Leadership and Communication « Whole Child Development
Leadership
Multi-age classrooms offer opportunities for all MHS students from Hawks (Kindergarten) through middle school to develop and hone their leadership skills.
Primary Classes
The Hawks take leadership roles in class community service projects, class plays, in helping younger students with their work, and in publishing a Hawk newspaper.
Lower Elementary
Students have leadership roles in community service projects, their work with younger buddies, and in making presentations to peers and parents. Beginning in second grade, classes send an elected representative to Student Council.
Upper Elementary
Fifth graders participate in a year-long leadership training forum that prepares them to serve as student leaders during their week at Camp Gualala. At Gualala they participate in a ropes course leadership program, lead the campfires and help resolve student issues.
Middle School
Students lead school-wide service projects, organize their activities with their classroom buddies, and train to be peer conflict resolution specialists on the playground. All students have opportunities to learn leadership skills in multiple settings including academic projects that are presented in public forums. Eighth graders participate in a Fall leadership retreat where they learn advanced skills and determine their leadership goals and projects for the year.
Classroom Buddy Program
Beginning in third grade, all classrooms are paired so that older students all have younger buddies. Buddy classes get together at least four times a year for field trips, art projects, reading or other kinds of joint activities. This program is an important way we build community among students and it provides opportunities for leadership skill building.
Public Speaking
Primary
Public speaking at Marin Horizon begins in preschool, where students present reports to their classmates and participate in a class play at the end of the year.
Lower Elementary
Students make formal presentations of their work to parent audiences at events such as Author's Chair, Poetry Night, and Africa and Australia night.
Upper Elementary
Students present formal research projects to parents at annual events such as Astronomy Night or California History Forum.
Middle School
Students participate each year in simulations that involve historical or scientific research and dramatic reenactments or plays. These opportunities allow them to synthesize and present their work for evaluation by broader adult audiences. At graduation, each of our eighth-graders writes and delivers a speech that is a reflection on some important aspect of what they've learned at MHS. These speeches are always an incredible highlight of the year and a wonderful affirmation of how impressive our students are as bright young people with intellectual gifts, talent for communication, and kind, thoughtful hearts.
Conflict Resolution
We help develop social skills using an integrated model that emphasizes respectful behavior, personal responsibility, intrinsic motivation to do the right thing, and constructive conflict resolution. In the begining of each school year, students and teachers discuss classroom values and behaviors and prepare guidelines that are prominently displayed for all to see, published in the classroom newsletter and given to the Head of School. We encourage students to address issues or misunderstandings with each other directly and teach them how to communicate verbally. Some of the techniques used include "magic circles" and the "peace table" for younger children and direct or moderated conversation for older children. Student advisory groups meet once a week in 4th-8th grade and are led by teachers and/or the student counselor. Our students are taught about their roles as leaders as early as kindergarten and continue with this training throughout their tenure at MHS. Fifth grade students participate in a year-long conflict resolution forum and eighth grade students train to be peer resolution specialists.
