The 2018-19 school year has begun and as it goes on, we need to make time to meet the other new teachers here at St. Dominic. In our science department, we have two new teachers who are ecstatic to be a part of our community.

Mrs. Juergensmeyer

Mrs. Angela Juergensmeyer has been a teacher for seven years and is a St. Dominic alumnus. Though she worked at Troy Buchanan High School for the past six years, she now has the opportunity to teach here.

“I believe that God allowed me to return to St. Dominic so that I could be more involved in my children’s lives. The St. Dominic community is like our second family and our home away from home,” said Juergensmeyer.

She has two kids that attend school here, Luke (junior) and Sophia (sophomore) and two others who will be future Crusaders. She is thankful for her position because it allows her to combine the two things she loves: family and teaching. Her love of science has always been a part of who she is. She chose biology as her major to fulfill her curiosity about nature.

“I love nature, animals, plants, and being outdoors.  I am constantly trying to learn new things about the interdependent biodiversity that God creates,” said Juergensmeyer.

She is thankful to the community here for making her transition from Troy Buchanan High School to St. Dominic warm and welcoming and is excited to help her students expand their knowledge.

Mr. Groaning

Since Mr. Joseph Groaning has been teaching for 32 years, he has made quite a few connections during that time. One of those connections is with our very own president, Mr. Jim Welby. Since he coached football with Mr. Welby at Bishop DuBourg High School, it was no wonder he became a part of the St. Dominic community.

“I’ve always admired the school community here and when I found out it would be possible to come here I jumped at the chance,” said Groaning.

Along with Mrs. Juergensmeyer, the community has been treating Mr. Groaning well. Not only is he enjoying the classes that he is teaching, but he has been assisting Mr. Markway with coaching the football team and intends to help Mr. Schlenke with baseball in the spring. Being able to both teach and coach has helped Mr. Groaning feel at home in the new work environment.

“You know how everyone says St. Louis is ‘baseball heaven?’ I like to say that St. Dominic is ‘high school heaven.’ I think the baseball team will have a very special year. With all the returning seniors and the outstanding underclassmen I think the sky is the limit for the boys,” said Groaning.

Though he is hoping for many successes on the field, he recognizes that in the classroom, there can be a whole lot of failures. Being a science teacher, he has had the opportunity to participate in many experiments that didn’t quite go how he expected. One of his most memorable ones is when he was going to school at UMSL.

“The teacher’s assistant showed us how we could make ‘silver pennies.’ We were coating them with mercury… which is HIGHLY toxic! The professor walked in the lab and saw what we were doing. Needless to say we had a new TA the next week. The professor was not pleased,” said Groaning.

Though mistakes happen, it was no mistake that these two teachers joined our St. Dominic community. As the beginning of the school year treks on, we are more than excited to see our new science teachers share their gifts with the students here. Welcome, Mrs. Juergensmeyer and Mr. Groaning. We hope you continue to have a great school year!