Student Survey Results on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) at McKay This Year

Over 140 of our students in Grades 2 to 7 were surveyed on their learning in the area of Social Emotional Learning (SEL), an important area of learning as outlined within the focus section of our School Story post. Here are the results from 4 of the 8 SEL survey questions - and a sample of the anecdotal responses from our students:

1) When asked, 98.5% of 140 McKay students in Grades 2 to 7 can name at least 3 people (staff or students) that show kindness to them at McKay.

2) In response to the question, "Can you tell us about or describe something that you learned about being kind that you think will help you as a learner in SEL?", here are some of the responses:

to be patient and take my turn instead of getting angry
not to hit back when angry
if you are kind, kindness comes back to you
Learning about other cultures in Diversity Days
Give everyone a second chance
I made more friends this year by showing kindness to them
If I am kindly to others, they will be kindly to me
Diversity Days and Family Teams at Sports Day taught me about kindness to others
I think it will help me make more friends
Diversity Days showed me how people show kindness around the world
treat others the way you want to be treated
We made CARES plays to show others how to make good choices
To be kind to yourself as well as others
If I am kind I will have friends by my side
I learned from McKay CARES
To tell a teacher if I need help or someone isn't being kind
McKay CARES plays, and Diversity Days
To ask others how they are doing lately and to be a good listener
Helping others could lead to you being happier yourself
The lessons about Indigenous peoples and all that the government had done to them, made me feel bad for them and determined to be kinder towards them
I learned to include others more often
I enjoyed learning to be kind to others from different cultures and respecting their differences through Diversity Days - learned a lot about other cultures and religions
How to be kind to others when I work in a group project like ADST
I learned that I feel great when doing kind things
To be kind to others away from school too
To create an environment that makes you happy
Every time when I help others, I can feel enjoyment - when I help someone feel happier I feel enjoyment
Learning how to use McKay CARES for different activities
To understand that others are going through something and not assume that others are unkind just because they feel like it
McKay CARES has important meaning
When we did the CARES rotations and wrote messages about each of the letters
Good sportsmanship in sports
Learning about empathy was enjoyable - learning to empathize!
Learning to have a positive perspective about others
Knowing that I am not alone when I feel bad about something
Small acts of kindness are usually more effective
When people are sad... I learned to comfort them or call a teacher
Helping people when they are hurt or in need
To not shout at people when they hurt my feelings - to try to calm down and have empathy
Kindness means being inclusive and how to make others feel better about themselves
Helping others because they may help me back
That not everyone thinks the same way as I do. I learned that I like being unique
Being kind makes me friends every day
Not being rude or bullying others
To ask others if they are okay
Family Teams at Sports Day and Big Buddies all year taught me about kindness
The Kindness chain lesson, Gardening, Kindness Day, Diversity Days and Sports Day teamwork
Working with a partner or in groups, and Sports Day
I learned to be kind when I am in a group or on a team
Diversity Days, School-wide Teams, and Kindness Day activities
Being with our Big Buddies this year
Planting things for the environment and working with others in groups
Learning about teamwork - working with friends
Cleaning up and asking for help
Being kind helps you and helps them
Orange Shirt Day and Pink Day helped me to be a kind person
Donating to the SPCA made me feel kind and happy
Making people feel good by lifting them up and then kindness may come back to you
We had two school-wide CARES events that I think will help me in the future
Learning to stand up for people who need it
To show McKay CARES all the time - even when you're mad
I learned to think before I speak because it is hard to take back what you say
I enjoyed complimenting others because it makes them feel better
Even if you are not friends with someone you should still be nice and show kindness and respect
If you are kind you will have more friends
You can make friends with your kindness
I learned to learn from my mistakes - they help me learn
I like to be kind because being good feels good
I learned to have the courage to talk to other people and make conversations
To be kind to others with different genders and skin colours
To say sorry and promise to not do it again when I am unkind
I learned that kindness is a mirror - if you show kindness it will reflect back on you

