WHERE ARE WE NOW AS A LEARNING COMMUNITY?

The staff at McKay are a wonderfully caring group of educators; the students are extremely positive, friendly and appreciative; and the parents are extremely supportive and kind. Over the past two-year during the Covid-19 pandemic, we did our best to keep our students safe and still find a way to make life and learning at McKay as meaningful and fun as possible. We have faced a great deal of uncertainty and unprecedented challenges and the students, staff and families at McKay responded as they have always done…

The response from the entire community was to stay positive, to support and encourage one  another and to find ways to make things happen for our students, regardless of the circumstances. We stayed safe, we kept calm and we were kind to one another. As a result, we got through this – and the bond between students, staff and families at McKay has never been stronger.

The appreciative smiles of the McKay students, their incredible enthusiasm and spirit, their willingness to follow safety protocols, and their ability adjust to  a very new way of life at school has been impressive. We thank them for brightening our days and reminding us why we love teaching so much.

It has been my privilege to lead a group of educators at McKay who have handled the most difficult of times with persistence, thoughtfulness, determination and integrity. Their dedication to our children, to education, and to this community has been a nothing short of amazing.

We are extremely thankful to be in a learning community with a parent group that is so supportive and positive. The impact of the support we received throughout the pandemic from our parents cannot be understated. Each kind gesture and word of encouragement  from McKay families made us stronger and  helped us get through the uncertainty and darkest days. We acknowledge and value to all McKay families for supporting our children, our staff and our school community – and for your incredible contributions to make these unpredictable and unprecedented two years a success.

As our Health Authorities shift from a societal and systemic responses to the pandemic to guidelines and protocols within an endemic, we look forward to more and more Covid-19 restrictions being lifted - and a return to more typical daily life, and many of the special seasonal events that enrich the experiences of daily life at school. We know that, as we go through this process, we will once again, do this the McKay Mustang way - with care, compassion and kindness to one another.