Welcome New Groton Students!

Families new to Groton have arrived from around the corner and across the world. They came to the Circle from eight countries outside the U.S.—Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom—and from eighteen U.S. states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. The students brought an array of talents as varied as their hometowns.

 

While some new arrivals landed on campus early in the week for preseason athletics, most poured onto Groton’s Circle Saturday morning, September 10. They headed first to the Headmaster’s House, where they greeted Headmaster Temba Maqubela and Mrs. Vuyelwa Maqubela, as well as their student and faculty advisors.

 

Next, those student advisors—seasoned Sixth Formers full of insight and information—led their assigned students through registration and to their dorms. Once in the dorms, move-in began in earnest. Student volunteers in bright orange shirts—the “move-in crew”—carried boxes and suitcases from cars and vans, easing the burden on parents while adding to the air of excitement and camaraderie.

 

After unpacking, having lunch, and meeting with faculty advisors, parents gathered to hear the headmaster speak, knowing that they would soon be leaving their children in Groton’s care. Mr. Maqubela reassured them, explaining that he had heard the term “headmaster parents” in Hong Kong and embraced it. “That’s who we are,” he said, referring to himself and Mrs. Maqubela. “My colleagues are the other parents,” he added, gesturing toward faculty members.

 

Mr. Maqubela urged the new parents to write letters—the old-fashioned kind—to their children, and to remember that their children “are in for a treat” in Groton’s close-knit community. “We get to know your children very, very well,” he said.

 

Concluding his talk, Mr. Maqubela expressed his gratitude, “Thank you for entrusting your loved ones to us,” he told the new families. “We will not substitute for you. We will do our best to take care of them for you.”