GV students celebrate determination
May 27—ORWELL — Determination is a learned behavior that the Grand Valley Local Schools are trying to bring forth in the lives of their students.
Getting Results in Tough Times (GRITT) was created at the start of the 2021-22 school year with the intent of helping students work through challenges that sometimes lead to failure, administrators said at the time.
"It is really a celebration day," said Grand Valley High School Principal Roberta Cozad on Wednesday during the schools-wide event. She said the program also focused on students putting their phones away and developing relationships.
On Wednesday the high school students participated in a variety of games and middle school students attempted to beat the Guinness Book of World Records for single-handed high-fives.
Cozad said each month there was a quality the whole school system focused on in an attempt to help students realize people often fail on the first attempt at a task or endeavor, but through perseverance can be turned around into success.
The program will continue but there will be some changes, Cozad said. She said the monthly "GRITT" Days were followed by a half day off for students and a half day teacher inservice.
Cozad said the half days will not be in effect next year but the program will continue and decisions on what it will look like in the fall will be made this summer.
As the year progressed teachers and administrators tried to respond to students' requests for more active events instead of just listening to a teacher or a video, Cozad said.
She said the students responded well to speakers throughout the year.
Morgan Winter, a freshman at Grand Valley High School, said she learned you have to have great determination to get through life's challenges.
Grand Valley Middle School Principal Haxhiu Gjergj said he felt the program was a success. He said the emphasis on "trying again" is an important for students.
Gjergj said students were able to open up to teachers about challenges they face.
The attempt to break the high-five record was designed to make sure the students finished a project started early in the year, Gjergj said. He said they were involved in the process and had to stay focused through the entire process to make sure it continued through to a conclusion.
Elementary school students also coordinated projects around the monthly theme for the program, Cozad said.
