***Original published in South Mountain Press, July 27, 2018***
A School Custodian’s Job is Never Done
As the classic Alice Cooper song goes, School’s out for summer but School is (not) out forever. When the children of Onanole Elementary School return to their classrooms this fall, one of the staff happy to see their return will be the school’s custodian, Toby Kondratiew.
While teachers and students have been enjoying their summer vacation, Toby has been giving the entire school a thorough scrub down and polish. When school is in session, he normally will split his 6 hour work day between opening up the facility at 7:30 and returning at 4:00 for the regular cleaning routine. But when staff and students are not around for the summer break, it gives him a chance to ‘deep’ clean areas of the school that have to be put off. Toby has been busy with larger projects like polishing floors, washing windows inside and out, and arranging for contractors to attend to the carpets. Plus he has had a chance to spruce up all the flooring. For anyone who has stripped and polished floors, you know that it can be a multi-day project and you do not want anyone tromping all over your work while it is in progress.
Summer is also a time for any major building renovations that need to be completed. Onanole Elementary is a relatively young 30 year old school compared to the sixty plus years of some of the other 12 schools in the District, so Toby gets a break from too much disruption to his summer routine this year.
Fred Scott, the Maintenance Supervisor for Rolling River School Division, coordinates the schedules of the Division’s 22 custodians. He had nothing but praise for Toby’s efforts and work ethic. “Whenever I say I am headed to the north of the School Division, I am asked if I am visiting that ‘Clean’ school in Onanole. Toby gets those floors so shiny, I usually need my sunglasses.”
Mr. Scott explained that the custodians are the front line for maintaining the Division’s valuable infrastructure. The number of employees is based on a formula of one person cleaning around 2000 sq/ft per hour each day of a five day work week. If there is a building emergency such as flooding during the middle of the night, the custodian gets the first call to check on the issue. After winter storms, they are at the schools early to start the snow clearing operations.
It is helpful to Mr. Scott to take into consideration the direct input from the custodians who intimately know the buildings. For example, one of the initiatives that Toby brought to the job was to recommend installing Chair Slippers on all the feet of the student’s chairs. They are bright blue, pre-cut tennis balls that help prevent scratches in the classroom floors when the chairs slide back and forth.
As Toby explained, he was grateful that the job of Custodian for the Onanole Elementary came open seven years ago. He has lived in the area all of his life and for two years he was taught in the one room Clear Lake School No. 2135 that was located a few miles west of town. After consolidation in 1962, he was moved to the new Elementary school, No. 2402, in Onanole. Later, his main vocation in life was carpentry but after a lifetime of hard work, his body needed a break. The custodian job keeps him active, engaged, and employed in the area.
Toby had this to say about his position. “Everyone knows your name and there are good kids here and I like working with the Principal, Pam Ryznar. It can be a little challenging during the school year when the kids are not as thoughtful as they should be when making a mess. But I enjoy them all being able to pronounce my last name by the end of the year!”
He was not the only Kondratiew to walk the halls of Onanole Elementary as it was also his daughter’s elementary school. He proudly pointed her out in the school photos hanging in the main hall and there was not a speck of dust on any of those frames!
When Toby is not busy at the school, he is active with his Quarter horses and supporting his daughter’s goal of becoming a Veterinary Technician.
The Rolling River School Division Superintendent, Mary Anne Ploshynsky, commended all of the Division’s Custodians hard work no matter the time of year. She sees them as integral parts of the education system and wanted to acknowledge their dedication.
For more information about the Rolling River School Division and Onanole Elementary, visit www.rrsd.mb.ca.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.