News

January 7–April 29

Photographs by Deborah Bai-Lannon, created between 2020 and 2024 during Respite Weekends with the Home Base Veterans and Family Program. Set at Harvard University’s Equestrian Center in Hamilton, Massachusetts, the work captures quiet moments of presence and connection among veterans living with PTSD.

Through portraiture and personal reflections, the exhibition presents recovery as an ongoing journey shaped by environment, care, and human connection, inviting viewers to look beyond stereotypes and recognize the enduring possibility of resilience and hope.

Groton School’s winter theater event will be the largest in school history, a co-production of West Side Story with cross-town neighbors Lawrence Academy, February 26–29, 2026, in the Marion D. Campbell Performing Arts Center.

On December 10, students from Theater and Dance Department Head Laurie Sales’ playwriting class traveled to New Haven, CT, to witness one of the last productions by James Bundy ’77, P’09, ’12, FTR’03–’15 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. 

The Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, Groton School’s most beloved Christmas tradition, once again filled St. John’s Chapel with the sounds of sacred text and song on December 12, 14, and 18.

Each summer Groton School offers grants to rising 5th and 6th Form students through the community engagement program. Students are able to apply to two different grant opportunities: The Lawrence Global Scholars Fund or The Dwight Internship Fund. 

Sarah Ku ’26 has been named a 2026 YoungArts award winner for her organ playing, placing her among the nation’s most accomplished young visual, literary, and performing artists.

Groton School Headmaster Temba Maqubela has announced the upcoming retirements of Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Ian Gracey P’12, ’14, Dean of Students Elizabeth Petroskey P’12, and English Department faculty member Martha Gracey P’12, ’14, effective at the end of the academic year.

The Groton School community gathered November 13 for its annual Global Education Day, where students and faculty recounted recent Global Education Opportunities (GEOs) and spotlighted where the program is heading in 2026.

Sixth Form student-athletes Eliza Brooks, Angie Che, Kaiden Donia, Georgie Lick, Jamie Noonan, and Tina Scalese announced their athletic commitments to NCAA Division I colleges on November 12, National Letter of Intent Signing Day.

Groton School welcomed more than 700 parents, siblings, and other family members for its annual Parents Weekend, October 23 to 26. 

Classic New England fall weather greeted the visitors, as they explored campus and got caught up on all that’s happening on the Circle, including academics, the arts, athletics, and more. 

Groton School debaters competed in the prestigious International Independent Schools’ Public Speaking Competition recently, earning the top slot for an American school in a tie with Buckingham Browne & Nichols School.

On October 14, Groton students took the day off from classes to sort donations; make washcloths and blankets; interact with children, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities; clean up outdoor spaces and animal shelters; and volunteer their time and effort in many other ways during the Fall Day of Service.

Best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld ’93 returned to her alma mater—and the inspiration of her debut novel, Prep—on September 29 for Groton School’s fall Circle Talk

Groton School kicked off a yearlong celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of coeducation on September 20 with a day honoring the pioneers and architects who brought the first female students to the Circle in 1975.

Groton School’s de Menil and Brodigan galleries kicked off their respective 2025–26 seasons this past month with special receptions featuring their fall artists.

Groton School opened its 2025–26 academic year this past weekend with a call for students to focus on self improvement, collective leadership, and community. 

“Welcome one, welcome all,” said Headmaster Temba Maqubela during his annual Convocation remarks on September 7 in St. John’s Chapel. “All of us here are gathered because we want to improve ourselves.”

Groton School faculty returned to the Circle this week and gathered in St. John’s Chapel for their traditional pre–school year service on August 28.

The second Groton Program for Intercultural Exchange (G-PIE) took place June 22–27, more than 7,000 miles from where the biennial conference kicked off in 2023.

GRACE celebrated its tenth summer with another record enrollment, expanded academic offerings, and plenty of enrichment and fun during a particularly hot Groton July.

Long before he could win a chance to play at Symphony Hall, pianist Max Fan ’25 had to pass the hands test. 

A record seventy-three GRACE Scholars assembled on the Circle this past weekend to begin the program’s tenth summer of academic challenge and enrichment.

Congratulations to Margaret Kaneb ’25, the winner of this year’s Groton School Library Bookplate contest.

As if the sun insisted on shining for the Form of 2025, an overcast morning gave way to blue skies just as the students left St. John’s Chapel to the ring of church bells and began the school’s 140th Prize Day on June 1.  

Groton School student photographers were well represented at the Griffin Museum’s 2025 Secondary School Photography Exhibit, held this year in the school’s own Christopher Brodigan Gallery.

More than 400 Groton alumni and their families returned to the Circle May 16–18 for 2025 Reunion Weekend.

Groton School’s de Menil Gallery saluted one of its own on May 10 with an artist reception in honor of retiring arts faculty member Monika Andersson’s “A Game of Beautiful Parts” photography exhibit. 

Fundraising support for Groton School’s GRoton Affordability and INclusion initiative—better known as GRAIN—broke the $100 million mark just minutes before a special dinner held April 25 to celebrate its ten-year anniversary, bringing the school’s total fundraising since 2014 to more than $220 million. 

Groton School welcomes its 95 newly enrolled students after a record-breaking admissions season. 
 

