Close Menu
  • Home
  • What’s On
    • Events
    • Add an Event
    • Major Event
    • School Holiday Guide
  • Things To Do
    • Free Activities
      • Coastal Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
      • Picnic Spots
      • Playgrounds
      • Pram Walks
      • Rainy Day Activities
      • Walks and Bike Rides
    • Places to Visit
      • Attractions
      • Day Trips Away From The Peninsula
      • Galleries & Libraries
      • Historical
      • Markets
      • Tourism Centres
    • Places to Eat
      • Cafes
      • Restaurants
      • Wineries
    • Places To Stay
      • Accommodation
    • Shopping
      • Baby Goods – Sale & Hire
      • Child Friendly Shops
      • Made on the Peninsula
      • Online
      • Retail
    • At Home
      • Craft
      • Games
      • Recipes
  • Classes & Groups
    • Creative
      • Art and Craft
    • Playgroups
      • Central and Northern Peninsula
      • Southern Peninsula
      • Western Port
    • Sports
      • Fitness
      • Pre School Sports
      • Sports Classes and Tuition
  • Services
    • Health & Wellbeing
      • Dental
      • Health Care Practitioners
      • Hospitals
      • Support Groups
    • Pregnancy & Baby
      • Prenatal
        • Pre Natal Care/Birth Support
        • Pre Natal Fitness & Wellbeing
        • Maternal Health Centres
        • Maternity Products
      • PostNatal
        • Maternal Health Centres
        • Post Natal Support & Wellbeing
    • Special Needs
      • Activities for Special Needs
      • Support for Special Needs
      • Therapists for Special Needs
    • Education & Childcare
      • Daycare
      • Kindergartens
      • Schools
    • Finance
      • Finance
    • Photography
      • Photography
    • Child Safety & Wellbeing
      • Child Safety/First Aid
      • Emergency Numbers
  • Articles
    • Education
    • Finances
    • Health
    • Parenting Articles
    • Places to Eat
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Reviews
    • Member Questions
  • Parties
    • Celebrate – Party Ideas
    • Entertainment
    • Suppliers
    • Venues
  • Giveaways
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Giveaways
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Thursday, May 29
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Testimonials
  • Giveaways
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
Peninsula Kids
  • Home
  • What’s On
    • Events
    • Add an Event
    • Major Event
    • School Holiday Guide
  • Things To Do
    • Free Activities
      • Coastal Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
      • Picnic Spots
      • Playgrounds
      • Pram Walks
      • Rainy Day Activities
      • Walks and Bike Rides
    • Places to Visit
      • Attractions
      • Day Trips Away From The Peninsula
      • Galleries & Libraries
      • Historical
      • Markets
      • Tourism Centres
    • Places to Eat
      • Cafes
      • Restaurants
      • Wineries
    • Places To Stay
      • Accommodation
    • Shopping
      • Baby Goods – Sale & Hire
      • Child Friendly Shops
      • Made on the Peninsula
      • Online
      • Retail
    • At Home
      • Craft
      • Games
      • Recipes
  • Classes & Groups
    • Creative
      • Art and Craft
    • Playgroups
      • Central and Northern Peninsula
      • Southern Peninsula
      • Western Port
    • Sports
      • Fitness
      • Pre School Sports
      • Sports Classes and Tuition
  • Services
    • Health & Wellbeing
      • Dental
      • Health Care Practitioners
      • Hospitals
      • Support Groups
    • Pregnancy & Baby
      • Prenatal
        • Pre Natal Care/Birth Support
        • Pre Natal Fitness & Wellbeing
        • Maternal Health Centres
        • Maternity Products
      • PostNatal
        • Maternal Health Centres
        • Post Natal Support & Wellbeing
    • Special Needs
      • Activities for Special Needs
      • Support for Special Needs
      • Therapists for Special Needs
    • Education & Childcare
      • Daycare
      • Kindergartens
      • Schools
    • Finance
      • Finance
    • Photography
      • Photography
    • Child Safety & Wellbeing
      • Child Safety/First Aid
      • Emergency Numbers
  • Articles
    • Education
    • Finances
    • Health
    • Parenting Articles
    • Places to Eat
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Reviews
    • Member Questions
  • Parties
    • Celebrate – Party Ideas
    • Entertainment
    • Suppliers
    • Venues
  • Giveaways
Peninsula Kids
Home»Education»The catalyst to confidence
Education

