Huge News at Potomack Intermediate!

Therapy dogs are increasingly used to support children in addressing their social and emotional learning needs in schools. This has also been found to help with literacy development. Some of the benefits recorded in school classrooms include:

• Increased school attendance
• Positive changes lead to better learning and enhanced motivation
• Growth in confidence levels
• Development of better and stronger relationships with teachers and peers due to the experience of trust and love with therapy dogs. Children learn ways to express their feelings and develop more trusting relationships
• Reducing learner anxiety behaviors causes improvement in learning outcomes like improved reading and writing skills and levels

In keeping with the riparian theme we enjoy at Potomack, our new friend will be named River.

Our expectation from the trainer is that she will arrive at Potomack in December. After three days of training with her in-school handlers, (Dr. Arch, Mr. Omerzo, Mrs. Hott and Mr. Malcolm), she'll be available to work with students.

Of course not! Anyone (teacher or student alike) not interested in interacting with the dog will not be required to do so in any way. The idea here is to reduce stress while at school - not increase it!

Our new friend has been bred specifically to support students at school and has been vetted and screened to be kind, tolerant, and loving to everyone she's in contact with. She has been trained by Ultimate Canine in Westfield, Indiana in all basic dog commands to the highest degree of professionalism. More information on Ultimate Canine can be found below:

https://ultimatecaninetraining.com/

Our own school counselor, Mrs. Hott! Our new friend will drive to and from school and live with Mrs. Hott and her husband.

"SOARing to New Heights": Safe, Organized, Accountable, Respectful

Email: carch@k12.wv.us
Website: https://www.berkeleycountyschools.org/potomack
Location: 5308 Williamsport Pike, Martinsburg, WV, USA

School Phone Number: (304) 274-6592

- Dr. Arch, Principal: carch@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. O'Brien, Assistant Principal: m.obrien@k12.wv.us

- Mr. Omerzo, Assistant Principal: aomerzo@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. McFadden, School Nurse: lisa.mcfadden@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. Fromm, Attendance Secretary: stacia.fromm@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. Opp, Registrar: liesbeth.opp@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. Smith, Financial Secretary: erica.l.smith@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. Ford, School Counselor: miranda.ford@k12.wv.us

- Mrs. Hott, School Counselor: alexandrea.hott@k12.wv.us

- Mr. Malcolm, School Counselor: chad.malcolm@k12.wv.us

Potomack's staff directory can be found by clicking the link below:

https://www.berkeleycountyschools.org/o/potomack/staff

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