Groton School opens 2024–25 academic year in a spirit of neighborliness

Groton School opened its 140th academic year this past week with athletic and drama preseason, orientation for new students, Convocation, and resumption of classes.

Student-athletes and theater program participants began returning to the Circle on September 2 and 3 for practice and rehearsals. As more students joined the early arrivals, leadership and prefect training continued throughout the week. Evenings were highlighted with social activities sponsored by the Student Activities Council, as well as special off-campus excursions, including a drama trip into Cambridge to see Romeo and Juliet at the American Repertory Theater.

New students and their parents arrived on September 7 for orientation, a barbecue lunch, and a meeting with Headmaster Temba Maqubela. By Sunday, September 8, all students were on the Circle for Convocation in St. John’s Chapel. 

“We give thanks for teachers, classmates, coaches, and friends,” Chaplain Allison Read said in her opening prayer. “We ask your blessing as we set new hopes for ourselves, take on challenges, and endeavor to do our best.”

Mr. Maqubela began his annual remarks with a call for civility during what have proven to be often polarizing times. 

“In the midst of complex geopolitics and polarization nationally,” he said, “this school is a safe haven for us all.”  

As the beginning of each academic year marks an opportunity to rebuild and revitalize the Groton community, Mr. Maqubela urged members of that community to to practice neighborliness anew, and pressed members of the Form of 2025 to set a drama-free example for their younger classmates. 

“New students will usher a refreshing spirit of vitality of their own, sharing their stories and enriching us with their talents,” he said. “As they deal with nervousness in a new environment, returning students should offer advice, wisdom, and reassurance. This connectivity—or connective tissue if you will—is what I often refer to as the Groton Embrace, an embrace punctuated with a handshake.”

Continuing on this theme, Mr. Maqubela challenged the community to put meaning behind the idea of neighborliness by welcoming newcomers and old colleagues and friends alike with kindness and empathy.

“Exclusion and polarization last a long time, whereas inclusion and belonging—if not nurtured—can be fleeting,” he said. “Therefore, let us—with intentionality—continue to sow and grow the seeds of neighborliness here at Groton, because the essence of inclusion and belonging is being empathetic and kind.” 

Following Convocation, senior prefects led the student body in the now traditional flag procession, a show of countries around the world with which this year’s students hail or identify culturally. A steady breeze unfurled the flags during this slow walk around the Circle to the Schoolhouse, where they were placed on display around the Sackett Forum before the first Roll Call of the new school year.

Now in its seventh year, the flag procession continues to be a tangible display of Groton’s commitment to global citizenship. Including the Groton flag, there were forty-nine flags in total: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela, and United States. 

Classes began with mini introductory sessions with faculty on September 9, and a return to full schedule on September 10.