The catalyst to confidence

Updated:January 24, 20233 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
By Melissa Schoorman 

In a world where children are flooded with unfiltered information and seek instantaneous gratification from social media and digital technologies, it is pertinent to remind our children that patience and persistence are crucial to success and to confidence. 

For tween and teen girls, we know confidence levels can drop by up to 30% between the ages of 8 to 14. During these pivotal years, girls’ emotional intelligence levels develop rapidly, allowing them to become more observant and critical of themselves and others.

They hone in on biological and societal signals that overwhelmingly deduce that they should be careful, strive for perfection and avoid risks. 

With confidence closely related to self-esteem, resilience and growth, educators and parents should strive to surround girls with opportunities and situations that allow them to feel both comfortable and challenged. 

John F Kennedy once said, “Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try”. And while some believe that not all children can be confident at a young age, we need to shift our definition to ensure we are not simply referring to confidence being outward and extroverted. Developing confidence should be centered on one’s inner confidence and self belief, and can be perpetuated by encouraging students to take healthy risks, lean into new challenges, embrace unfamiliar opportunities and rebound and recalibrate when things go wrong. After all, we all must accept that it is impossible to build confidence by only repeating what we know we are already good at, or worse, trying nothing new at all. 

Within a school environment, educators nurture a variety of ways for every student to build their confidence. These include making eye contact, not shying away from conversations with adults and older students, being able to accept compliments and acknowledgements with pride and presenting in front of their peers. For our students, especially young girls, we provide opportunities where they defer less to “opting out” or “freezing” due to their fear of failure and judgement. Instead, they learn to realise and appreciate that the most rewarding things in life are often the most difficult. 

The ultimate risk, especially for young girls, is the risk of being their authentic selves. With a girl’s brain more prone to worry and able to anticipate consequences, it can be counterintuitive to let their guard down. Helping students understand how they learn whilst identifying the crucial role of their amygdala (a component of the limbic system in the brain which influences and controls emotions) ensures students become familiar with the flight or fight response and appreciate that rehearsal, consolidation and practice prepares them for success. Participating in a broad range of extra-curricular activities – being part of a netball team, participating in a debate, singing in a choir, learning how to cook, getting involved in a volunteer group – not only helps girls acquire new skills but also helps them find their interests and unlock their true potential. 

Ultimately, it is the creation of a positive outlook, patience and persistence backed with ample opportunity that allows our children to endure failure, navigate unfamiliar territory and grow in confidence as a learner and, more importantly, as a human.


Melissa is the head of Wardle House and Deputy Principal at Toorak College. 

