Middle Gate Elementary School students learned about keeping their minds open to growth during assemblies at the school on October 18.

“Today, you will be learning about growth mindset,” fourth grader Graham Spencer announced at the start of the day’s first assembly.

Half of the school’s students attended the first assembly, and the younger grades attended the second assembly; both were held in the school’s gymnasium.

Students in fourth grade teacher Linda Baron’s class ran both assemblies. Students shared that growth mindset is the belief that humans are always learning and growing for the better. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset, which the students said can make people opposed to learning.

The fourth graders then taught their fellow students the meaning of the words persistence, empathy, optimism, flexibility, and resilience. Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue, Newtown Police Department School Resource Officer at Newtown Middle School Officer William Chapman, firefighter Bill McAllister, Middle Gate Principal Christopher Geissler, and Board of Education Chair Michelle Embree Ku all attended the assemblies to speak about their roles in the community. Each visitor was asked how they use one of the words in their daily lives.

Dr Rodrigue said it is important to be optimistic and to have a positive outlook in everything “you do as a leader.”

“We control what the outcome is. You all do,” said Dr Rodrigue.

After being asked how he uses persistence in his life, Officer Chapman said, “It’s very important to be persistent every single day.” When students work hard to learn something that may be difficult for them, Officer Chapman said, they can inspire others to also work hard.

As a fire prevention and training officer with Botsford Fire Rescue, Mr McAllister said resilience means being able to recover quickly in life.

“It’s like being elastic,” he shared.

Mr Geissler said he uses empathy in his relationships with everyone in the school. He told the students it is important to be empathetic because it will lead to a better life for the students and others.

Speaking to her role as the chair of a seven-member school board, Ms Ku told the students she knows it can be hard for a group of people to come to the same conclusion. The ability to be flexible will help the students listen to the opinions of others.

“We have to be flexible, know that there is more than one right way and that we can adapt,” said Ms Ku.

Students then took turns asking the visitors questions as a group: The visitors had to guess whether a statement the student said was a representation of a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. They held up yellow smiling faces to indicate a growth mindset, and they held up yellow frowning faces to indicate a fixed mindset.

The first assembly ended with all of the students and educators dancing to Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy.”