All Hail the Custodians

If there is one phrase that can change someone’s day, it is thank you. There are people every day that help us and make sure that we are ok. Moms, dads, teachers, friends, they all help and are thanked every day, but have we ever given much thanks to our custodians?

Every school, mall, and restaurant have custodians that do the most difficult jobs and get paid the very least. The custodians’s responsibility includes cleaning, opening lockers, keeping the school in good repair, making sure the grounds are trash free, and shoveling the snow. Lucky for SJHS, we have Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Lowe. When asked if she liked being a janitor Mrs. Bell said, “Yes, it’s not always a good day but most of the time it’s good. I enjoy the kids!” She said the hardest thing she ever did was “Tearing apart my boiler. I used a three foot pipe wrench and it was almost as big as me!”

“Without the janitors we would be learning in a trash heap,” says Paige Smith, a ninth grader here at SJHS. When asked how often she thanks the custodians, Lauren Brinton, an eighth grade student at SJHS, said, “I would like to say a lot, but not very much. I would like to thank them a lot.”

It is clear that the students appreciate the custodians, they just take it for granted. Now we would all like to thank the janitors for their service, not just the ones here at SJHS but all the janitors, all the ones who clean and fix and work hard. “The janitors work hard,” says Jed Barker, a seventh grader at SJHS, “One time in second grade I was feeling sick so the janitor helped me clean myself up before I went home. I didn’t say thank you, but I was grateful!” Thanks to all the custodians for their work and dedication to cleanliness. Everyone should remember to thank a custodian the next time you see them!