Grade one teacher at Father Gorman School has received the Excellence in Catholic Education Award for her Kind Kids Club.
Kaitlin McKenzie was surprised by her school with an award recognizing her passion for teaching and the kindness she promotes in her classroom.
“I was in shock, I really didn’t know how to respond. I was overwhelmed, but at the same time I was very honoured and very appreciative that they took the time to acknowledge me for something that I really care about.”
McKenzie incorporates a kindness project into her classroom everyday called the Kind Kids Club, which encourages her students to do kind acts, as well as build each other up through a compliment circle.
“At the beginning of the year, it started out as top secret and so basically everyday we would meet as a class and we would be given a challenge for that day of some kind of random act of kindness that we could do.”
Her class also received a $200 grant from Beyond Borders of Change that was used to buy tea, where the money was used to support clean drinking water in Kenya.
McKenzie will be heading to Kananaskis in April for a conference and banquet honouring her dedication.