Archie is a chocolate Labrador Retriever with gorgeous brown eyes and a lovely kind face. He started life living with a lovely family, his mum, his six siblings and his nanny.
Labrador Retrievers are known for their gentle nature, their ability to learn, their love of people and their endless energy and sense of fun.
In recent years, awareness of the benefits of canine assisted therapies (CAT) within education settings has grown amongst educators and the dog- loving public at large. At CEJA, we are committed to ensuring that the wellbeing of our pupils and staff is at the heart of everything we do. As a school community, we have pulled together to support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to do so. To further our commitment to promoting positive wellbeing, we have introduced a school dog to support pupils with their academic, emotional and social development and to further promote positive wellbeing during the school day for staff.
The school respects the views and wishes of staff and parents/carers who would prefer not to have contact with Archie. If this is the case, I would ask that you notify the school office so we can ensure Archie does not have close contact with either you or your child.
What our children say about Archie:
‘Archie is a chocolate Labrador. He is 2 years old, and he has been with us since he was 9 weeks old. He comes to school every day but in the evening, he goes home with Mrs Smith.’
‘Archie is part of our school family because we love him and because we treat every living thing with respect. However different, they are part of our school family.’
‘Archie helps us to feel better if we feel stressed or sad. We can play with him, cuddle him, kiss him and get him to do tricks for treats. Archie also visits our classrooms and comes to assemblies. He joins us in the playground too. Archie will also dress up on special days like we do.’
‘We have learnt how to care for animals because we have Archie and have spent time learning about some endangered animals. Archie has some very serious elbow problems and we have learnt how to care for him especially after his operations.‘
‘School would not be the same without Archie.’
‘Archie makes me fill up with joy (like the ocean) every time I see him.‘
