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Visiting Senta and her six friends: The sheep are loose at the Hallbergmoos middle school

2022-08-15T12:04:59.519Z


Visiting Senta and her six friends: The sheep are loose at the Hallbergmoos middle school Created: 08/15/2022, 02:00 p.m The students and of course Roya Klingner (kneeling) formed the welcoming committee for the still shy sheep. © Austria dogs in the classroom. Dolphins that help to heal. Sheep, on the other hand, are rarely seen as therapy animals. There are now “school sheep” in Hallbergmoos.


Visiting Senta and her six friends: The sheep are loose at the Hallbergmoos middle school

Created: 08/15/2022, 02:00 p.m

The students and of course Roya Klingner (kneeling) formed the welcoming committee for the still shy sheep.

© Austria

dogs in the classroom.

Dolphins that help to heal.

Sheep, on the other hand, are rarely seen as therapy animals.

There are now “school sheep” in Hallbergmoos.

Hallbergmoos

- The initiator of the project is Roya Klingner.

She heads the open all-day school at the Hallbergmoos middle school and is an internationally sought-after expert for animal-assisted therapies.

Her idea of ​​integrating sheep into everyday school life was well received by Rector Rudolf Weichs and the community.

Klingner: “We have children who have not coped with the pandemic really well.

And refugee children from Ukraine.

It's good for their souls."

Roya Klingner's knowledge is even in demand internationally

But why sheep?

The trained educator, founder and manager of a center for gifted and gifted children in Munich worked mainly with alpacas and llamas.

Her knowledge is in demand internationally, she gives lectures and writes articles in specialist journals.

Then she came across alpine stone sheep: “They are among the oldest breeds of sheep, are threatened with extinction and have always been kept in small groups.

They are much more fixated on people than other breeds of sheep, trusting, cuddly and have a great character,” enthuses Klingner.

Team building and cohesion are characteristic of the animals.

"In larger herds, nothing would develop like that," says the expert.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

Klingner deepened her knowledge, learned how to spin and how to process wool.

She bought five sheep at the Zierer organic farm in Kleinbachern, now there are seven: she started training the sheep.

Because she knows from experience: "It calms the children, gives them trust and responsibility and is also good for the ecosystem."

The animals have been grazing on the meadow next to the playground since the start of the holidays: their names are Senija, Senta, Chesstra, Sternchen, Sylveria, Weida and Sandy.

Each with its own character: Senta, the leader, the kind-hearted Senija, who watches over the group and alerts them if necessary.

And Sternchen, the black sheep: the smartest member of the herd.

Two sheep that didn't want to get into the van arrived later

The welcoming committee – pupils, teachers, rector Weichs and mayor Josef Niedermair – were blown away upon arrival: Of course, the newcomers were a little reluctant at first after the trip and on new terrain.

And two of them who didn't want to get into the van arrived later.

They quickly became more trusting and allowed their fur to be brushed.

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© Austria

When school starts again in September, that will be one of the tasks for the students: there are a good 200 middle school students, about 20 attend the open all-day school.

In the afternoon, the animals are mucked out, fed and, of course, petted.

Contact is important – for people and animals.

Now, during the holidays, Roya Klingner and her husband are with their four-legged protégés every day.

“These are trained sheep.

They have to see someone every day and have contact with them.

Exercises and rituals must be repeated.”

In autumn she gets support from the fifth to seventh graders: “Of course we prepared the children.

With lots of information about sheep and nature.

They learned about herbs, what is poisonous and what isn't," reports Klingner.

The animals stay at the Hallbergmoos school for at least one year

Susanne Sebald, coordinator for the open all-day school of the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe supports the project with full conviction: "This is a premiere and something unique." As far as Klingner knows, it is the first time in Bavaria that sheep are used in schools.

“I hope there will be more.” The animals are now in Hallbergmoos for a year – with an option to extend.

Eva Austria

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-08-15

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