The Work Never Stops, Part I

That said, is it really work? Around Collegiate, actually…no.

 

So say several Cougar colleagues who were holding forth in their offices one recent toasty July afternoon, culling files, planning for the upcoming school year, reflecting, and enjoying some quiet time before the halls and classrooms bustle again with activity in a few very short weeks.

 

Cathy Kirchmier, the assistant to the Head of the Middle School since 2015, was closing up shop and heading home when I stopped by.

 

What keeps you busy during the summer when the kids aren’t here? I asked as the sounds of tree work just south of Flippen Hall filled the air.

 

“Just being here in the office in case the phone rings or anybody needs anything,” she said. “We have shorter hours, but there’s lots to be done and lots to get ready for the school year.”

 

Such as? I inquired.

 

“I’m working right now on teacher schedules, which Rives [Fleming] has prepared,” she said.  “I make color-coded schedules for all the teachers who can’t read the PowerSchool schedule.”

 

That would have been me, back in the day, I interjected.

 

“Yes,” she responded with a knowing smile. “We also have handbook material to get to the printer. Lockers need to be assigned. Supplies need to be ready.”

 

What brings you back year after year? I asked.

 

“Middle school is always fun,” she said. “It’s the people. It’s the kids. It’s never the same day twice. Never dull. There’s always a laugh right around the corner.”

 

I moved on to the office of Jeff Mancabelli, the new Head of School, where I ran into Amy Verdi, his Executive Assistant.

 

With no kids on this part of the campus, I began, are things slower in the summer?

“With the work Jeff is doing, there’s constant activity,” she said. “People are coming in for meetings or just dropping by to say hello. Everyone says it slows down during the summer, but it hasn’t been as much. Then again, we’ve just transitioned to a new Head of School.”

 

How has that gone? I asked.

 

“Jeff has hit the ground running,” she replied. “He’s doing an exceptional job of knowing who people are and where they work. He’s done his homework. When someone drops by, chances are he knows who it is and what department they’re in. It’s pretty amazing.”

 

I assume you’re enjoying this gig, I said.

 

“Oh, yes,” Amy responded. “You never know what’s going to happen next. It’s fun. It’s non-stop. The work doesn’t stop. There’s always something going on. It’s OK.”

 

My next stop was the Pitt Hall front desk where I found Julie Miller, who’s beginning her 30th year at Collegiate and 20th as Upper School administrative assistant.

 

What do you do during the summer when school’s out? I asked.

 

“Right now, I’m working on assigning everyone a locker,” she said. “New this year, students will put their phones in a phone locker, so we’re trying to assign everyone a locker near where their phone will go every day. There will be 30 lockers, two advisories in each locker. Students will come in in the morning and set their phone in a pouch with their name on it in the phone locker for their advisory.”

Is this fun, complicated, or just part of the job? I asked.

 

“All of the above,” she responded immediately. “It’s really complicated, which is a whole lot of fun. It’s quiet so I can focus on it.”

Until some guy with a recorder interrupts you and starts asking questions. Right? I said.

 

She smiled, then continued, “During the [regular school] day, someone comes around every five minutes, which I love, but it’s hard to do focused work.”

 

Anything else going on in addition to assigning lockers? I asked.

        

“Mostly in the summer, I get things ready for the next school year,” she said, “so, there’s a lot of paperwork that happens. We make maps and schedules for Parents Night and sign-up forms for Parent Conference Day just to get ahead of the curve. There’re sign-up sheets that happen on Day One. All the lists in the computer have to be set up so when you send an email, it goes to the right people. We change over faculty, staff, and students. We roll over the Freshmen coming up and roll out the Seniors going away.

Seems very tedious, I said, but you always seem to have a positive attitude.

“My job is really enjoyable because I love the kids,” she said. “In the summertime, I’m just anticipating all the things that are coming. It’s like when you clean your house before a party. You set things up, but it’s more like doing it to be ready for the next welcome, and it’s going to be awesome.”