Kenora Catholic students enjoy a little puppy therapy during EQAO Testing.
Kenora, May 25, 2018 - It's Education, Quality and Accountability (EQAO) testing time at Kenora Catholic for Grade 3 and 6 students and the school board has teamed up with It's a Dog's Life to give students a little puppy-therapy.
The puppies visited École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys on Wednesday, May 24th.
Grade 6 student Leah Wykes is feeling relaxed between tests. "We did our English test this morning and now we are getting ready to take our Math test this afternoon. Having the puppies here definitely took away the stress of the test. I feel more relaxed and prepared for the Math portion this afternoon."
Sue Devlin Mental Health Lead talks about why the board is bringing in the pups. "We know that all tests can increase stress in students, because EQAO is so long we like to provide our students something a little extra special to help minimize stress and give them something positive in their day."
The puppies will be visiting Pope John Paul II School, St. Louis and École Ste-Marguerite Bourgeoys.
"This is the first year that we've had all three of our Kenora elementary schools request puppies during the testing and we are thrilled," says Devlin. "Based on the response from the SMB students today we know the students at our other schools will enjoy them as well. Their smiles said it all for me."
The puppies are not just adorable and fun to play with. There is scientific research that supports the benefits of dog therapy.
Grade 11, St. Thomas Aquinas High School Student Cambrya Swejda has been researching the benefits of dog therapy as part of her Co-op placement with Kenora Catholic's Mental Health team. She talks about what she has learned in her research. "There are lots of health benefits of dog therapy like decreasing blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety. In my research, there are a lot of colleges and universities that utilize animal therapy."
Administration dates for EQAO testing in the Primary and Junior Division for Reading Writing and Math are from May 22nd - June 4th.