By Caitlin Daley and Sharon Webster
While students and educators were soaking up the summer sun on the beach and relaxing this summer, the custodians at BHS were busy at work. From the last day of the previous year, when the final bell rung, until the students returned in late August, the custodians took apart the school and created a clean, improved condition. We had the privilege of talking to Eddie Angiollo who described to us the summer cleaning process of the entirety of the school. The grueling – but completely necessary – task starts with the locker bays around the commons, according to custodian Ed Angiolli. Locks must be cut off, and the dents are meticulously hammered out. Although students are expected to clear out their own lockers, it does happen that some things are left behind. Coats, lunch boxes, backpacks, phone cases, notebooks, pencils, and a vast array of miscellaneous items are donated to the Salvation Army or recycled. A few days and couple hundred lockers later, the custodians see to other tasks, Angiolli said. The next task is the most rigorous, Angiolli said. Room by room, floor by floor, all of the furniture such as tables and chairs are cleared out so that summer cleaning can begin. Everything we take for granted- the lights and boards, clocks, and walls, are washed to such perfection that the re-waxed floors have to compete with the glistening lights of the cleaned furniture. All of the furniture is cleaned and free of gum when it reenters the room, ready to take on a classroom of students in the upcoming year. A fresh start every year, many students will agree, really starts with the building itself. Likewise, Angiolli explains, the bathrooms and cafeteria follow where everything is put back in a better state than it was left. All other rooms and areas, the gym, and the lobby are cleaned and the curb appeal of BHS is revamped.
Running on the track on some summer days and meeting for captain’s practices, students may sometimes see the active work our custodians do for the students at BHS. They are an essential part of an efficient academic atmosphere that students and faculty are submerged in every year.
On behalf of the student body at BHS, thank you to all the custodians for the effort that is put in throughout the summer months and every academic year.
To further show your appreciation for our janitorial staff, please remember…
1. To keep your locker clean—it is yours for four years and will be inherited by underclassmen in future years.
2. To always clear off your lunch table after you’re done—it’s a simple task but it makes a big difference!
