Groves High School (Michigan)

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Wylie E. Groves High School
Established	1959
Type	Public secondary
Affiliation	Birmingham City School District
Principal	Fred Procter
Students	1399
Grades	9–12
Location	Beverly Hills, Michigan USA
Website	http://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/Schools/High+Schools/Groves

Groves High School, full name Wylie E. Groves High School, is a high school in Beverly Hills, Michigan, in the Birmingham City School District. Groves' colors are green and white, and its mascot is the Falcon. Groves' intra-district rival is Seaholm High School. The current principal is Fred Procter, the assistant principal is Cathy Hurley, and the athletic director is Tom Flynn. The school consistantly ranks as one of the best schools in the state of Michigan as a result of high test scores on the SAT, ACT, AP, and MEAP exams.

1 Building history
2 Early Years
3 Academics
4 Activities
5 Championships
6 Building Administration
7 Department Heads
8 Notable alumni
9 Rankings
10 External links

[edit] Building history

Completed in 1959, the building was an example of the International Style applied to ordinary school design, resulting in a modernistic exterior look similar to much subsequent school construction. The building's original architectural "signature" was a scalloped circular white roof over the central administrative core; it is no longer visible. The building has a grid-like floor plan, with three main hallways intersected by six shorter ones. Liberal use was made of glass walls and interior courtyards, with energy costs not yet a major concern in 1959. Since the school's opening, the building has undergone periodic renovations, the most extensive occuring from 1999-2001 when the school was completely remodeled and brought up to 21st century standards. The school features state of the art technology, including seven computer labs (including one for modern languages) and a large media center; state of the art science labs for biology, chemistry, physics, CAD, and robotics; a little theatre that seats approximately 300; an auditorium that seats appoximately 1200; art studios for drawing, photography, jewlery, ceramics, and graphic design; a TV studio; and a large, open commons area where students gather for lunch, dances, and other activities. In 2005, construction began to renovate the athletic wing of the school, as well as to build a brand new competitive size swimming pool. The former swimming pool will be converted into classrooms and a fitness center. The school was one of the first schools in Michigan to use artificial "FieldTurf" for its football/soccer field.

[edit] Early Years

The school opened in the fall of 1959 with 1,052 students in grades seven through ten. Intended eventually to be Birmingham's second high school, it was named after a local civic leader and school board member. In its first year, students selected the school colors, team mascot, fight song, yearbook and newpaper names, etc. The original tenth graders became the first class of graduating seniors in 1962. For a brief period the school was a junior and senior high school, and the classes of 1965, 1966 and 1967 spent all of grades seven through twelve there. The lower grades were eliminated as new junior high schools were built. This pattern enabled the school district to accomodate, with phased construction, the demographic wave of babyboomers emerging from elementary schools in the late 1950s and 1960s.

[edit] Academics

As stated above, Groves consistantly ranks at or near the top of the state in terms of test scores. The school offers numerous Honors and Advanced Placement courses for students to elect. Advanced Placement is offered for Chemistry, Physics, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Computer Science, Economics, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, European History, French, Music Theory, Psychology, Spanish, Statistics, US History, and US Government. Additionally, AP Biology and AP Human Geography may be taken at Seaholm High School. The school has a variety of academic elective options for students who do not wish to take Honors or AP courses. The school also offers courses in journalism, with newspaper ("The Scriptor") and yearbook ("The Talon").

[edit] Activities

The school offers over thirty varsity sports for both men and women. Most sports are broken down into varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen teams. The school also offers a variety of activities for students to participate in, including band, forensics, debate, theatre, quiz bowl, bowling, photography, and National Honor Society.

[edit] Championships

Birmingham Unified (a combined lacrosse team of Groves and Seaholm students) is the only public school lacrosse team to have won the state championship. [1]
Boys golf won a state championships in 1971.
Boys water polo won state championships in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994.
Boys swimming won state championships in 1968,1975, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
Girls swimming won state championships in 1988, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. [2]
Figure Skating Team district champions 2002,2003,2004
Figure Skating Team State Champions 2003
The debate team won Division I state championships in 2006 and 2007.

[edit] Building Administration

Principal - Mr. Fred Procter
Assistant Principal - Mrs. Cathy Hurley
Athletic Director - Mr. Tom Flynn
Dean - Mrs. Lindy Bruton
Dean - Mr. Mike Lonze
Dean - Mr. Shannon Mayfield

[edit] Department Heads

Business Education - Mrs. Dubey
English as a Second Language - Ms. Blanchard-Kronig
English & Communication Arts - Ms. Susan Mundy
Experiential Center - Mr. Paul VanErmen
Fine Art: Art - Mrs. Pearlman
Fine Art: Music - Mrs. Frick
Guidance & Counseling - Mr. Ron Fear
Mathematics - Mr. Stuart Kane
Physical Education- Mrs. Karen Edwards
Science and Technology - Mrs. Marla Fallucca
Social Studies - Mr. John Lawson
Special Education - Mrs. Albanese
World Languages - Mr. Richard McMullan

[edit] Notable alumni

Benjamin Agosto - Olympic Silver Medalist in Ice Dancing 2006
Bruce Campbell - actor
Sam Raimi - movie director
Leigh Taylor-Young - actress
Jennifer Laura Thompson - Broadway actress

[edit] Rankings

This school is ranked #835 on Newsweek's 2005 list of the Best High Schools in America, which ranks high schools based upon what percent of its seniors take advanced placement exams.[3]