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

Mackenzie Gill can identify every student in her kindergarten class just by the sound of their voice — a feat that earned her millions of views on social media, and a shout out on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

A video shows Gill sitting on a chair as her 19 students line up behind her in her classroom at École St. John Paul II School in Medicine Hat, Alta.

As each kid approaches, they greet their teacher with a friendly “Hi Miss Gill!” in their little voices. Gill names every student, including a pair of identical twins.

“I think it has a lot to do with my connection with my students for sure, getting to know their personalities and things that they say,” Gill told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. 

“And maybe a little bit of beginner’s luck as well.”

The video was the brainchild of the communications team at the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education, and is based on similar videos of other teachers trying the same challenge. The school board says it’s been viewed 86 million times across multiple platforms since it was first posted in January. 

“Today, we celebrate not just the power of a viral video, but the heart and dedication of incredible educators like Miss Gill who inspire, nurture, and create moments that truly matter,” Principal Robert Dumanowski said in a press release.

“The kindness and joy our kindergarten teacher shares with her students has sparked a ripple effect, reminding us all of the extraordinary impact of everyday moments.”

When she pitched the idea to her students, Gill says they immediately understood the assignment.

“They loved the idea. They were right in on it. They weren’t confused. They stood behind me and they were just, they had so much fun with it,” she said.

“The second the camera turned off they were all, like yelling and we were so excited and, ‘Miss Gill did it! Miss Gill did it!’ It was quite a little moment there.”

The video caught the attention of the producers at Jimmy Kimmel Live, who reached out to Gill over the Easter holidays asking if the show could feature the clip on the late-night show. 

“At first I thought it wasn’t real. I thought this was a scam,” Gill said. “But, no. It certainly was real, and we got in contact right when school started back up and reached out to parents for consent, and everything went really smoothly.”

She got another email on Tuesday, informing her the episode would be airing that night. 

A video on the show’s social media channels shows Kimmel throwing to a clip of the video, then commending Gill on a job well done.

“I thought it would be fun to do that here with some of my staff at the show,” he says afterwards. “We’ve been working together for a long time. More than just a year.”

It then cuts to a comedic skit in which Kimmel sits at his desk while staff line up behind him, saying “Hi Jimmy!” He fails to correctly identify any of them, even his own son, who says, “Hi Dad!”.

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

“They thought it was pretty funny. They were laughing,” she said. 

“We have four more days left of kindergarten, so it’s a little bittersweet. It’s kind of great timing, though, for it to air on TV to kind of have the final hurrah. But yeah, they loved to see it today.”

Gill has only been a teacher for a couple years, but says it’s a career that’s been a long time in the making.

“I have wanted to be a teacher since I was, I want to say, probably seven years old. It’s just been something that I’ve never really changed my mind about,” she said. 

“I just always have wanted to help people — kids especially.”