The first time most Central students set foot in the GCHS building was likely to take the PSAT 8, that dreaded 4-hour placement test that would determine class placements the upcoming year. It wasn’t even the second trimester of 8th grade, and it was already time to start preparing for high school. Finally, in late May, graduation rolled around. It was time to shed the Wolf, Panther, Hawk, Wildcat, whether it be Woodland or Fremont, or Rebel skin and officially become a Ram.

Now, as the final month of the 2019-20 school year starts, all 350 or so freshmen have their first year of high school under their belt. For the first time, they’ve experienced Friday night football games, Homecoming, final exams, their first Gala dance, and those legendary cafeteria cookies.

Freshman Peyton Zastrow came to Central from Woodland Middle School and has participated in volleyball and track at GCHS. She is one of about 20 Woodland students that went to Central, with the 820 other 8th graders matriculating to nearby Warren Township High School. As one can imagine, being part of such a small group of people presented its fair share of challenges. “I definitely miss the teachers… but I miss a bunch of my friends, obviously,” Zastrow said. “Even from just 6th to 8th grade, they became some of my closest friends,” she continued. Her advice to 8th graders was to “Just be nice to people… and stay on task, stay on top of things, and become friends with your teachers, it makes things so much easier,”

One of GCHS’ rising freshmen, Will Engelhardt, currently attends Prairie Crossing Charter School, located southeast of GCHS. With only 48 students in 8th grade, it’s among the smallest K-8 schools in the area. “I’m definitely going to miss how close the environment was, like I guess how just everyone knew each other,” he stated. “[I’m looking forward to] the new environment and meeting new people.” Out of the 48 PCCS students that graduated in 2019, half of them were taking Algebra 1 in middle school, putting them in the right place, looking ahead to high school. “I definitely think high school’s going to be more work, and that it’ll be a lot different [from Prairie Crossing], I guess.”