Classes gave way to community building on the Circle this past April 18, as students and faculty used a day off from studies to focus on service and social awareness.

Following a national search, Groton School has announced the appointment of Susan Daniells as its next director of development and alumni affairs. 

Thirty-two Groton School students won seventy Scholastic Art and Writing awards this year, including twelve gold keys, the highest regional distinction. 

Fifth Form families gathered on the Circle January 31 to February 1 to mark the informal start of their students’ college application process with Groton School’s annual Kickoff to College Counseling event. 

Groton student-musicians earned a record nine spots in the 2025 Massachusetts Music Educators Association All-State Festival, more than double the school’s previous high.

Groton School’s de Menil Gallery continued its 2024–25 season with the opening reception for “What Gorgeous Thing,” an exhibition of photographic projects by Craig J. Barber and Jesse Burke, on January 25.

Kristina Batiste, the 2025 Mudge Fellow, hasn’t worked with high-school students often, but relished the chance to do so at Groton School this past week.

On a day when Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day shared a date for only the third time in American history, the Groton Community balanced paying tribute to Dr. King’s legacy of social justice with the ushering in of a new presidential administration.

Legendary folk troubadour Tom Rush ’59 returned to the Circle on Tuesday, January 14, for a poignant yet often lighthearted winter Circle Talk in the Campbell Performing Arts Center.

The Groton School community welcomed the 2024–25 Pyne Speaker, the Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, PhD, to the Circle for a series of robust discussions about religion, race, sexuality, and justice.

The Groton School community received another early Christmas present this year, as an anonymous donor family has pledged up to $2 million to support Groton’s announcement that tuition will be free to students whose family income is $150,000 or less.

St. John’s Chapel once again played host to Groton School’s most beloved Christmas tradition, the Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, December 13, 15, and 19

Christina Scalese ’26 has been named to USA Hockey’s twenty-five-player roster for the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team that will compete in the 2025 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Women’s World Championship this coming January in Vantaa, Finland

Journalist Eleanor Watson ’13 kicked off the 2024–25 Circle Talk series on October 22, sharing her experience with CBS News covering the 2020 election and as multi-platform reporter and producer on the network’s national security team.

Groton School once again opened the Circle to parents, siblings, and other family members for its annual Parents Weekend, October 17 to 20.

Groton School’s Fall Day of Service shared some of the Circle’s special talents with residents of neighboring communities. 

Improvisation has always been an important part of Music Department Head Mary Ann Lanier PhD’s development as a musician. This fall she was happy to share her love for the craft with Groton School students through a workshop and free concert featuring conductor/violinist David Rudge PhD

Groton School has received a $2 million commitment from John Childs ’59, trustee emeritus, to establish the Temba T. Maqubela Chair in Organic Chemistry, named in honor of Groton’s eighth, and current, headmaster, who also teaches the course.

Groton School’s de Menil Gallery celebrated the start of its 2024–25 season with an opening reception for “It’s Personal,” an exhibition of paintings by Sarah Diamond and Elizabeth Noble curated by Gordon Chase, on September 29

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

Please join Groton School in welcoming the following new faculty members.

Groton School faculty members gathered in St. John’s Chapel for their traditional pre–school year service, part of a week of preparation and camaraderie before students return to campus.

Groton School Headmaster Temba Maqubela has announced the promotions of four longtime faculty members.

Groton School welcomed sixty-one GRACE Scholars to the Circle this past weekend for four weeks of academic challenge and summer fun. This class marks the ninth iteration of the program and the largest in-person enrollment since GRACE began in 2016

Congratulations to Dilzafer Singh ’25, whose talent on the tabla is taking him to world-class performance venues on both U.S. coasts this spring and summer.

Congratulations to Zimo Liu ’24 and Marlene Ma ’24 for their winning designs in the sixth annual McCormick Library Bookplate Contest. This marks the first time two winners shared the award

Under a picture-perfect spring sky, members of Groton School’s Form of 2024 were praised for their resilience and challenged to become civil, unifying leaders at the school’s 139th Prize Day on June 2.

Thirty-six Groton students have won seventy-six Scholastic Art and Writing awards this year, including twenty-two gold keys, the highest regional honor

In just its first season with an on-campus facility, Groton School’s boys track and field team won its first-ever New England Preparatory School Track Association (NEPSTA) title on May 18, with Salim Hill ’25 being named Most Outstanding Male Athlete

Groton School’s Sandra Kelly, PhD, has been awarded the 2024 Theodore William Richards Award for Excellence in Teaching Secondary School Chemistry, widely considered among the most prestigious awards for chemistry educators.

Reunion Weekend drew more than 400 Groton alumni and their families back to the Circle May 10–12 for three days of camaraderie and community.

Photographer John Huet has shot award-winning campaigns for Nike and Coke, covered the Olympics, and been featured on the cover of magazines like Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic. But a recent trip to Antarctica might lead to his most ambitious project yet: saving the planet.

The Vuyelwa and Temba Maqubela Track and Field Complex at Groton School was formally dedicated on April 27, furthering the current era of inclusion, diversity, and athletics on the Circle.

Groton School welcomes its 99 newly enrolled students after an admissions season that set standards in many areas. 

Groton School's new, state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery has released its first surge of power, a planned event designed to ease the burden on the region’s electric supply as demand for energy rose along with spring temperatures.