As the season changes from summer to fall, the 2024-2025 school year is finally getting into full swing. Everyone is adjusting to the changes this year; new renovations, new classes and new staff.

This school year has introduced many new teachers across all subjects, including brand new faces such as Mrs. Ashley Painter, as well as returning teachers like Mrs. Shannon Torres. Torres was originally a Groves teacher but moved to Covington a few years ago. This year, she moved back to Groves to teach AP Spanish.

“I always wanted to be a teacher because I enjoyed school,” Torres said. “I had good teachers in elementary school, and I think they just gave me a good foundation that I wanted to share.”

Unlike Mrs. Torres, Mrs. Painter is a new face this year; she teaches Excel and English classes. After 16 years of teaching at Rochester High School, she started a new journey and came to Groves partly because of her three kids.

“I always appreciated being a parent in the district and the great community that was here. I just decided that teaching here would be something that I wanted to pursue as well,” Painter said. “Seeing adults in my family that pursued that career just being naturally interested in it, it was kind of what I always wanted to do, and I never veered from that path.”

With a long family history of teaching, Painter’s passion for teaching is sure to bring dynamic energy to Groves.

The new staff are not just new Groves teachers, they are walking in the footsteps of great teachers before them. As a community, we should welcome all new staff with open arms, as they paint the picture for tomorrow’s education. 

Another one of our most notable changes is the change in administration. Last year, the former principal, Dr. Susan Smith, was promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. After twelve years of serving as vice-principal, and before that as a teacher, Mr. Othamian Peterson has stepped up as Principal. We’re also welcoming another new member to our Groves community: Mr. Jason Henshaw. In his first few weeks at Groves, Henshaw, the new assistant principal, describes his first impressions. 

“Everyone has been super welcoming and friendly, and it’s made the transition very easy,” Henshaw said. Before coming to Groves, Henshaw worked at Royal Oak Middle School as the assistant principal and, before that, as a high school teacher at Warren. In addition, he advised student councils, coached basketball and headed a peer-to-peer program. 

With backing from previous experience, Henshaw hopes to start “building connections” and “building trust” with Groves. Outside his office, you can find Henshaw at the west entrance every morning, greeting students with a smile. He loves attending football games and was extremely excited for Field Day and Homecoming. He intends to continue his efforts to understand the schools’ standpoint from our own student council, the Groves Student Congress. 

Luckily, our transitioning administrators have the support of our teachers and staff, especially longtime Groves teachers, Mr. John Curran and Mr. Paul VanErman. While both teachers have noted the big changes this year, Curran and VanErman expressed their faith in the administrators. 

“I’m very glad to support the good things we do here,” VanErman said, regarding concerns about the transition. “Mr. Peterson is truly a person of Groves.” 

VanErman and Curran are excited to see Peterson’s promotion, since he knows the school and the district. 

As all these changes start to fall into place, we must keep specific goals in mind. VanErmen and Curran shared some goals they have for the administration…

“Our goal should be to continue not to give up any of our past accomplishments when it comes to academic work and performance, personal development and holistic approach for students and staff,” VanErman said.

“Just be transparent,” Curran said, putting it more simply. As we move forward with this brand new year, we can rest assured that with a strong community of staff to support the new administrator, Henshaw will be able to get to know as many people as possible. 

“When… things arise, we can handle that together,” Henshaw said.

Since the departure of former Athletic Director Tom Flynn, a new face has stepped in. His name is Ross Gauthier; more commonly known as “Mr. G.” We had the opportunity to interview Gauthier and found out some important things about him and his goals for his time here at Groves.

 When asked what his plans for the future of Groves athletics are, he had a lot to say. 

“I want to understand how we do things. Once I understand how we do things, then I’m going to look for opportunities to grow and change things that need to be changed… But the biggest thing for me is that we need our coaches to be able to support our student-athletes,” Gauthier said. He truly cares about the well-being of the students and how our coaches treat them here at Groves. He also shared some interesting things about him with us. 

“Come say hi. Introduce yourself. My favorite part of the job is you guys. I love working with young people. If there’s anything I can do to help or support… my door is always open,” Gauthier said. “I’m here to serve you guys.” He explained that he cares about how we perform and how we are doing mentally.

Gauthier also talked about how he knew from a young age that he wanted to go into sports.

“I was going from varsity basketball practice to then running third and fourth-grade practice and I learned that I love coaching just as much as I love playing. So, I knew at that point that I was going to go to school to be an educator,” Gauthier said. This demonstrates that he has been set on his goals for a long time. He is very passionate about taking on this position at our school. 

Over the summer, Groves repaved the student and athletic parking lot. This new parking lot includes a new drop-off area for parents, a repaved and repainted lot and a row of staff parking. There are many pros and cons to repaving the parking lot.

“It is much smoother, and I think it’s much easier for people that haven’t driven in it before to navigate since you can see the lines. Last year, it was confusing because you couldn’t see any arrows or where to go,” Piotrowicz said.

A con to the new parking lot this year is seniors are not able to paint their parking spots. 

“It would be nice to have a specific spot, I know that I would be getting the same spot every time. Since they let the past few years do it I was kind of planning on what I want to do, and now I’m not able to… I get it because it’s a new parking lot, but it would be fun…” Piotrowicz said.

There’s a way to go out of the parking lot through the staff entrance gate but the gate is closed during school hours. They close the gate at the end of the day for buses and safety. 

 “The only issue I have with it is when the buses are there because in the past, we have had it open and students can fly down there [the parking lot], and kids don’t see [kids] walking in between the buses,” Reed-Nordwall said.

“I think if more people go in that entrance, the line would be way less long on 13 mile, and the line off of Evergreen to get onto 13 mile. For me, it takes 3-4 minutes to get to school now and before the gates were open it took me like 10,” Piotrowicz said.

After undergoing several indoor renovations last school year, walking into the building at the start of the year was like walking into a whole new school.

“… [The goal was to] match the spirit, intelligence and talent of our kids,” Peterson said. One of the most obvious renovations to Groves was the flooring; the old, nostalgic tiling was traded in for sleek, gray paneling. The flooring process was lengthy, though it wasn’t without its benefits.

“You don’t think about the fact that we were walking on weird-looking floors… You forget about that because, in the long term, you have such a nice building,” Helena Fisher, Assistant Principal, said. 

In other efforts to make the building nicer, Groves added an auxiliary gym. The gym was built to accommodate the growing size of the Groves population, as Groves only had one gym for both games and practices before, which left many teams and clubs with nowhere to practice. The new gym also contains things that Groves has never had: an indoor batting cage, a track and a golf simulator. Suffice it to say, the auxiliary gym was a much-needed addition to Groves.

Another vital renovation was the bathrooms. The old bathrooms were in constant need of repair due to frequent drain floods and clogging, which caused inconvenient and frequent closings. This left the students unable to use the bathroom. The new bathrooms eliminate this problem, while also showcasing a more modern design. Additionally, the front office has been renovated to be more open and inviting, an excellent addition that ensures staff and students can feel more comfortable in the space. However, no matter the excellence of the new front office, it will still take a back seat to the renovation right outside: the light-up “Wylie E. Groves” sign. The sign is the cherry on top of the upgrades—the ultimate representation of the new era of Groves.