The start of a new school year also means new classes, new clothes, new school supplies and of course, a bunch of new faces. This year at Groves, we have a few more new faces than usual. At the end of last school year, many teachers who worked in the district were offered a buyout—and those who worked in the district for 15+ years could receive a sum of money in exchange for an early retirement. With 17 teachers taking the buyout, there were plenty of empty positions for our wonderful new teachers and counselors to fill.
One of the many teachers hired was Victoria Martin, an Learning Resource Center (LRC) teacher who helps people with special needs with all subjects.
Martin has previous experience in a school environment. After working in the special services department at Madrone High School in California seven years ago, she felt motivated to return to the classroom. She enjoys working with students with special needs and is excited to continue this work at Groves. Martin lives for exciting days, which was part of her motivation to get back to teaching. One of the main things she loves about working in schools is how she gets new opportunities on a daily basis.
“No day is the same, even though we do the same thing every day. The same classes, the same periods, the same times, every day with kids is different and fun, and even when it’s hard, it’s never boring,” said Martin.
She also loves working with kind and serious students and staff in any working environment. She observed the Groves’ environment for a year while in a different position and ultimately chose this school over all other schools she had interviewed with.
“I like the staff a lot. That was a big driving force,” Martin said. “And I probably only would have chosen Groves because I really like the kids here… I chose Groves because of the people that are in the building.”
While the environment in California and Michigan is vastly different, Martin noticed that the kids she teaches have many similarities.
“I think it’s just a little bit different in the sense of living in the Bay Area. The Bay Area in California is just a different climate, politically, diversity-wise, things like that… but I think at the end of the day, kids are fairly similar no matter where you go, the good and the bad. So I can’t say it was drastically different than what I see here.”
To conclude, she was asked what piece of advice she would give to every student at Groves.
“To have fun. I mean, high school is only four years… take advantage of those opportunities, find your people… and try to focus more on trying to figure out who you are as a person.”
Martin looks to be a great addition to the Groves staff. With great motivation and veteran experience, she’ll leave a lasting impact on this school.
However, Martin isn’t the only veteran teacher who is eager to make change within Groves. We are proud to welcome the new counseling department head and National Honors Society (NHS) sponsor, Christina Belsky. Belsky has joined the counseling team after working at Berkley High School for 12 years, serving as both a counselor and the college and career advisor. Before entering the counseling world, Belsky was pursuing political science, her dream being to serve as a senator’s chief of staff. However, as she learned more about herself and her desire to connect with students she decided to pursue counseling. Because of this, a point of interest of Belskys’ is to let teenagers know that they don’t need to rush to have a set in stone plan.
“It’s totally okay to not know. How unfair is it that we expect 17 year olds to plan their whole life and don’t deviate from it?” Belsky said.
Our new department head is eager to share her story about changing her life plan, as well as offer advice to find your true passion!
As seniors begin to prepare for their next stage of life, Belsky aims to educate everyone on not only their options after high school, but all things involving graduation. She is implementing a new Schoology page that covers college, trade-school, scholarships and so much more, hoping to help students smooth an otherwise stressful process. For all Groves students, Belsky has implemented a counselor appointment system as well.
“I want students to be able to access their counselors a little more easily,” Belsky said.
Overall, our new department head is thrilled to be a part of this amazing community and meet so many new people.
“I’m yearning for students, because that’s my favorite thing in the whole wide world, is talking to teenagers,” Belsky said.
So students, feel free to stop in and meet our incredible counseling department head, Mrs. Belsky!
Finally, we are proud to introduce yet another LRC teacher, Emily Henderlong! Henderlong’s arrival at Groves marks more than just a new workplace, it is just one more step in her journey to making a difference in her students’ lives. New to the special education department this year, Henderlong has been teaching since 2007. She earned her masters degree at Pepperdine University in California, going on to teach in many different locations, including Troy School District, Grosse Point, LA county, and even worked abroad in Asia.
“Groves was one of my top choices of places to work when I was considering a change, I just felt a connection to its values,” Henderlong said.
Henderlong mentioned the inclusive community at Groves as well; she noticed how passionate Groves students and staff are which was a big driving force in her decision to work here. Teaching special education is very important to her, inspired by an uncle who has a cognitive impairment.
“I want to give my students the same opportunity as everyone else,” Henderlong said, “It’s important for everyone to have a good high school experience.”
Outside of the classroom, she loves camping and being outside, specifically on the west side of Michigan.
Overall, Groves is beyond lucky to welcome such amazing additions to our already incredible staff! With 2 new LLC mentors, and a new counseling department head, Groves students are ready to thrive this school year. We are so excited for everything our new staff members have to offer, and we cannot wait to see them thrive in our Groves community.