3) In response to the questions, "What are your next steps as a learner about being kind?", here are some of the responses":

To be kind to people I don't like or get along with
To be kind not only to others, but also to myself
I need to work on enpathizing
Respect others even if you are not their friends
Be respectful of other peoples' ideas
be more careful of what I say
to learn how to be kinder to LGBTQ+ people
To be more thoughtful - it can go a long way
To be more inclusive so that everyone feels included
Keep learning how to help others in better ways
Learning about LGBTQ+ people so I know what to say to them (to be kind)
To meet more people
Learn better manners and volunteer more often to help
Speaking up about kindness to others and spread awareness are my next steps
Not being afraid to tell people how I am feeling and finding ways to make things better
To keep calm even when others are behaving with violence
Respect others even when I do not like their thoughts or actions
Being more respectful and cooperative - filling up other people's jars
To make more friends through kindness
To find alternatives to anger or violence
How to be more empathetic
Instead of getting more, give more to others
To make others feel better about themselves
To include others more
To respect other people's boundaries
Not to bully
To help solve problems even without a teacher helping me
To be more kind every day
To not say or do things implusively
To treat people better even when they don't
Say hello to other people more
Help others more often
Say thank you more
To try to cheer people up more
To let more people play games with me
To be kinder and learn from the times I was mean this year
To try to not accidentally say something hurtful to others
To take kindness to the next level and look out for others and make them feel secure
Helping others even when I don't want to
To learn from McKay CARES especially accepting people from different places
To learn more about kindness and gender (difference)
Learning to control my emotions
To use more kind words and not say too hurtful words
Being kinder in the community like holding doors for others
Tell myself to say please and thank you more
To listen to the story of someone who has been bullied so I can learn what it feels like and don't do any of those hurtful things
Lift more people up
Standing up for my friends and speaking up for them too
To improve myself by controlling my anger
Join more kindness activities and be a pro at being kind
Use deep breathing and walk away and tell a teacher (when angry)
Help someone when they are hurt or need help
Use more positive language
always say kind words to others
To be more inviting and smile at people more
Learn how to cooperate
To be a better listener
To be kind to the younger students and Kindergarten kids
To identify when someone else is feeling sad
To be more kind to myself
Teacher others to be kind
To learn even more new ways to be kind
To try to not get mad easily
To (use my words) and not hit back or retaliate

4) What should be our next steps as a community with regard to kindness?

Teach students how to stand in the others feelings, to understand each others and then have less arguments
Teach kids about LGBTQ+ and how to use proper pronouns because too many people are still homo and transphobic
Be more inclusive?
Help others with their stretches (next steps) about being kind
Be more accepting even when off site
Learn more about sharing
Show CARES more often
To be more racially inclusive
Picking up trash more - even if it is not yours
Older kids need to be a better example for younger students
Teach people to stay calm when they are getting mad
To say sorry after you hurt someone (by accident)
Help people when they are struggling
For everyone to be more inclusive racially
End bullying and help others more
Pick up garbage from the ground
All of us getting along in a peaceful community
To be more caring because there are people from many countries and we need to help them to understand other people
To be kinder to everyone no matter where they come from
To do more of it
More kindness events and activities (teamwork activities, cheer people up....)
Always show respect because respect is important
To treat others fairly
Treat others the same regardless of race or gender
Stop people from sometimes encouraging others to do bad things
Work together and do more group activities
Help the environment with kindness
Be good to the earth too
Events to teach kindness with people you don't know
We need to teach people to not swear... I don't want to hear it again
Donating to others and lifting them up
More Kindnsss Days or actitivites in the school
Teach kids to not use bad words, cuss or swear words
Not littering or making garbage
Stop saying bad things to others
Adding rules for gaga ball and other sports
Think more about how people are feeling
To accept all races equally
To teach the new ones and make sure everyone is kind

Updated: Friday, July 7, 2023

McKay Elementary School

McKay Student Absence/ Early Warning Line

Student Survey Results on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) at McKay This Year