Peninsula Kids – Winter 2021

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Calendar
Today
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
7:00 PM - Carnivale Party at Sk8house
10
11
11:00 AM - Mother's Day at Sk8house - MUM SKATES FOR FREE!!
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
4:00 PM - Sk8house Sensory Sessions
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
6:00 PM - FLURO NIGHT at Sk8house – Let’s Glow!
1
Carnivale Party at Sk8house
09 May
May 9, 2025    
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sk8house
  • Family Activity
Get ready to roll into a fabulous night full of colour, music and non-stop fun! The Sk8house Carnivale Party will be a magical night of vibrant vibes, [...]
More Info
Mother's Day at Sk8house - MUM SKATES FOR FREE!!
11 May
May 11, 2025    
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sk8house
  • Family Activity
  • Mother's Day
💐 Celebrate Mum on Wheels this Mother’s Day at Sk8house! 💖 This Sunday, 11th May, we’re rolling out the love for all the amazing mums, [...]
More Info
Sk8house Sensory Sessions
Sk8house Sensory Sessions
May 20, 2025    
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Sk8house
  • Workshop/Class
The Sk8house Sensory Sessions aim to be a calm, welcoming space for skaters of all abilities to roll their way — with reduced noise, gentle [...]
More Info
FLURO NIGHT at Sk8house – Let’s Glow!
31 May
May 31, 2025    
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Sk8house
Get ready for a night of neon, music and non-stop fun at Sk8house’s FLURO NIGHT! We’re turning down the lights and turning up the fluro [...]
More Info
Events on May 9, 2025
09 May
Carnivale Party at Sk8house
9 May 25
Carrum Downs
Events on May 11, 2025
11 May
Mother's Day at Sk8house - MUM SKATES FOR FREE!!
11 May 25
Carrum Downs
Events on May 20, 2025
Sk8house Sensory Sessions
Sk8house Sensory Sessions
20 May 25
Carrum Downs
Events on May 31, 2025
31 May
FLURO NIGHT at Sk8house – Let’s Glow!
31 May 25
Carrum Downs
Visit Our Advertisers
ABOUT

Established in 2006, Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG) is a locally owned and operated, independent media company.

MPNG publishes two glossy magazines: Peninsula Essence and Peninsula Kids.

MPNG also publishes five weekly community newspapers: the Western Port News, Mornington News, Southern Peninsula News, Frankston Times and Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News.

ADVERTISE WITH US

Instagram
#thinkingofyou
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
#thinkingofyou
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
1/9
Grab your cameras and hot choccies! Neon Fields returns to glow up Frankston!
When the sun goes down it is time to gather family and friends and venture into Neon Fields. Beauty Park will once again be transformed into a colourful fantasy world where you’re invited to interact and play among the lights during this free event!
——————————————————————————
#southsidefestival #neonfields #frankston #beautypark #visitfrankston #whatson #whatsonthisweekend #thingstodo #freeevent #photoops #lovepeninsulakids 
@southsidefestivalfrankston
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
Grab your cameras and hot choccies! Neon Fields returns to glow up Frankston! When the sun goes down it is time to gather family and friends and venture into Neon Fields. Beauty Park will once again be transformed into a colourful fantasy world where you’re invited to interact and play among the lights during this free event! —————————————————————————— #southsidefestival #neonfields #frankston #beautypark #visitfrankston #whatson #whatsonthisweekend #thingstodo #freeevent #photoops #lovepeninsulakids @southsidefestivalfrankston
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
2/9
In July, Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg, Senior Neurologist at The RCH Foundation, will embark on a remarkable solo flight around Australia to raise $4.5 million for life-changing treatments for children with rare and complex conditions.

Called Fly for the Kids, this one-of-a-kind fundraiser will help establish dedicated spaces, resources, and specialist staff at the RCH, making advanced therapies — including revolutionary gene therapy — more accessible to sick children across Australia.

Andrew’s journey will see him revisit patients whose lives have been transformed by advanced therapies, putting real faces and stories to the incredible impact of this innovation in paediatric healthcare.

You can learn more about the campaign here: https://flyforthekids.org.au 

@rch.foundation
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
In July, Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg, Senior Neurologist at The RCH Foundation, will embark on a remarkable solo flight around Australia to raise $4.5 million for life-changing treatments for children with rare and complex conditions. Called Fly for the Kids, this one-of-a-kind fundraiser will help establish dedicated spaces, resources, and specialist staff at the RCH, making advanced therapies — including revolutionary gene therapy — more accessible to sick children across Australia. Andrew’s journey will see him revisit patients whose lives have been transformed by advanced therapies, putting real faces and stories to the incredible impact of this innovation in paediatric healthcare. You can learn more about the campaign here: https://flyforthekids.org.au @rch.foundation
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/9
Breast Cancer Trials, ANZ’s largest oncology research group, is holding a ‘matched giving day’ on Thursday, 8th May where – for 24 hours only, donations from the public will be matched dollar for dollar by a group of generous supporters. Every dollar raised will be doubled to help fund clinical breast cancer research.

