Jefferson students learn confidence, perseverance at Dress Your Best day
By Ashley Wage
Community journalist
STEVENS POINT — Students at Jefferson Elementary paired their quarterly assembly with “Dress Your Best” day last week, welcoming members of the Stevens Point Area Senior High girls basketball team for a visit focused on confidence, self-expression, and perseverance.
Before the Jan. 30 assembly, the lesson began in the cafeteria.
High school players sat with students during lunch with no formal agenda, chatting, laughing, and handing out high fives. One student proudly showed off a doctor’s coat, another wore a favorite athlete’s jersey, while others arrived in tucked-in shirts and dresses.
“Our goal is really just to make their day,” said Jada Seubert, 17, a junior on the SPASH girls basketball team. “We come for their lunch and just talk to them about anything they want to talk about.”
For some players, the visit was their first.
“This was my first year coming,” said Leah Awe, 15. “I wanted to see what all the excitement was about after hearing my teammates talk about it from last year.”
Principal Molly Demrow said the event grew from Jefferson’s ongoing effort to strengthen school culture and celebrate student growth.
“The idea grew from our school’s ongoing commitment to celebrating student growth, building positive school culture, and creating meaningful shared experiences for students and staff,” Demrow said. Students and staff were encouraged to wear whatever made them feel confident, proud and ready to learn.
For Harper Robinson, 18, the visit carried a personal connection.
“I wanted to come back to Jefferson, where I was a student,” Robinson said. “It kind of feels like a full-circle moment.”
Later, students gathered in the gymnasium, where a red carpet entrance added a celebratory touch before the basketball team shared stories about mistakes, missed shots, and pushing through losses.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without some of the losses,” team captain Lydia Johnson said. “Those losses became opportunities to learn and move forward together as a team.”
Another player told students, “Every single player here, every single teacher, every adult you see, we all make mistakes. We miss shots. We mess up. And that’s OK.”
Johnson said the lesson applies beyond sports.
“You don’t need basketball to practice perseverance,” she said. “You can use it when you’re learning to read, and the words are hard, or when you’re struggling with math and ask for help instead of giving up.”
The message reinforced Jefferson’s SOAR mantra — safety, ownership, attitude, and respect — and left students with a simple takeaway: confidence grows through effort and setbacks.
As the assembly ended, students walked the red carpet one last time, some shy, others beaming, each showing what “Dress Your Best” meant in their own way.