Year 6 'Little Gritters' Challenge Day!

Last week, four of our Year 6 children were nominated to attend a very special challenge day called 'Little Gritters'....The event was organised to help youngsters understand the importance of perseverance and know that success can be achieved with hard work, determination and 'grit'.

Nick Hind in action talking to the Year 6 pupils about perseverance, determination and 'GRIT'.

The day was set up by Nick Hind (Educational Consultant) following a series of Leadership Workshop days with the Headteachers across the Swanley Collaboration. Schools involved alongside Downsview were: Horton Kirby, Horizon, West Kingsdown, Hextable, Crockenhill, St Barts & High Firs.

It was a fantastic event - and very challenging! Pupils had four different tasks to complete that required thinking skills, teamwork and most importantly grit and determination.

Challenge 1 - Mathematical...in teams, the children had a tangram problem to solve. Using just six different shaped pieces, the teams had to create as many of the pictures they were given. The winning team managed six! Impressive!

Tangram challenge! Complex and demanding requiring carful thought and perseverance.

Challenge 2 - Languages...pupils were asked to learn some Japanese! Could the children learning to count from one to ten in Japanese in just ten minutes? Answer - YES!

Challenge 3 - Design & Construction...back in their teams, children had to design and build the tallest tower using just two packets of dried spaghetti. How tall could they make the tower? How would they allocate jobs? How well would they communicate?

Building a tower of spaghetti was tricky! It required teamwork and a great deal of determination.

Challenge 4 - Physical...in the afternoon, the pupils were introduced to Karina - a professional dancer on many of the West End stage shows. Together, they learnt a dance routine to Abba's Mamma Mia. The dance moves were complex and it was pretty fast too. Very challenging indeed!

Karina putting the Year 6 pupils through their paces....5, 6, 7, 8!

Throughout the day, all of the pupils in attendance (not just the Downsview children!) showed high levels of perseverance, determination and grit! Not only was it highly enjoyable, but very though provoking too...perseverance is a key quality to possess and I hope that the children are able to remember this exciting day and the key messages it was trying to deliver.

Much thanks must go to the following people for making the event such a success:

• The General Manager at the Great Danes Mercure Hotel in Maidstone for hosting the event
• The Watersports Academy (www.the watersportsacademy.com) for their sponsorship
• Karina Hind - professional dancer
• Nick Hind - Educational Consultant

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again! Or, as Albert Einstein once said...

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."