Convocation: An Official Start to the Year
Headmaster Temba Maqubela welcomed back students and faculty at Convocation on Sunday, September 10, introducing the year with messages of renewal and belonging.
Convocation was the first time that new students gathered beside returning students and faculty, joining as one community in St. John’s Chapel. Mr. Maqubela opened his chapel talk with a Bible passage that his grandfather often quoted—Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
He then explained how the ancient reading remains relevant. “We anticipate renewal as we forge new relationships, recognize our uniqueness, and celebrate our diversity,” he said. The headmaster stressed that the Groton community belongs to every single person listening in that Chapel, from every walk of life.
“All gathered in this Chapel should feel they belong rather than merely invited,” he said. “…this is as much your school as anyone else’s.”
“All gathered in this Chapel should feel they belong rather than merely invited,” he said. “…this is as much your school as anyone else’s.”
Mr. Maqubela went on to caution that diversity is not enough. “We should always be mindful that diversity alone can isolate anyone, whereas diversity coupled with inclusion empowers everyone.” The flip side of inclusion is exclusion, which he said “is often an excuse for complacency, because you are comfortable. To succumb to false notions of cultural superiority is being soft. Grotonians are not soft.”
Attention to inclusion must be ongoing and cannot be neglected. “History teaches us that if we take our eyes off the ball for a second we become soft and complacent,” Mr. Maqubela said. “This is a recipe for mediocrity.”
A new tradition capped off Convocation this year: students carried flags representing their homeland or their heritage from the Chapel to the Schoolhouse, where the evening concluded with the first Roll Call announcements of the school year. The twenty-eight flags were from the U.S. and countries all over the world, but one additional flag—the Groton School flag—represented every student and their home away from home.
A new tradition capped off Convocation this year: students carried flags representing their homeland or their heritage from the Chapel to the Schoolhouse, where the evening concluded with the first Roll Call announcements of the school year. The twenty-eight flags were from the U.S. and countries all over the world, but one additional flag—the Groton School flag—represented every student and their home away from home.
Groton School Mission: To inspire lives of character, scholarship, leadership, and service within a diverse, inclusive, and close-knit community.
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