First grade students at Baresville Elementary in the South Western School District were very motivated and excited to learn how to read and write. During the school year the students read many fiction and nonfiction books about pets and learned how to be good pet owners. They wrote stories about their pets and wrote informational pet care manuals for many different types of pets. As a culminating activity for becoming great readers and writers, the students each designed pet quilt squares. The quilt squares will be sewn into a lovely quilt and will be auctioned with all proceeds to benefit the Adams County SPCA.

The finished quilt!!! Beautiful!!

Students designing their pet quilt square.





The students pet quilt squares

                    

Second graders at Baresville Elementary in the South Western School District practiced their reading skills by reading to a Reading Therapy Trained Dog. The dog, Freedom, had intensive training and was certified. The students practiced reading books to make their reading fluent and once a month read their book to Freedom. The culminating activity was that the students got to read to several Reading Therapy Trained dogs! Both the students and the dogs loved the good reading experience!

Freedoms' other dog friends
Freedom brought her doggy friends along to school so all the children could read their books to the dogs that they published during the year. Freedom came once a month and listened to the reading support class. When the other dogs came, the entire classes of second graders got to read to the dogs. It was a reward for the other classmates earned by the kids who worked so hard in the program all year.

Freedom's handler is Ben Olewiler. If you would like more information on the Reading Therapy Trained Dog program, you may contact Ben. His email address is: Ben_Olewiler@SwSd.k12.pa.us. His phone number is (717) 225-4585.

                    

Students from Lincoln Elementary School had a Cute Pet Contest and donated all of the proceeds to the Adams County SPCA. Shown here, the students who provided their pets' photos are presenting an enlarged version of the check for $270 to Scott McLaughlin, back left, Director of the Adams County SPCA, to benefit the animals at the shelter. During the month of April, students voted at lunch time for their favorite animals. The winning pets, Pearl, Mittens and Brutus, belong to Shania West, a fifth grader in Mr. Russ Pensinger's room. The contest is sponsored by the Lincoln Community Service Group, a school organization that promotes awareness of community needs and encourages volunteerism. McLaughlin is pictured holding a very tired carrier pigeon that was found in the school courtyard about 15 minutes before this photo was taken. He explained that carrier pigeons occasionally become fatigued in flight during periods of strong winds and fall to the ground. Because the bird was banded with an ID number, the shelter chief is able to locate the owner through the carrier pigeon hotline and arrange for its return. A big thanks to the students of Lincoln Elementary School from the ACSPCA staff and critters!!!

                    

Here are some stories for a Pet Care Manual that were written by first graders as a writing assignment. They had to write a nonfiction piece using the Four Square method which basically required them to write 3 facts and a summary statement.

Pet Care Manual - Front Page
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

Great job kids! We love your work!

                    

Dog Bite Prevention
Safe Kids are Bite Free!

Approximately 1/2 of all children in the U.S. are bitten by a dog before they hit the teenage years. And 800,000 bites a year are severe enough to require medical treatment. These statistics alone make us realize how important it is to teach our children dog safety!

The vast majority of dog bites are from a dog that the child is at least acquainted with-his or her own, a neighbor's, or a friend's pet canine. You can help prevent this from happening by discussing this list with your child and helping him/her learn when and how to interact with doggie friends.

Here are some basic rules for dog interaction:
•	Do not stare into the dog's eyes. This can cause aggressive behaviour because the dog feels challenged.
•	Do not tease dogs behind fences. You could become a target of aggression if they can get near you.
•	Do not go near dogs chained up in yards. They become very territorial and may view you as an intruder into their area.
•	Do not touch a loose (off-leash) dog outside. Tell an adult immediately.
•	Do not run and scream if a loose dogs come near you. Stand very still (like a tree) and be very quiet while he is near.
•	Do not touch or play with a dog while he or she is eating.
•	Do not touch a dog while he or she is sleeping.
•	Only touch a dog after receiving permission from the guardian. The caretaker knows if the dog is safe and will not harm a child.
•	Ask permission of the dog by letting him sniff your closed hand. This is a non-threatening interaction to the dog.
•	Always treat a dog with respect and kindness. They will treat you the same in return.
•	Hold your hand flat when feeding a treat to a dog.
•	Give your dog obedience lessons. This will provide him with better control and better human interaction skills.
•	Love your dog and have fun with her!