One of the most important lessons in life is how to set and achieve goals. From short-term to long-term, personal or career-based, this lesson follows one through life.

John Small Elementary School celebrated fifth-graders’ achievements toward set goals with a Wright Flight graduation ceremony Monday morning.

Wright Flight is an aviation-based program in which students must improve their lowest grade by one letter, or complete a project, and score at least 85 percent on an aviation exam to be eligible to graduate. The program places a high emphasis on goal setting, as students are treated to a Fly Day at Washington-Warren Airport if these goals are met.

“The most important aspect of the program is the idea of setting a goal and persevering until you reach that goal,” Principal Betty Jane Green said. “We hope that learning goal setting as fifth-grade students will set the tone for students as they progress through life.”

Teacher Sherrie Swain said about 235 fifth-graders graduated from the program, and for her, seeing a high number speaks to the success of Wright Flight.

“It makes us very proud to see that they’ve met their goal, mostly because it’s not easy to meet the Wright Flight goal,” Swain said. “They work hard and what we’re seeing is the end result. … They were able to strive for and accomplish their goal.”

Those attending the graduation also heard from Jazier Boyd, a rising sophomore at Beaufort County Early College High School who attributes a lot of his success to what he learned during his time in the program.

Swain said Boyd has a new outlook on life since participating in Wright Flight, and is one of the “great successes.”

“We try to teach them that, even though the circumstances may not be the very best, that they can rise above their circumstances,” she said.

Eligible students were also entered into a raffle for a chance to win kites and bicycles — two of the items the Wright brothers used when attempting flight.

John Small fifth-graders learned they can reach for the stars — all that’s needed is a little perseverance and the willpower to strive for a goal no matter the circumstance.

“We all have dreams or things we aspire to be,” Swain said. “In life, you have to be able to set goals in order to be successful.”