Early in the school year our staff became concerned about some of the things we noticed about our students. The staff and admin formed a group to look into this with the focus being on the social and emotional health of our students. They connected with two of our teacher consultants Connie Easton and Ellen Hsu. The committee decided to organise student focus groups in order to learn more about what we believed was going on for our students

As a result of the Focus Groups held and run at MacNeill by Connie and Ellen, we learned a few things. Among the findings of the focus group, we were able to confirm hunches that we already had. As a result of COVID-19, the “cohorting” of students within our buildings and an increase in online learning, students were feeling isolated and cut off from their peers. Students had experienced a greater presence online and this, we heard, wasn’t always a safe place for some. In addition, there has been a feeling of displacement among our senior students because they are less present than the junior grades who are at school full time. The SEL committee met to review the results shared by Connie and Ellen and as a result decided on a range of possible ideas and activities designed to address some of these challenges.