Firstly, we would like to say a very big thank you to Jack and Natalie Radford for their very kind donation of Buddy, our wellbeing/emotional support dog. This is such a great opportunity for the school that we are very thankful for and know it will have a positive impact on our school, staff and students for many years to come. Natalie & Jack also very kindly donated a starter pack for Buddy with a bed, food, toys and things they thought would be useful in transitioning Buddy to his new home with Mrs Nelson and the school, so we thank them so very much for their generosity and support in making this happen.

As mentioned above we have been very fortunate to welcome Buddy to our school community. Buddy is a 13 week old Cavoodle and has had a very exhausting first week at school getting to meet and interact with our staff on Monday and the students over the past 2 days.

Buddy will be going through extensive training, through a Dogs Connect Program where he, Kim and the staff will learn how to use Buddy to best support the school in a wellbeing position. This will ensure that he and the students can be safe and get the most out of their journey at St Mary's. We will keep you updated on his development as he grows and matures into his role.

While Buddy has a lot of learning to do, his first steps are to get settled and learn to relax in his new environment. Once Buddy is settled, we will invite parents and our wider school community to meet him. For now we need to give him the space to settle in and not be overwhelmed.

Buddy_Dog_Profile.pdf

DC_3_Expectations_Poster_A3.pdf

We thank you for your ongoing support. Kim Nelson