Headmaster Switcheroo!
Groton School's headmaster wasn’t in his usual seat in Chapel on Monday, February 23. He wasn’t presiding in the Schoolroom during Roll Call announcements either.
In his place was a face that few people recognized. What was going on?!
Headmaster Temba Maqubela wasn’t home sick or traveling on business. In a show of neighborliness and good humor, he was just down the road, a mile and a half away, presiding over announcements at Lawrence Academy (LA), while LA Head Dan Scheibe was on the Circle, leading the daily reading in Chapel and promising changes at morning Roll Call. It was a headmaster switcheroo!
It didn't take long for Mr. Scheibe to win Groton students' attention. With a healthy dose of sarcasm and practiced comedic timing, he first scoffed at how few snow days Groton School has called since 1884, and went on to promise a policy change: any time the Snow Day Calculator app predicts more than a 50 percent likelihood of snow, Groton would have a snow day. Students roared, waiting raptly for his next promise.
He then boldly took on Groton’s longstanding and treasured tradition of handshaking in the dorms each night. “This handshaking tradition is both compulsive and unsanitary,” Mr. Scheibe said, then went on to change the tradition to “winking.” Will dorm affiliates and prefects be winking goodnight in the dorms from now on? Could be.
Mr. Scheibe's final change was to right a perceived injustice dating to the 1800s. At stake: Groton School’s very name. Lawrence Academy, when founded in 1793, was first known as Groton Academy, changing its name to Lawrence Academy in the mid-1800s. “This school came along in the late 1800s and jacked our name,” Mr. Scheibe charged. “So I want our name back. From now on, we’ll be Groton Lawrence Academy.” With a spirit of generosity and consolation, he offered to let Groton keep the rest of its name. “You can be School,” he said.
This headmaster switcheroo stemmed from both heads' desire to build a stronger connection, but took root after Groton Sixth Former Cam Cullen gave a "Speech of Conviction" for his Public Speaking class last spring, in which he lamented the puzzling distance between the two geographically close schools. Mr. Scheibe's final change was to right a perceived injustice dating to the 1800s. At stake: Groton School’s very name. Lawrence Academy, when founded in 1793, was first known as Groton Academy, changing its name to Lawrence Academy in the mid-1800s. “This school came along in the late 1800s and jacked our name,” Mr. Scheibe charged. “So I want our name back. From now on, we’ll be Groton Lawrence Academy.” With a spirit of generosity and consolation, he offered to let Groton keep the rest of its name. “You can be School,” he said.
Cam said that, for his speech, he chose to tackle a topic he thought could actually change. He had ridden on the same bus to track meets with Lawrence Academy students and was curious about the nearby school. Cam, in a personal attempt to pierce the Groton bubble, discussed the topic with a receptive Mr. Maqubela. At the time, he didn't realize the outcome would be today's switcheroo.
Groton students welcomed the break in routine. “Everybody was really receptive to it,” Cam said. “When [Chaplain Beth] Humphrey announced it in Chapel, everybody was a little shocked.”
There was no need for concern. By mid-morning, both school leaders were back in their respective posts, dreaming up the next time the two boarding schools would trek down Farmers Row for their next ice-breaker.
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