St Joseph's School is thrilled to announce its partnership with STORY DOGS, starting in Term 2, to provide select Year 2 students with an exciting opportunity to enhance their reading skills.

Each week, participating students will have one-on-one reading sessions with Nessie, a delightful West Highland Terrier, and her owner Helen (pictured on the left in the photo below). Extensive research highlights the benefits of children reading to dogs, as it fosters a positive and supportive environment for reading development. Both Nessie and Helen have undergone specialised training to prepare for this role, and Helen will also bring her expertise as a teacher to these sessions.

This wonderful program will commence in Week 1 of Term 2 and continue throughout the year. St Joseph's School is proud to be the only school in the region currently implementing this initiative, making it an exciting milestone for our community. We hope that over time, more dogs and their owners will be trained for this vital program so that even more students can benefit from this unique approach to learning.

If you’d like to learn more about the program, please reach out to the school. We’d be happy to connect you with Janine, the founder of Story Dogs in Australia, who is based here in Stanthorpe.