Graland Today

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TODAY

APRIL-JUNE 2016

Supporting Growth and Potential By Elky Dorman, Chair of the Student Support Team

The purpose of Graland’s Student Support Team is to ensure every student has the resources and instruction to achieve his or her intellectual goals. While a Student Support Team (SST) has existed at Graland for a number of years, today the support is more specialized than ever. Learning differences affect a person’s ability to receive, store, process, retrieve or communicate information. In recent years, the number of students experiencing learning differences has steadily increased; some reports say up to 20 percent of American schoolchildren are affected. Graland has responded by continued on page 12

Is There a Rulebook for Leadership? By Josh Cobb, Head of Middle School

Last Veterans’ Day, three veterans visited my eighth grade leadership seminar to share details about their military experiences. During the discussion, they quickly disproved the misperception that the rigid hierarchy of the military simplifies leadership. The “drill sergeant” model does not encompass the complicated nature of leading military initiatives in the 21st century. In fact, military leaders need to be able to make sound and timely decisions when the path to success is not formulaic. There is no strict rulebook for effective leadership.

Understanding the Nature of Leadership This year, we instigated a new eighth-grade-only elective period on C day afternoons. I volunteered to teach a leadership class during that time. The purpose of the class was simply to answer the broad question: “What does it mean to lead?” This question provoked a variety of responses because leadership takes many forms. For this class, I did not want to limit the possible answers by completing the sentence, “Leadership is…” Through a process of inquiry and reflection, I wanted the students

▶ Inside this Issue:

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Musician Shares Talent Page 4

Wyatt Terry Student Filmmakers 9 Changes Lives Alumna Profile 11 Page 7 Junior Eagle 13

GOGRALAND


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