Committing to Community: The School Year Begins

The 2026-2027 school year started off with all the joy, energy, and excitement you would hope for on the first day of a new year. Students walked through the front gate and were greeted with cheers that reverberated around campus, beaming faces, and a dance party led by the spirited Class of 2027. 

For the Class of 2027, the day marked their final first day of school together and the morning started bright and early when they gathered for the beloved tradition of Senior Sunrise. At 7:00 a.m., the Seniors came together, received their Senior sweatshirts, and spent cherished time as a class before the rest of the student body arrived. The Class of 2027 also had their first look at the Senior Lounge: a space of their own where they can spend time relaxing, bonding, and making memories together. In preparation for the big reveal, their parents and guardians spent time personalizing and lovingly transforming the space to make it extra special. 

The energy and passion from the front gate carried into Caswell Hall where the community gathered for the opening All-School Meeting (ASM). All-School Council premiered an entertaining video highlighting the importance of Marlborough’s core values before making their big entrance and introducing themselves to the community. 

All-School President Pippa T. ’27 then shared her remarks, describing a summer spent reflecting ahead of her Senior year at Marlborough. She described Marlborough as a found family, recalling the five years she has spent learning and growing alongside her peers and the feeling of support from this “family.”

“At the end of my 7th Grade year, I remember watching the Senior class do the pool jump and feeling their emotions as they held hands and the rest of the school watched,” she shared. “Most of them were crying, some laughing, but all were connected. They had spent the last six years learning together, working together, struggling together, and celebrating together, and I was so proud of them. It felt like I was watching my own siblings.”

She reminded the students that no matter what they go through each day, they will have one another to lean on.

When Head of School Jennifer Ciccarelli took the podium, she revealed the theme of the year: committing to community. She described the ways in which each individual on campus can make that commitment: fostering connection through recognizing our humanity in each other, acknowledging the power of community, and approaching each day assuming good intentions of one another. She spoke about the philosophy of Ubuntu—a Zulu phrase popularized by Archbishop Desmond Tutu that roughly translates to “humanity towards others” or “I am because you are.” She shared her hope that this philosophy could provide comfort and strength in knowing we are a part of something bigger than ourselves: a community.

“Violets, this is my hope for you this year:” she said as she concluded her remarks, “When you look back on the 26-27 school year, you will be able to say that you developed your sense of Ubuntu. You greeted Violets in the hallways, you widened your circle of friends, and you made it a habit to assume the best of intentions in others. If you do these three things, you will have truly committed to community, and we will have had a fabulous year.”

Both Pippa and Ms. Ciccarelli captured it well: what makes Marlborough special are the people and the connections built between them. As the ASM concluded and the students and staculty set off to their first classes of the year, they were energized for the journey ahead, carrying the morning’s excitement into their classrooms and committing to building a stronger community every single day.