The student leaders in the secondary department at Saltus Grammar School have chosen the theme of Perseverance for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Ms Dowdell’s 6L class thought this would be the perfect theme for the first Upper Primary class assembly of the year.

The dictionary says perseverance means “a steady will to complete a task in spite of any obstacles before you.”

The students in 6L explained this means: “staying with the task and not giving up; showing commitment, pride and a positive attitude in completing tasks; trying again ... and again ... again; and being patient and willing to work hard”.

They suggested that by changing your words, you can change your mindset, and by changing your mindset, you will persevere!

The students gave examples of individuals who persevered:

Walt Disney was fired from his first job because he lacked creativity and imagination.

Thomas Edison discovered over 1,000 ways how NOT to light a lightbulb before he made his remarkable discovery that has changed our world.

JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, had her book rejected twelve times before it was published.

And Jessica Lewis, who attended the Saltus Graduate Years programme and used her wheelchair to go between classes, won a gold medal in the T53 100 metres from the Parapan Am Games in Toronto in August, where she set a world record.