Monthly Character Focus

At Greenwood, we focus on a specific character trait each month to help our students grow as kind, caring, and responsible members of our community.

Some of the characters that we recognized in 2025 include: 

• September: Respect – Seeing value in all people and things and treating them with care.
• October: Responsibility – Taking action and understanding the impact of our choices.
• November: Gratitude – Choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives.
• December: Empathy – Understanding and connecting to other people’s feelings.

January Monthly Character Focus: Perseverance

This month, our focus is Perseverance — pushing yourself to work through challenges and obstacles. Perseverance helps students keep going when learning feels difficult, try new strategies when something doesn’t work the first time, and believe in their ability to grow. Throughout January, students will explore what perseverance looks, sound , and feels like!

Practicing Perseverance at Home

Below are a few simple ways you can support perseverance at home this month:

• 💬 Conversation Starters
  • What does perseverance mean in your own words?
  • Can you share something that felt hard but you kept working on?
  • What do you do when you make a mistake?
  • Who is someone you admire because they doesn’t give up?
• 🏡 Family Activities
  • Effort Talk: When your student is working on something tricky, name the effort instead of the outcome. For example: “I noticed you kept trying even when it was hard—that’s perseverance.”
  • Try-It-Again Challenge: Pick one small family goal for the week (a puzzle, a new recipe, a book series, or a chore routine) and talk about how it feels to stick with it.
  • Reading for Resilience: While reading or watching a story, pause and ask, “What obstacle is this character facing?” and “What keeps them going?”
  • Perseverance Walk: Take a walk together and talk about something each person is working hard on right now. Share what’s challenging and what helps you keep going.