Elementary School Pre-Survey Guide

Section 1 - Background Information

This section will tell you a little bit about the Tell Them From Me (TTFM) survey and how to complete it.

Greetings, and thank you for your help in completing the Tell Them From Me survey.

•This is not a test! It is a series of questions that will help your teachers and principal learn more about you and your school.

•This survey is completely anonymous -- no one will know that your answers came from you.

•You should be open and honest when inputting your answers.

•Do not include any information that would identify you, like your name, phone number or your teacher's name.

•Make sure your answers reflect what you think -- not what your friends would answer or what you think your parents or teacher would want you to say.

You will complete this survey using a computer. Here are some things you will need to know:

This is a textbox. You may click on it, then type in it.

These are radio buttons. You will see several possible responses and may choose only one.

Once you have started the survey, YOU CANNOT GO BACK TO A PREVIOUS PAGE, so be sure to take your time.

You can skip any questions you do not know the answer to or do not want to answer.

As you move from page to page, the progress bar (at the top of the page) will show you how far you are in the survey. Notice that now we are currently 21% finished. When you are done, the number in the centre of the bar will be 100%.

Section 2 - Question Information

This section will help you be prepared to answer some of the questions you will find in the survey.

Height and Weight

At one point during the survey, you MAY be asked to enter your height and weight.

You may input your height using either centimetres or feet and inches.

You may input your weight using either kilograms or pounds.

Take a moment to estimate how tall you are and how much you weigh.

Now, you can check your estimate using a tape measure or a metre stick, and a scale. You might need some help from your teacher or a neighbour. Write your height and weight down so you do not forget them when you complete the survey.

Were you born in Canada?

One survey question asks you if you were born in Canada.

Places like Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Quebec are all in Canada.

Places like China, Australia, the U.S.A., and England are not in Canada.

Were any of you born outside of Canada?

Food and Serving SizesSeveral of the survey questions will ask you about how many servings of different kinds of food you had yesterday. Think about all the foods you ate yesterday for breakfast, lunch, supper, and snacks, and write them down. You can use what you wrote when you do the survey.

For some of these questions, a picture of a measuring cup in the bottom-right corner shows how much of that food equals one "serving".

You can imagine the cup in the picture being about the same size as a small milk carton or a juice box.

For other questions about food, sample serving sizes will be provided. Read these carefully before selecting your answer.

When we ask you about the foods that you ate yesterday, we will group them into different types of foods. Here are just a few examples of the types of foods:

VegetablesPeas, carrots, sweet corn,

broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, celery

FruitsApple, banana,

berries, fruit juice

GrainsBread, bagel, pita, rice,couscous, cereal, pasta

Types of Food

Milk ProductsMilk, yogurt, cheese

Meat or Meat AlternativesEggs, fish, lean meat, beans,

lentils, peanut butter, nuts, seeds

Sweet DrinksSoda, sports drink,slushie, milkshake

Sweets or DessertsChocolate bar, cake,

doughnut, ice cream bar

Foods with High Fat ContentPizza, hamburger, hot dog,

fries, potato chipsFor example: if you ate a hamburger yesterday you

would count it in the Foods with High Fat

Content category, NOT the grains and meat

categories.

Some of the questions on the survey ask about bullying.

Bullying is when a person tries to hurt another person and does it more than once. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social, and can also take

place over the internet with emails or text messages. The bully usually has power over the person being bullied, such as when the bully is bigger or more popular. Sometimes a group of

students will bully others.

Who lives at home with you?

Which of the following best describes who you live with?

•Two parents – both my mother and father, or two mothers or two fathers (include step-parents or other guardians)•Only my mother (or a step-mother other female guardian.•Only my father (or a step-father or other male guardian)•I live in separate homes, sometimes with my mother and sometimes with my father.•Other

Section 3 - Sample Questions

This section will show you how the survey questions will look.

Sample Question #1

How much time do you spend playing outside everyday?

Some questions ask about how much time you spend doing certain activities.

Sample Question #2

Some questions ask how often you do certain things or feel a certain way.

I play soccer.

I feel confused.

Sample Question #3

Some questions ask how much you agree or disagree about certain things.

I like going outside when it is raining.

At the end of the survey, you will have the chance to answer one or more open-ended questions in a big text box like this:

Remember, the survey is anonymous - nobody will know your responses were written by you.

Spelling is not important here. It is important that your opinion is heard. You may write as much or as little as you like, or even skip these questions if you have nothing to say.

Section 4 - Vocabulary

This section explains some of the words that may be used in the survey.

Word Meaning/Synonym

ability what someone is able to do, what they can do

accepted being liked the way you are; no need to change

confidential, anonymous secret

course class

cutting/skipping classes not going to class

encourage make someone feel good about themselves or what they did, or want to do something better

feedback on work grades; marking; telling how good it was

identify recognize

indicate say; tell; choose an answer

instructor teacher, principal, or anyone else who teaches

interest care and concern

maintain control keep control

nervous worried

organized planned out

praise telling someone when they did a good job

response answer

school property school; school grounds; school fields

statement sentence; phrase

threat, threaten someone scaring you by saying they will do something bad

Your opinion counts and will help us to improve

our school!