To end the year on a high note, school leaders from around Australia were invited to join Junior School parents for an online webinar Introducing Peachy: The Junior School Therapy Dog. Yvonne Howard (Deputy Head of Junior School), and Kate Davis (Junior School Counsellor/Psychologist) spoke about the program and the research that they were conducting to ensure its efficacy. Special guests included Martin Lubrano (Head of Junior School), Brad Rundle (Therapy Dogs Australia) who spoke about the training process, Taylor Graham (Barker Year 4 Teacher) who spoke about the student experience in the classroom, and of course Peachy herself also made an appearance.

In consultation with the Barker Institute and Therapy Dogs Australia, Junior School staff will continue to research the impact of Peachy on campus. We look forward to sharing these results with you at a future event.  

Please find a recording of this webinar from Wednesday 30 November here:http://bit.ly/IntroducingPeachy.

Dr Matthew Hill

Dr Matthew Hill is the Director of The Barker Institute with a focus on professional learning, research, and innovation in the school.  He teaches Physics and the new Science Extension course at the School which introduces students to scientific academic research. Matthew's doctorate reflects his passion for science education focussing on Representational Fluency amongst physics students at school and university. He has published in leadership, education, and science journals and been involved in course development and teaching at The University of Sydney and The University of Western Sydney. He has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Divinity at Ridley College in Melbourne.