Merriam-Webster defines resilience as “the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” While this is the actual definition, it doesn’t take into account what else is actually entailed by one who is resilient.  People who can bounce back from mistakes and successfully adjust to change have a different mindset.  They know that they have the power to do what is needed to not only take what life throws at them but also to use that as an opportunity to grow, learn and succeed.

This week students and teachers at PNA were given the opportunity to exercise their resiliency.  Due to a sharing of common spaces with an outside group, some classes were temporarily relocated to other rooms.  Teachers and students were both put to the test to put their growth mindsets to work.  When a challenge popped up, whether it was where to eat lunch, how to send groups of kids to where they needed to go, or how to access things that we were used to having right at our fingertips in our own classrooms, critical thinking, problem solving and a positive attitude rose above the challenge.  These solutions came from not only the teachers but the students as well.
Kindergarten took advantage of having an extra large room and utilized the space for their endangered animal museum.

Second grade took advantage of being in the MS science lab to do some fun science experiments.

And everyone pitched in somewhere – helping to man the front doors, offer to take extra duties, help to move furniture and classroom supplies, revamping lesson plans to utilize the spaces we were able to go, and more.
Since we as a school practice and expect this growth mindset, it has become second nature to not only the staff but the students as well to meet each challenge head-on with the knowledge that it’s ok to make mistakes or deal with challenges and that we are going to come out better for it.