WDMS Animal Therapy Program

We received this beautiful message from one of our wonderful parents: “I would like to commend your animal therapy program! Cadence loves every minute with any animals and is now obsessed with the guinea pigs. That is all I hear about. With that being said I got her 2 yesterday and she is in love and constantly says “I know this from school” … again I thank you!!! Good program!”
We have the best students and parents in our WD community! 💚🖤🤍

There are some students who make your life such a happy place and remind you of the “why” behind the work we do 🤍

Take Your Child to Work Day in the Animal Therapy Room! Our student leaders were absolutely incredible in leading our groups and all of the amazing kids were so fun to be around! The animals were out cold by 2:30 😴
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Great morning having Green-Fields students visit the Animal Therapy Program. The best part was Mr. Corbitt, one of the most dedicated and caring principals, joined in the fun of encouraging his current students in experiencing what the middle school transition & the excitement as all about 😊

A special thanks to our wonderful intern, Ms. Hailey, who celebrated her last day of field placement for the year! She will be graduating from Rutgers University with her Master of Social Work. We know she will continue to make an impact in the lives of children as she embarks on her professional venture. Thanks for all of the support and care you provided to our students and animals at WDMS!

Mrs. Milner’s class had a productive period discussing peer relationships, problem-solving skills, and working together. They discussed how making decisions when calm around the animals can increase their likelihood of positive, more empathic responses. Such an impressive group of students! 🌟

🔅Updates from the Animal Therapy Program🔅

🔸Mrs. Fahy’s class did a fantastic job creating affirmation rocks for our rock garden, where students can visit to read uplifting messages from peers.

🔹 Mr. McAndrew’s class was impressive in their ability to apply skills they’re learning in the school setting at the farm, and had lots of fun trying something new!

🔸Mrs. Cochran worked with students to get the garden beds ready to grow lettuce for the animals 🥬. They even found carrots that hadn’t been picked 🥕

🔹Mrs. Anderson’s students researched enrichment activities with their groups and were able to connect how caring for mental health of animals and humans is essential to wellbeing & availability to learn/emotionally regulate. Mr. Lamastra and Mrs. Habina’s students joined them to share their expertise.

Rest easy to our sweet rescued hedgehog, Bandit. He was rescued by our program from a horrible situation and was shown so much love & support by our students.

Although loss is challenging, it is an opportunity to capitalize on teaching our students to value their efforts, and adopt appropriate grief processing skills that they’ll face, if they haven’t already, throughout their lives. Dedication and commitment is immensely rewarding, and simultaneously challenging. Teaching that in a safe and dedicated space is paramount to social/emotional intelligence.

Bandit will be truly missed and valued by all who loved him so much. No creature is too small to make a tremendous impact on our lives, especially those of our developing students while they find their own ability to be empathetic in their community.

✨Last week was a wonderful week in the ATR! ✨

•Students worked together to socialize the animals, while simultaneously teaching peers to get comfortable in perceived uncomfortable situations.

• Some of our students who used to fear certain animals displayed ability to work through big feelings & learn to trust with time and patience.

• Mr. McAndrew’s class went to Verchio’s to purchase food for the animals. They were impressive in their ability to find their items, work together to add up totals, and complete their own transactions with minimal support! The staff at Verchio’s were incredible and exceptionally accommodating in order to allow each student to practice. Visible dedication and thanks to Mr. Tim, Ms. Doreen, Ms. Pam, Ms. Lisa for taking us, and the rest of the team for their hard work in creating significant progress!

• Students electively jumped in to do laundry, clean cages, mop, and work hard when they could have chose a free period. Impressive!

Ms. Laura Houston, Executive Director of the Animal Welfare Association, took time out of her schedule to attend presentations from a handful of our most dedicated students in an effort to explore ways to collaborate, expand our program, and reach more students, while simultaneously supporting a community need. Ms. Huston presented innovative ideas after hearing our students present, and with her collaboration, we are thrilled to announce there will be upcoming opportunities & clubs for our students to enhance our mission of fostering development of empathy, community impact, and mental health awareness!

Mr. McAndrew’s class continues to display remarkable gains in their ability to transfer classroom lessons into the community - they’re learning at the speed of light! They engaged with unfamiliar animals, modeled their ability to complete purchases, and remained regulated in a new space; all while remembering to complete their job, which was to independently choose an enrichment item or product for the animal(s) they were shopping for.

A huge thank you to our wonderful community partner and Owner of EarthWise Pet Mantua, Kelly White, for consistently supporting our program and students!