{"id":12476,"date":"2024-08-12T12:21:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T16:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=12476"},"modified":"2024-08-12T12:21:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T16:21:01","slug":"custodians-prepare-for-return-of-students-and-teachers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/custodians-prepare-for-return-of-students-and-teachers\/","title":{"rendered":"Custodians prepare for return of students and teachers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Trantwood Elementary custodians, from left, Barbara Williams, Adam Watts, and Neda Grable said the school will be clean and ready for students when they return.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

-By Cindy Butler Focke<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
School custodians have been busy this summer, including Trantwood Elementary head custodian Barbara Williams. The school was among approximately 20 to have gym floors screened and recoated this summer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Custodians stay very busy throughout the year, and summer is no exception.<\/p>\n

They keep the buildings clean and safe while school is in session and make sure a variety of school improvement projects are completed in June, July and August.<\/p>\n

Trantwood Elementary Head Custodian Barbara Williams said her staff is working hard to make sure the school is in tip-top shape before teachers and students return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are busy, busy, busy!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

They are in the process of stripping and waxing the floors in the entire school. That means bookcases and cabinets filled with books and supplies must be protected and covered with paper, and possibly moved. Carpets, including the school library, have been shampooed.<\/p>\n

Williams has worked for Virginia Beach City Public Schools for 16 years, including the past nine at Trantwood. She misses the children and teachers during the summer. \u201cThey show the custodians a lot of respect for the work we do in the school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Principal Sean Holleran praised the custodial staff at Trantwood and other schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important components for student and staff success is a positive, welcoming and clean environment to work and learn in while at school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Trantwood was one of about 20 schools to have gym floors screened and recoated this summer.\u00a0 Five elementary schools \u2014 Pembroke, Providence, Rosemont, Seatack and Thalia \u2014 had gym floors replaced with resilient flooring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Great Neck Middle head custodian Oliver Joyner and staff have worked hard this summer. The school hosted summer school and the custodial staff deep cleaned the entire three-story building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Great Neck Middle also had its two gym floors refinished. Head custodian Oliver Joyner said working during the summer is rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is when we can really make the building shine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The school has been deep-cleaned and floors in the entire three-story building stripped and waxed. Furniture was removed and put back in place. Carpets in the media center, chorus, band and orchestra rooms have also been cleaned. Light bulbs have been changed, ceiling tiles replaced, painting touched up, and more.<\/p>\n

In addition, Joyner and staff kept the building clean while approximately 300 students attended summer school. Principal Paige Scherr said the custodians are appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreparing the buildings for the new year over the summer is difficult under normal circumstances,\u201d she said. Custodial staffs \u201care the rocks for our school system\u201d and provide students and teachers an environment in which to thrive, she added.<\/p>\n

Joyner has been with VBCPS for 34 years and enjoys the job he has held since the school opened in 2012.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a people person,\u201d he said. He likes the family atmosphere. \u201cI love coming to work; we have a good crew,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Floors have been stripped and waxed at Great Neck Middle School this summer, thanks to the custodial staff including Blanca Salazar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Director of Custodial and Distribution Services Sam Nix said a multitude of projects have been completed or are still underway. In addition to gym flooring, the list includes items such as painting and replacements of roofs, fire alarms, phone systems and HVAC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs summer programs continue to expand, the challenges to get the schools ready for the fall increase,\u201d Nix said.<\/p>\n

The staff always rise to the challenge through teamwork and proper planning, he added.<\/p>\n

Williams and Joyner said their schools will be ready for approximately 550 and 1,100 students respectively when they return to school for the 2024-25 school year.<\/p>\n

Joyner said he\u2019s excited to welcome students back. \u201cYou build relationships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Williams agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s so peaceful around here, but I do miss them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Interested in a rewarding career as part of our school communities? Visit <\/em>https:\/\/www.vbschools.com\/careers<\/em><\/a> to learn more about our custodial and other job opportunities.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Trantwood custodial staff, including Adam Watts, have stripped and waxed floors in the entire school in preparation for students\u2019 return.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Head custodian Oliver Joyner said the school building is ready for the return of students and teachers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

-By Cindy Butler Focke Custodians stay very busy throughout the year, and summer is no exception. They keep the buildings clean and safe while school is in session and make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12476"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12489,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12476\/revisions\/12489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}