A light breaks, it is fixed. A locker is jammed, it is opened. The trash is overflowing, it is taken out. A blizzard covers the parking lot outside in snow, it is shoveled. The little and big jobs that just somehow get done. Every day and every night the school is cleaned, fixed, and taken care of by the custodians which are the silent work horses that make sure the school is ready to operate every single day.

The custodians at Revere are the people that come to school every day, no matter the circumstance, with a smile and an attitude that is always willing to give a helping hand. They make sure the school is clean and operational for the students and staff every day before school and even stay late at night to insure a safe environment for every student and teacher.

Revere’s head custodian Brenda Warner oversees the operations and all activities of the custodial staff. Warner described an average work day at Revere.

“During the work day it is our duty to maintain the integrity of the building and the safety of the students and faculty from setting up ceiling tiles to cleaning up spills,” Warner said.

The integrity of the building is achieved every day of the week by the custodial staff by completing their jobs on time and with one hundred percent effort every time. Revere High School principal Phil King described how the custodians keep the building running.

“They do anything except teaching, we couldn’t operate without them, period. If we don’t have a clean place, if it’s not taken care of, then we wouldn’t be able to function,” King said.

The custodians have an eight and a half hour work day, in the morning they do simple tasks such as unlocking the building and checking all its electrical needs. During the day they could have jobs as complicated as high maintenance of the entire building to the simplest of tasks like making sure the trash gets taken out. King explained their workday and what it means to him and the staff.

“Every day, every hour, you name it. Simple things such as a broken locker, they fix it, and they are very positive people. I appreciate that, and it means that they care about the school, they care about the kids, they care about the staff, they care about the people here, and that’s what matters the most,” King said.

Every day the custodians do tasks that not everyone would be willing to do and get it done with a very positive attitude. King reflected on a task he can remember that is something that he wouldn’t be comfortable with doing.

“The scissor lift is a four-wheeled machine that is down by the gymnasium but when they use that scissor lift and go clear up into the rafters of the gym or they hang something in the gym that’s probably the most memorable thing because to me it’s kind of scary to see someone go up that high,” King said.

Along with the scary tasks that everyone might not be up to do, just like every job there are always memories that come free of charge. Warner described the memories that she has made during her time at Revere.

“I cannot say because the memories have all been special in their own way and there is no way to say which is my fondest because I plan on making many more, I have gotten to know a lot of great people at Revere. It amazes me how receptive the faculty and student are here,” Warner said.

Every job means something to the worker whether it is a feeling of accomplishment or the feeling of helping someone in need. Warner explained what the job means to her.

“This job has a certain satisfaction and getting things prepared and keeping the students and faculty in a safe and sanitary environment so that they may concentrate on their task at hand,” Warner said.

Joel Reddig, a custodian at Revere for twelve years, described what his job means to him.

“[The job] is good; we get to interact with everybody and get to keep things safe and sanitary,” Reddig said.

The small tasks that not everyone notices but always get done during a normal school day, such as how the parking lot is freshly salted after every snow and the heat keeps the school warm in the winter. These tasks are the little things that aren’t always taken into account but are completely necessary for the school to function every single day and are all done by the custodians.