Prefects’ “Bold Leadership” Brings Chapel Outdoors

To uphold tradition, Groton School broke with tradition on September 14 and held the opening chapel service for the year—gathering the full community—outdoors, the first morning outdoor chapel service in twenty years or more. 

Originally, the plan had been to hold chapel virtually at the beginning of school rather than gather a large group inside St. John's Chapel. It was an extra dose of COVID-related caution in a fully vaccinated community.

But the senior prefects, Groton's elected student leaders, were determined to preserve as many traditions as possible despite the school’s strict pandemic protocols. “We were discussing how important chapel talks were to us and how important it is that the whole school is at weekday chapels because these services are essential to our Groton experience,” said Senior Prefect Maya Varkey ’22. “We knew that Prize Day had been outside and had been able to have a lot of people, so we thought we should consider moving chapel outside.”

Senior Prefect Anthony Wright ’22 agreed. “We felt like this was a great way to bring back chapel in person and still continue to be safe on campus,” he said.

They took their idea to Associate Head Andy Anderson, who brought it to Headmaster Temba Maqubela. He wholeheartedly agreed. "In less than twenty-four hours, all pitched in to make for a wonderful opening chapel," Mr. Maqubela said. A sound system and hundreds of chairs were set up outdoors; Chaplain Allison Read and other speakers were on the Webb Marshall Room's terrace, behind the Dining Hall, with students and faculty on the terrace, the lawn, and in two nearby tents.

After the usual opening blessing and reading, Mr. Maqubela welcomed the community, acknowledging the prefects’ bold idea. “Since we could not gather inside the chapel as a full community, your four senior prefects asked that we experiment with this new format. Hence this pivot to outside chapel,” he said. “This is an exemplar of risk-taking and bold leadership. Good for them.”

He also acknowledged the challenges the pandemic continues to bring. “Keeping school in the midst of a pandemic is not something for which any of us were prepared,” he said. “Last year, we learned that keeping school requires at once some science, a gut feeling, heart, common sense, thoughtfulness, and determination. We know that when we work together as a community, we are better than when we are in some corner accessing education all alone.”

School opened this year without remote learning; students were required to be fully vaccinated, to provide a negative pre-arrival test for COVID-19, and to test upon arrival. All test results on campus, for students and employees, have been negative.

The headmaster likened the senior prefects’ “determination and resolve to keep us together" to the essence of Ubuntu, a term used in his native South Africa that refers loosely to an ethical code for humanity. “You are because I am, and I am because you are, and our humanity and togetherness are inextricably linked to one another,” he said, explaining the concept. “This is the year when we focus like a laser on Ubuntu—our common humanity. Togetherness, school spirit, and unity.” 

​Groton School's faculty, he pointed out, is key to its sense of community, a truism emphasized during the pandemic. "COVID also taught us that teachers are essential workers and r​​eminded us that they are the catalysts for learning. They, more than anyone else, know that you are not yet fully formed​," he told the students. "You are becoming.” ​

During the opening chapel talk, the headmaster also read from the letter he wrote to President Biden, asking for his contribution to Groton’s collection of letters from American presidents.

Mr. Maqubela concluded with advice for students: “While we do not encourage you to take risks when it comes to safety, health, and wellness, do take risks in the classroom, athletic fields, singing and playing music, or trying out for a part in theater. Don’t dwell on the errors; take corrective action,” he said. “Taking risks and making mistakes are critical parts of the learning process.”