- Latest News
THANKS: On behalf of the City of Whyalla, Councillor Irene Adair accepted a certificate of appreciation from Story Dogs at a MOPS assembly last week.
Wednesday, Novembe 20, 2019
City of Whyalla Councillor Irene Adair attended a special assembly at Memorial Oval Primary School (MOPS) to acknowledge the Story Dogs program and a joint sponsorship from Council and the school.
Following an application for funding from Whyalla Story Dogs, Council recently contributed $300 with MOPS tipping in $200 to sponsor the work Graham Murray and his dog Abby have been doing at the primary school for the past two years.
Story Dogs is a non-profit organisation that involves community members taking their dogs to school to help primary students with reading and communication. Whyalla Story Dogs has seven members who visit schools around Whyalla with their dogs to have special one-on-one sessions with students.
POPULAR POOCH: Abby and her owner Graham Murray have been a hit at the MOPS Story Dog sessions.
Whyalla Story Dogs Co-ordinator Bruce Muhlhan presented certificates of appreciation to Cr Adair and MOPS Deputy Principal Jenny MacDonald at the assembly. Cr Adair spoke at the special event and said it was an honour for Council to provide the funding for Story Dogs in conjunction with MOPS.
“It was an awesome event and Story Dogs is an awesome program,” Cr Adair said.
“It is wonderful that Council can contribute to Story Dogs and all the great work they do in the schools.
“The assembly really was a heart-warming event as we saw what a difference this program can make for children at the school.”
Bruce Muhlhan thanked Council and MOPS for the financial support.
“This sponsorship really does span the whole community with Council and MOPS contributing funds to a non-for-profit program like ours,” Bruce said.
“We just wanted to acknowledge the support from Council and MOPS with this very special program that helps so many children.
“Having Story Dogs go into schools, and sit down with these children, helps them relax, engage with the volunteer and their dog and gain the confidence to have a go themselves with the reading.
“With a dog like Abby, who only has one eye, it also teaches them valuable lessons about living with a disability and accepting people and animals who have a disability.
"For Graham the sponsorship holds even more significance as he attended the same primary school as a child when it was known as the Whyalla South School."
APPRECIATION: Graham Murray and Abby with Cr Adair, MOPS deputhy principal Jenny MacDonald and some students at the special assembly.
Anyone interested in becoming a Story Dog volunteer should contact Bruce Muhlhan direct on bruce@storydogs.org.au or by phone 0400 454 687. Volunteers need to have a police clearance, a love for helping others and a calm and friendly dog able to be around children.
ABOUT STORY DOGS
Story Dogs is based on the successful American literacy program, Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.). The R.E.A.D program was launched in 1999 in Utah, USA, as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of children and young adolescents reading to dogs.
Reading sessions take place in a quiet area of the school grounds, such as the library or outside the classroom. A reading session is approximately 20 minutes long, where each child is one-on-one with the dog team. Books are chosen to suit the student´s reading level.
During the session, the handler often speaks through the dog, such as; “Sam doesn't understand what is happening on this page, could you help him out?” The child becomes the teacher as they help the dog understand, and their confidence soars.
Our volunteers come with fun, interesting books that are specifically chosen for beginner readers. The students also have input into what they read. We encourage the students to write letters to the dogs between reading sessions, further encouraging literacy skills.
More information on Story Dogs can be found at www.storydogs.org.au or the Whyalla Story Dogs Facebook page.