One of the things The Mailbox editors love to talk about is schools. We talk about the schools we taught in, the schools our kids attend, and the schools we attended as children. Of course we’re school-obsessed: look at our choice of profession! Recently, as I was thinking about writing this blog, I asked the editors to talk about the school lunches they enjoyed the most. It won’t surprise you to hear that many of them mentioned pizza. That’s always a favorite, isn’t it? But they also talked about chicken nuggets and barbecue sandwiches, and one preschool editor even mentioned broccoli! She said that her students loved to eat the ”trees!”

Talking about the lunches we enjoyed made me think about the woman who supervised our cafeteria. She was part of the glue that held our school together, someone we depended on every day. We all looked forward to her smiling face. The kids felt comfortable with her; she was someone who cared about them. Her food gave us energy and her laughter lifted our spirits.

There were other important adults in our school. Although our secretary kept a stern exterior, her heart was always with the children and teachers. She was the first one I would turn to when I wasn’t sure of a process or when I needed something. She knew all the ins and outs of our school and was willing to share what she knew.

And the custodian! Oh my! Where would a school be without a good-natured, hard-working custodian? I was fortunate to work with a happy, helpful man who would do anything for us. He kept our school on track, but he also went out of his way to keep everyone comfortable and smiling. Once, a blizzard started during the school day. We had a hectic time getting all the kids safely to their cars or buses and, when we finally walked out to our cars, he had his team out there scraping the freezing drizzle off our windshields. I appreciated him so much.

The school community is made up of teachers and students. But, beyond that, there is a team of adults who work hard every day to make schools a better place for everyone. Let’s hear it for the team!

Enjoy your students today!

Hope

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One response to “It Takes a Team”

1. on 06 Nov 2009 at 2:29 pm # Pam
   
   

   I loved the elementary school that I attended when I was a child. The school was one long hall with rooms on both sides. I can remember the teachers standing in the doorways every morning waiting on all the kids. When you walked by each one of them, they were usually smiling and always said hello to me by my name. It was a small school and I guess that’s how they knew everyone’s name.

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