A theme and focus for the school year at Burnett is building COMMUNITY. In our daily words and actions, we reflect and ask ourselves the question: Am I making things better around me?  Our first Conference Day, we surveyed Grade 8 and 9 students in their Homeroom classes. Students were asked the following questions:

• What does Community mean to you?
• Do you feel connected to the Burnett Community? Why or Why not?
• What would make you feel more connected to the School Community?
• How could you contribute to making the Burnett Community a better place? What could you do?
• Who are the adults/staff at school you feel most connected to and supported by? How do they show their care?

What was learned from the survey? For the most part, students who responded felt connected to the school community because they had friends and staff who cared about them. They mentioned that even small gestures - a greeting, a smile - made them feel welcome; one response mentioned "spread kindness". These peer and adult relationships are very important to students.

Noteworthy were some of the responses to the question: What would make you feel more connected to the School Community? Several mentioned if peers were "more inclusive towards others" and "if students were more accepting of the idea of self-expression."

The purpose of the survey is to gather information to share and to find ways that we can all work as a community to make things better around us.