Learning Specialist News

Persistence, Grit & Stamina

As winter sets in around us, the cold - and the rain - and the wind - and the dark can all start to creep into our motivation. I love to run and attend my running club on Tuesday evening. In the summer, it’s a beautiful time as the golden hour descends, it cools just a touch and I ride home energised and happy. In winter, it’s dark before we even begin, the wind tries to blow me off my bike and I can see my breath in the air. Some weeks, the motivation is not there, so I have to dig deep and do some serious talk to find my persistence, grit and stamina. However, I always feel better for going and glad that I put the hard yards in. 

Persistence, grit and stamina are important life-long lessons that we want our students to have. These skills will provide support in all areas of life and will carry into adulthood, but they start now. While they are similar terms, they are not synonymous and each offers something different and important. 

Persistence is the ability to keep going, even in the face of adversity and obstacles. It’s not giving up, when it feels too hard and having multiple strategies to be able to pivot to, allowing a task to be completed successfully. Persistence is important for our students to develop, as it shows them they are capable of doing hard things. When students learn to problem solve, they are building their independence and recognising that they have the power. 

Alternatively, grit is the ability to keep going even in hard situations and for a long period of time. It might be playing a football game in the rain or practicing maths skills over and over again. Grit is about courage and resolve and demonstrates someone’s strength of character. Students who have grit, work strenuously towards challenges over a long time. They keep working on their goals, even if in the moment they are finding it hard. Students who are able to set a long term goal and chip away at its progress, day after day, learn that life is not about easy wins. If you want something you have to work for it. 

Finally stamina, the ability to sustain physical and mental effort, is the cornerstone for improvement. In our world of distracting phones, YouTube shorts, iPads, Netflix, Minecraft and social media, now more than ever we need to support students to develop their sustained attention. Stamina allows students to read longer and more complex texts, engage in interesting debates, solve real-life math problems, conduct experiments and write essays. 

If we want to develop independent, strong humans who take responsible risks and tackle challenges, we need to provide opportunities to practice the skills of persistence, grit and stamina. There are lots of ways that we can help children develop these skills and the holidays provide a great basis for practicing in non-academic contexts. Encourage your child to read for at least half an hour a day or to help out with the cooking - and even the cleaning up! Engage in a craft activity or draw for a sustained period of time. Challenge yourself outdoors to build stamina through a long walk, run or bike ride. Create your own book, with stories and pictures. By building persistence, grit and stamina our students will see that they are capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to! 

Melanie

Melanie Davis 

Learning Specialist 

Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge

The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and South Melbourne Park Primary School is excited to be taking part!

The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 and aims to help young readers develop a lifelong love of reading. 

It is not a competition; it is a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 5 September 2025.

Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.

All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.

This year, the Challenge is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the theme ‘20 years of words and wonder’ and a year of special activities. For details, follow the Victorian Premiers' Reading Challenge Facebook.

Since it began in 2005, more than 4.5 million young readers have taken part and together read more than 63 million books!

To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge 

You can also contact our school’s Challenge coordinator at Johanne Abbott, via compass with any questions.

Happy reading!