Medicine Hat teacher IDs all her kindergarten students by voice only — even the twins

Sheena Goodyear · CBC Radio

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 5:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Mackenzie Gill tin place each pupil successful her kindergarten people conscionable by the dependable of their dependable — a feat that earned her millions of views connected societal media, and a outcry retired on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

A video shows Gill sitting connected a seat arsenic her 19 students enactment up down her successful her schoolroom astatine École St. John Paul II School successful Medicine Hat, Alta.

As each kid approaches, they greet their teacher with a affable "Hi Miss Gill!" successful their small voices. Gill names each student, including a brace of identical twins.

"I deliberation it has a batch to bash with my transportation with my students for sure, getting to cognize their personalities and things that they say," Gill told As It Happens big Nil Köksal. 

"And possibly a small spot of beginner's luck arsenic well."

'Miss Gill did it! Miss Gill did it!'

The video was the brainchild of the communications squad astatine the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education, and is based connected akin videos of different teachers trying the aforesaid challenge. The schoolhouse committee says it's been viewed 86 cardinal times crossed aggregate platforms since it was archetypal posted successful January. 

"Today, we observe not conscionable the powerfulness of a viral video, but the bosom and dedication of unthinkable educators similar Miss Gill who inspire, nurture, and make moments that genuinely matter," Principal Robert Dumanowski said successful a property release.

"The kindness and joyousness our kindergarten teacher shares with her students has sparked a ripple effect, reminding america each of the bonzer interaction of mundane moments."

WATCH | Alberta teacher truly knows her class:

When she pitched the thought to her students, Gill says they instantly understood the assignment.

"They loved the idea. They were close successful connected it. They weren't confused. They stood down maine and they were just, they had truthful overmuch amusive with it," she said.

"The 2nd the camera turned disconnected they were all, similar yelling and we were truthful excited and, 'Miss Gill did it! Miss Gill did it!' It was rather a small infinitesimal there."

A Jimmy Kimmel surprise

The video caught the attraction of the producers astatine Jimmy Kimmel Live, who reached retired to Gill implicit the Easter holidays asking if the amusement could diagnostic the clip connected the late-night show. 

"At archetypal I thought it wasn't real. I thought this was a scam," Gill said. "But, no. It surely was real, and we got successful interaction close erstwhile schoolhouse started backmost up and reached retired to parents for consent, and everything went truly smoothly."

She got different email connected Tuesday, informing her the occurrence would beryllium airing that night. 

WATCH | Alberta teacher inspires Jimmy Kimmel bit:

A video connected the show's societal media channels shows Kimmel throwing to a clip of the video, past commending Gill connected a occupation good done.

"I thought it would beryllium amusive to bash that present with immoderate of my unit astatine the show," helium says afterwards. "We've been moving unneurotic for a agelong time. More than conscionable a year."

It past cuts to a comedic skit successful which Kimmel sits astatine his table while staff enactment up down him, saying "Hi Jimmy!" He fails to correctly place immoderate of them, adjacent his ain son, who says, "Hi Dad!".

Gill showed the video to her students connected Wednesday, and says they loved it.

"They thought it was beauteous funny. They were laughing," she said. 

"We person 4 much days near of kindergarten, truthful it's a small bittersweet. It's benignant of large timing, though, for it to aerial connected TV to benignant of person the last hurrah. But yeah, they loved to spot it today."

Gill has lone been a teacher for a mates years, but says it's a vocation that's been a agelong clip successful the making.

"I person wanted to beryllium a teacher since I was, I privation to say, astir apt 7 years old. It's conscionable been thing that I've ne'er truly changed my caput about," she said. 

"I conscionable ever person wanted to assistance radical — kids especially."