Summer in school

June 7, 2010  
Filed under Uncategorized

One of the most common months which students take a liking to is June, not because of fathers day, or the longest day in the year, but because summer vacation starts. Several rumors rise when summer comes due to the suspicion that teachers live in their rooms, and that both Mr. Cannon and Mr. Corrigan sleep on bunk beds in the gym. However, Mountain View is very busy because of maintenance, cleaning, and filing to prepare for the next school year.
No matter how careful or destructive students are, there are always improvements to be made around the school. The school janitor, Mr. Hickmann and other maintenance employees have the full job to wax all the floors, clean every room spotless, and repair electrical systems like air conditioning. “Well the hardest thing is just trying to get through the whole school and have it looking nice by the middle of August because there sports starting up, but the best part of the job is actually working through the school year and hanging out with students,” said Hickmann The summers are way more stressful because there are more jobs to do that demand lots of time like the air conditioning. By the third week in August the whole school is clean and ready for students to come. Basically, it’s on cruise control until the next summer’s maintenance jobs. Everyone knows that the librarian has a large workload during the last days of the year, but Ms. Pierce has the same release schedule. Once mid August hits, the librarians return to school and get ready for the following school year. Ms. Pierce says, “because of our new math adoption, we have to barcode and process our new math books during the summer.” And due to technology’s improvement, staff members who use computer’s need to catch up and learn new systems. “Besides family time I’m going to take classes at George Fox to improve my librarian skills and take an online library media technology class,” says Pierce. With her busy summer filled with fun and work, it will be a great break from school to ready her for the next year. Ms. Pierce says, “teachers are as excited about summer as anybody else but we like our jobs, so it’s always good to come back.” Being the leader of a school has many responsibilities to keep it working efficiently. There is so much paperwork for Ms. Legace and other administrative faculty for all students, but especially the leaving seniors and the incoming freshman during the months of June and August. Legace says, “The main thing that we are focusing on is putting in grades in ESIS and then mailing all the grades to the students. And as of January we have been planning for next year, so we have been working on the curriculum guide and the master schedule out for the fall term.” With most of the planning made before the summer, there are just minor kinks to iron out to make a smooth transition for the fall term. “Once summer comes, I am usually doing hiring. I got about six different teaching positions with the hiring team who are fellow teachers. I also have to hire some classified staff like secretaries as well. When we come back to school before the students come, we start do a lot of new technology training and polishing up our teachers to be ready for the new year!” Says Ms. Legace. Even though she had a large workload, she will have a bit of a summer too, “Last summer I had most of July off from working, but this summer I plan to take a bit more time off.” Says Legace. Besides the summer break, the Mountain View campus is too empty for Ms, Legace and several faculty staff. She says, “I love being here during the school year, that’s definitely more fun because the students are around. It’s the best part of the job. In the summer there are several clerical paperwork that I have to do, but my greatest moments I have at the school is during the school year to see the kids. It’s the best part of the job; why else would we all do it you know?”
With summer’s work, there is plenty of time to play and relax from the norms of school. These staff members are the unsung heroes of the public school system. The primary reason for their efforts is because they love their jobs, and most importantly, they love us! The summer has its stresses and times to relax, and refresh themselves to greet the students for the next year. People who become teachers and faculty staff members don’t choose their career to become wealthy, they do it for us: Mountain View’s student body. We need them as they need us. Together, we make 9 months of school into a 36-week fun, and memorable rollercoaster ride to remember!