How can people get involved:
Donate online at breastcancertrials.org.au/givingday (this will go live On Thursday 8th May)
Donate by calling 1800 423 444
Follow Breast Cancer Trials on socials and share their own stories, thanks and memories of their mums and mother-figures.

@breastcancertrials
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
Breast Cancer Trials, ANZ’s largest oncology research group, is holding a ‘matched giving day’ on Thursday, 8th May where – for 24 hours only, donations from the public will be matched dollar for dollar by a group of generous supporters. Every dollar raised will be doubled to help fund clinical breast cancer research. How can people get involved: Donate online at breastcancertrials.org.au/givingday (this will go live On Thursday 8th May) Donate by calling 1800 423 444 Follow Breast Cancer Trials on socials and share their own stories, thanks and memories of their mums and mother-figures. @breastcancertrials
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/9
Cute Mother's Day craft to do with the kids for mum!

https://peninsulakids.com.au/spiral-paper-flowers/

#mothersday #crat #craftingwithkids #kidslovecraft #homemadegifts
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
Cute Mother's Day craft to do with the kids for mum! https://peninsulakids.com.au/spiral-paper-flowers/ #mothersday #crat #craftingwithkids #kidslovecraft #homemadegifts
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/9
One of my fave parts of Mother's Day, (other than the at-home day spa), is receiving these questionnaires full of funny answers, (and sometimes some hard truths), from my kids.

https://peninsulakids.com.au/craft-whats-the-best-thing-about-your-mum/
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
One of my fave parts of Mother's Day, (other than the at-home day spa), is receiving these questionnaires full of funny answers, (and sometimes some hard truths), from my kids. https://peninsulakids.com.au/craft-whats-the-best-thing-about-your-mum/
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
6/9
Today we received a gorgeous entry for our colouring in competition from a 75 year-old reader of Peninsula Kids magazine in the actual MAIL! 💌

This has made my day so much that I may have to pay the entrant a visit with a special prize for all their effort and for giving me a huge smile on a Monday!

How’s that artwork?!?!?! 🤩

Have you sent your entry in? 
IG: Use Linktree in bio to download a copy.
FB: check out pinned/featured post. 🧑‍🎨 
@chocolate.grove 
——————————————————————————
#peninsulakids #peninsulakidsmagazine #colouringin #colouringincompetition #chocolate #chocolatehamper
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
Today we received a gorgeous entry for our colouring in competition from a 75 year-old reader of Peninsula Kids magazine in the actual MAIL! 💌 This has made my day so much that I may have to pay the entrant a visit with a special prize for all their effort and for giving me a huge smile on a Monday! How’s that artwork?!?!?! 🤩 Have you sent your entry in? IG: Use Linktree in bio to download a copy. FB: check out pinned/featured post. 🧑‍🎨 @chocolate.grove —————————————————————————— #peninsulakids #peninsulakidsmagazine #colouringin #colouringincompetition #chocolate #chocolatehamper
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
7/9
#anzacday #lestweforget
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
#anzacday #lestweforget
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
8/9
The piggest news is about to drop! 🐷
Be among the first to hear the squeal-worthy scoop, in just a few days time!
Knock! Knock! Who’s there?

Do you think Peppa and George will have a baby brother or sister? Drop your guess in the comments below!

#expectingPigChanges #PeppaPigNewBaby #BigSister #BigBrother 

@officialpeppapig
mornpenkids
mornpenkids
•
Follow
The piggest news is about to drop! 🐷 Be among the first to hear the squeal-worthy scoop, in just a few days time! Knock! Knock! Who’s there? Do you think Peppa and George will have a baby brother or sister? Drop your guess in the comments below! #expectingPigChanges #PeppaPigNewBaby #BigSister #BigBrother @officialpeppapig
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
9/9
View on Instagram
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Stay In The Know

Sign up to our free newsletter and receive weekly updates on events and things to do with kids on the Mornington Peninsula.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
© 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.