responsibilities include greeter and dismissal duty, hall walker, and classroom visitor. Once he completes his extensive training, the goal is for him to be a resource to deescalate kids and help them calm down when they’re having a rough day. Schleter sees him becoming part of their campus culture, and serving students at other campuses and the community at-large.

Though he’s only a few months into his training, several parents have started seeing changes in their children from having Burney at the campus. One of those parents is Tanzi Hambrick, who also serves as a Head Start aide on campus. Hambrick was initially a bit nervous about having Burney around due to her fear of animals, but it didn’t take her long to warm up thanks to Burney’s calm nature and friendly disposition. Meanwhile, her four-year-old daughter Promise took to him right away.

“Burney is special because I had a fear of dogs, and he helped me open up. He has really had a special effect on my daughter. She wants to come to school every morning to see Burney,” Hambrick shared. “At home she is always wondering about Burney, and asking questions about what he might be doing. She doesn’t see Burney as an animal, she sees him as a friend - he’s her best friend.”

Burney is a best friend, a quiet reading buddy, and a source of unconditional love for the students he serves.

“He has really had a special effect on my daughter. She doesn’t see Burney as an animal, she sees him as a friend - he’s her best friend.”

Understanding ClimateChange withMath

FionaGoddard -EducationConsultantatWhizzEducationandFormerTeacher

Inanumberofherspeeches,Greta Thunbergmakesitclearthat climatechangeshouldbespoken abouteverywhereandoftenwith changedebates.Withoutusingdata tothinkabstractly,oursensesand observationsalonewouldnotconfirm thatclimatechangeisoccurringor thatweneedtoact. Discussingclimatechange, celebratingworldenvironmentday, initiatingprojectsforstudentsto improvethesustainabilityoftheirown school(forexample,byreducingfood waste)orstartingclubsmightbejust someexamplestohelpsavethe environmentandcouldhavea profoundimpactonthefutureofthe planetandcanbeusedtocultivate ever-importantmathematical knowledgeandskills. Whynotgetinvolvedandencourage yourschooltojoin-inwithWhizz Education’sBuildingfortheFuture activities?Forexample,students couldbemeasuringrainfall.Theywill beelevatingmathskillsbycollecting andrecordinghowmanyinchesof liquidarecapturedonadailybasis anddiscussinghowtomakethe recordsuseful,fairandimpactfulin thefuture? Aswellasteachingstudentstohandle numbers,thesummerprojecthasthe capacitytoinspire,engageand empower.Numerousstudieshave shownthatclimatechangeeducation hasthebiggestimpactwhenstudents areencouragedtotakeresponsibility forlearningaboutissuesthatimpact themandtheircommunities.Help makeadifference!

the kind of gravitas that the earth’s predicament warrants. She marvels in her speech entitled ‘Almost Everything is Black and White’ (2018) that ‘the vast majority of people don’t have a clue about the consequences of our everyday life’. This is something that teachers are well-equipped to change. Math education is essential in developing an understanding of climate change and that learning will help students to deploy their math in innovative, world-changing ways. Whizz Education is delivering a suite of free learning activities across disciplines that will focus on the topic of ‘Building for the Future. ’ Activities will be based around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 7, 9, 11 and 13. They will encourage children to learn about the environments in which they live and to support the development of a sustainable world with a focus upon sustaining mathematical ability, in measurement and geometry. Without numbers, students would not understand ideals like the carbon budget or the limit of 1.5 degrees of warming at the centre of climate WhizzEducationisaneducation partnerdedicatedtoimproving learningoutcomes. Forfurtherinformationandtoaccess freeresourcesfromWhizzEducation’s climateprojectpleasesee: https://www.whizz.com/en-us/ summer-challenge-2022/