To Call Together: Head of School Opening Convocation Address 2026

Tabor Academy Opening Convocation Address
September 9, 2026
Tony Jaccaci – Head of School

The word convocation comes from the Latin word “convocare” which means “to call together.” We use this 
ceremony as a special way to “assemble the pod” and signify the beginning of the school year. As we build a 
positive and welcoming culture here at Tabor, it is shared experiences – rituals and ceremonies like the chapel 
service we hold today – that make us a unique community. We are Seawolf Nation and I am both grateful and 
proud to be a participant with you all in this gathering today.

Mrs. Sughrue has helped us understand the importance of chapel at Tabor this week in her address to us on 
Sunday, during our orientation chapel, and on Monday, during our first chapel service of the year. Wickenden 
chapel, Mrs. Sughrue reminds us, is a home to us all. A place to see friends, a place for quiet reflection, a place to 
consider the larger mysteries of our lives and the world we live in. Whether you have been raised in a household 
that practices a religion or not, there are opportunities for us all to live lives of faith.

The 20th century philosopher Paul Tillich stated that “Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned.” He wasn’t 
saying that everyone believes in God. He was saying that every person has the capacity to ask, and eventually has 
to wrestle with, the question: What matters to me ultimately? 

Spirituality is the space in which we explore that question, and I hope that Wickenden chapel this year can be that 
place for you. A destination on campus where you can pause from our busy days to think about “what matters to 
me ultimately?” Today, we begin such a journey together of asking questions. Some queries may be as profound 
as “what matters to me” while others may be as prosaic as “tomorrow is E&R pick up day, right?”

Our readings this morning focused on a very old and marvelous journey that received a moment in the sun this 
summer – the Odyssey. Long before Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, and Zendaya were on the scene, this journey 
of trial and tribulation has been a tale told across the generations. 

A fantastic tale of witches, sea monsters, and cyclops, Odysseus serves both as a flawed protagonist but also a 
metaphor for us all. An individual who makes choices, for better or worse, as he navigates the storms, 
temptations, loss and triumphs that define the human existence. 

I will leave the deeper analysis of this narrative to my far-more-qualified colleagues in the English department and 
rather wanted to speak with you this morning about a perhaps more relevant Greek hero with connections to 
Tabor – Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson – teen hero – son of Poseidon – a confused and unsure protagonist who undertakes his own odyssey 
and proves, as always, that the book is far better than the movie.

What is special about Percy, many of you may recall, is that he takes his strength from the water. When he 
touches the sea, his senses heighten, his strength increases, his mental acuity sharpens. He is ready to perform at 
the highest levels. And that is where I think the cross-over with Tabor lies. Tabor, my friends, is the Percy Jackson 
of the ISL.

Think about it. The School by the sea. Some of the best on-water sports in the country in sailing and crew. Whale 
boat rowing in and out of mooring fields. Swimming tests for all and lessons for those who’d like to improve their 
skills. Science classes and labs in the marshes with mud boots to the hips and on the Lizzie T in Sippican. Tabor 
Boy trips out of the cove and to distant waters. Cookouts and chill-outs near the harbor. Some of the most 
beautiful sunrises in the world across our little section of Buzzards Bay.

Our campus gives us special strengths and powers that few other schools and communities can claim. We, like 
Percy Jackson, feel comfortable and in our natural state surrounded by water. Why is that? What is the power of 
water itself? It is both a soothing touch on the back of the hand or a devastating force able to destroy entire 
villages or cities. It is a fundamental building block of the human body. We are, after all, 2/3rds water. It is 70% 
of the earth’s surface. 

This summer, I had the unique opportunity to participate in a white-water rafting trip with about 20 other Heads 
of Schools. As we navigated the rapids, our minds were far from the daily operations of the institutions we help 
lead and rather on the collective efforts of rowing in unison and not falling out of the raft. In one portion of the 
trip, I elected to try an inflatable kayak. Despite close attention to the task at hand, I had an epic fail. While trying 
to navigate a rapid, I was launched from my vessel into the churning river.

Ever sit inside a washing machine? I have not and I imagine most of you have not done so either. But as I was 
tossed, pushed and pulled under the water, I imagined that navigating the rapid was pretty close to what our 
socks and t-shirts must feel every time we close the lid on our dirty laundry. I eventually popped up, swam back to 
my kayak and while I was no worse for wear, I was profoundly awe-struck by the force I had just felt.

We encounter water in many different ways; in oceans and seas, in lakes and ponds, in rivers and streams, in 
“Lake Tabor” between the Braitmayer and Front Street on a rainy day.

As we begin our journey for this school year, let us use the power of water and perhaps its most potent attribute –
adaptability.

You likely learned from an early age that water takes the shape of the vessel that holds it and when under the 
effect of gravity, it takes the path of least resistance. If you have built sandcastles at the beach, you undoubtedly 
experimented with water in this way. Streams and channels you dug did not require thousands of years to change 
but rather were altered one bucket at a time. At a much higher level, if you were taking a time lapse photo of a 
river over hundreds of years, you would see that the riverbed and its location is transitory. Boulders, earth, islands 
and riverbanks are no match for the relentless strength of water that will find paths to its destination.

Many philosophies and religions hold water up as a model for us to consider for our own lives. The Taoist 
philosopher Lao Tzu states “Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing is better at overcoming the hard 
and strong.” The idea is that, when faced with an obstacle like a boulder in a river, water will find a way to divert 
and reach its destination. It does so not by giving up but rather by “going with the flow.” You too can do this. 
We tell you to learn from mistakes here at Tabor. Rather than thinking that “a fail” is the end, perhaps think 
of it as the acronym for “First Attempt In Learning.”

We cannot know today what this year will bring. What we do know for certain though, is that it will bring 
challenges and difficulties at times. And that is ok. That is learning and that is life.

When those difficult moments arrive, think about the nature of water and how you might find a different path to 
success. That might mean shifting your behaviors around how you study. It may be asking for help from an adult. 
A peer. A parent or guardian. Doing some research. Taking a walk. Taking a break. Doubling down and pushing 
yourself.

Water is malleable and has no plan on how to get from one place to another. It just reacts to the forces around it. 
While planning is important, you still can take wisdom from this approach and use water as your own superpower 
to adapt to a predicament and keep going. It helped Percy Jackson. It helped Tabor become a world-famous 
school over 151 years. And it can help you too.

I’d like to end my comments this morning with a poem by James Crews:

The River
after Wendell Berry

Out of the tangle of deadlines 
and obligations, out of the mire 
of self-doubt and fear, rises
the truest intention, a river 
you’ve been called to follow. 
But don’t just trace its course
from the safety of the bank—
leap into it, immersing yourself
in the irresistible current, let 
your body be carried by clearing 
water all the way to the source.
Stay devoted to this allowing, 
and learn to swim with resistance.
Come to see each looming boulder 
not as a blockage, but a momentary
impediment that invites 
the whole river to sing.

I wish you all the very best for a wonderful year ahead. May you have the blessings of joy, growth and success in 
everything you do and, when you meet a “momentary impediment,” may you channel your inner water force and 
find your way forward.