St Nicholas prepares to welcome Norman

Important UPDATED & NEW INFORMATION

has been added to this presentation (on 22/2/24) for students & teachers

Hello St Nicholas!

This is Norman our new school Wellbeing dog.

You may have already seen this slideshow……but some new information has now been added.

Add picture of your dog here.

What is a Wellbeing Dog?

• Norman will be our school’s Wellbeing dog.

​

• He will be coming to our school very soon and his job will be to spread happiness & joy to our students and teachers. He will also help us feel more relaxed if we are feeling worried or upset. Norman will also be a wonderful friend who will help us stay calm in our learning spaces and focus on our learning.

​

Norman has been visiting St Nicholas of a weekend.

As you can see, he really enjoys posing for photos!

He has even met Macca the Alpaca in the library……

…….and he chose some books he’d like someone to to read to him!!!

When will Norman visit our learning spaces?

• Very soon Norman will start having little visits to St Nicholas. It will take quite some time for Norman to learn to relax and feel settled at our school. Some staff members will be in charge of being with Norman all the time and walking him on his lead. Eventually Norman will be able to visit your learning space, he might even be at the front gate of a morning or on the playground at break times….but this will happen later in the year.

How is a wellbeing dog different�to a pet dog?

• Norman is not quite the same as a pet dog because when he is at school he will have an important job to do. St Nicholas will be where he comes to work and learn. We all need to make sure we are very calm and respectful every time we are near him.

​

• There are three very important rules or expectations that EVERYONE needs to follow ALL THE TIME to make sure that Norman is happy, relaxed and feels safe at school. There are about 600 students at St Nicholas so all the noises, voices, spaces and movement in our school will be very new for Norman and could be tricky or scary for him to get used to. We need to help him.

​

• If we ALL follow these rules or expectations, Norman will be able to be calm, relaxed and happy, and that means he will be able to spend even more time at St Nicholas.

Expectations with our Wellbeing Dog Norman

Every single time we see Norman , we must remember these

3 rules/expectations

​

We must be calm because it will help Norman be calm.

​

When Norman enters our learning space, we simply KEEP CALM & CARRY ON WITH OUR LEARNING

​

​

Things to do:

Things not to do:

• Don’t stand around staring
• Don’t say or call out Norman’s name when you see him
• Don’t crowd around Norman
• Don’t touch Norman or ask to pat him
• Don’t be excited and loud
• Never feed Norman

​

​

Helping Norman learn to relax

• Norman’s first job is to learn to relax at school.
• This is his place to learn and work too, so we need to respect his personal space and safety – just like we do with students, staff and visitors.
• It’s important that Norman can walk around without being distracted or feeling unsafe. If 600 children were saying his name or coming to him for pats, he would find this very stressful. There will certainly be time for pats and special time with Norman later on, but for now we need to help him stay calm and relaxed.
• Norman will be coming to school and visiting classrooms shortly. When Norman comes into your learning space your must instantly be calm and use quiet voices. And of course, follow the 3 expectations.
• If Norman happens to do something unexpected or funny (like bark or wee/poo), please do not laugh, use loud voices or make noises. Simply stay calm, quiet and ignore the behaviour, otherwise your reaction might upset or scare him. The teacher who has him on the lead will calmly sort out the situation. Remember, he’s just a puppy who is learning, and he will make mistakes at times.

​

​

A relaxed dog is a healthy dog and

we need everyone’s help with this

Norman needs time to get used to us

When Norman starts visiting classrooms he will be sitting back and doing lots of observing & watching. Once Norman has had a few weeks visiting and has learnt to relax, he will gradually learn to meet more people. The teacher who is with him might give you permission to pat him.

He will be taking things slowly and being very careful about how he walks, sits, plays, and greets people. Sometimes he’ll go to his special office space for a rest.

This might take a long time, but we would love for him to be here for years, so it is important that he takes his time.

HERE IS A LINK. Please watch some of these 2 minute videos of wellbeing dogs in other schools

Now for a few new important things we all need to know.

​

If you are asked to come to Norman to say hello, this is how you do it:

We need to make sure Norman can make CHOICES. Sometimes he might choose to walk up to you and you might be given permission to pat him or sit near him. Sometimes though, he might choose that he wants to sit alone and rest in his own personal space. We need to respect Norman’s choices so everyone is kept safe.

This picture shows you where you can pat Norman IF his helper teacher gives you permission. You can gently pat his CHEST or BACK.

Norman’s safe spaces to relax

This is Norman’s crate where he can go to rest in the office area.

This is Norman’s mat that will come with him into your learning space.

If we ever need to wake Norman, this is how we do it:

Dogs are not humans! They can’t talk, so instead they use body language to tell us things.

Norman often lies on his back because he likes tummy rubs. Always wait for a teacher’s permission though before you rub his tummy. Some dogs look like they are smiling and show their teeth, but other dogs show their teeth if they feel worried or upset. Norman sometimes gets a little bit nervous if he sees other dogs….his body goes stiff and still, and he might do a little bark. Norman wags his tail when he is happy and he sometimes licks people to show his love. He also runs off to find a toy to bring to people to show he loves them. It’s super cute when he does this!!!

Jobs you can help with much later on when Norman is here more often

Once we have spent lots of time helping Norman feel comfortable, relaxed and happy, he will then spend more time at school. Eventually students will be able to pat him and help with things like:

​

​

✅ Making sure his water bowls are always filled with fresh water.

✅ Helping to pick up his toys if they are on the ground.

✅ Making sure he has his rest time in his special office space.

✅ Not letting him have any food.

​

​

But for now, let’s all remember the 3 expectations when we see Norman with these staff members:

Quiz & discussion time

*Norman’s first job at school is to learn to r_______.

*What are the three expectations we all must follow?

*The second we see Norman we need to instantly be c_______.

*Do we call out or say Norman’s name when we see him? Explain.

*Can we touch or pat Norman when we first see him? Explain.

*If you are invited to pat Norman, where can you pat him?

*Does it mean a dog is smiling if we can see his teeth?

*What must we do if Norman does something unexpected (like bark or wee/poo)? Explain. What should we not do?

*If Norman looks hungry can you give him some of your food? Why?

*Why will it be so wonderful to have a wellbeing dog at St Nicholas?

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Teachers: If you think your students did a great job with this learning, click here to show them a very quick bonus video of Norman’s first swim last weekend! Norman's first swim

Please go through this slideshow a few times with your teachers .

​

Your most important job now is to keep calm and

remember the 3 expectations when Norman starts coming to school.

​

Thank you for all your help.

​

Add nice relaxing picture of (Dog’s name) here.