While students were away, staff was busy getting ready

"In the summer, I get to dress down," he said. "Putting on shoes for the first day of school is a killer. It will be the first time since June I've had shoes on."

Changing shoes isn't the only thing the principal must do to get ready for the first day of school on Sept. 9. Mr. Marcy and other educators across the Albany Diocese spent the summer months preparing for the upcoming school year. Building maintenance, state and diocesan reports, and class scheduling are among the duties school staffs undertake during the summer months.

Summer work

Summer is a busy time. It's when she orders new books, discards old ones and re-stacks the bookshelf. She also uses the time to search the internet for websites that may be helpful for her students.

In the library, with stacks of books on the floor and covering the tables, she said of the summer months, "I love the silence. I get so many interruptions during the school year."

Ready for return

"I enjoy the excitement," Mrs. Hearley said. "The kids like to see their friends, and there is the newness. Everything looks fresh. It's also good to see my old students and how they've grown."

Three weeks before school begins, Mrs. Hearley starts coming to school on a regular basis to arrange the furniture in her room, decorate the bulletin boards, get her students lockers ready, and send home letters to her new class telling them what they'll need for the school year.

While much is new in Mrs. Hearley's classroom, she does have a few first day of school traditions.

"I almost always on the first day of school read the same story about a little boy going to school and his dog missing him," she said. "I also do an interest inventory with the students."

Repair time

The work done by the custodial staff in the four-storey Gothic structure creates the unique lingering scent that alerts visitors to the building that the first day of school is nearing. This scent -- a combination of paint, floor stripper, floor wax and cleaning products -- also alerts visitors to the jobs completed over the summer months.

During the summer, the three-member custodial staff painted six classrooms using 20 gallons of paint, stripped the floors and applied fresh sealer and wax, steam-cleaned the carpets, and sanded and polyurethaned the gymnasium floor. Other summer projects included testing the heating system and making repairs, making repairs to the outside of the building, inspecting the playground, and simple things like airing out lockers and moving the pencil sharpener in a classroom to a different wall.

Each job seems to entail moving furniture. "We do a lot of furniture moving," the custodian said. In fact, the hallways, usually empty, are filled with desks, tables and chairs moved out of classrooms so the floors could be cleaned.

Lots to do

"During the summer, I'm constantly busy," she said. "There is a lot of preparation and getting ready for the new school year. I could stay here all day."

Ms. Eppedico, who began working at St. Mary/St. Alphonsus this summer, brings nine years of experience as a school secretary to the job.

In her small office with pink walls, white molding, a high ceiling and mauve carpeting, the phone doesn't seem to stop ringing and a constant stream of visitors stop in her office. "I just do a lot of things at the same time," she said.

Menus and transcripts

While the phone will only ring more and the interruptions will increase once school begins, Ms. Eppedico looks forward to it.

"It's always exciting waiting for the children to come," she said. "We work all summer for this."

Bustle ahead

While he looks forward to the first day of school, he also enjoys the low-key atmosphere of the summer months. "I love it when it's quiet," he said. "It's great to hear the kids and the laughter; but during the year, I'm being tugged in different directions. In the summer, it all disappears."

In the quietness of summer, when the interruptions consist only of a ringing phone, Mr. Marcy works on the class lists and the school schedule. Scheduling can be a challenge for a principal.

"You try to meet everyone's needs," Mr. Marcy explained. "You can never satisfy everyone, but it's fun, too."

Changes for fall

"Everybody used to gather in the Great Hall, and then they'd go to the teacher's room," he said. "At our June faculty meeting, we started talking about it. It's brutal. The parents come in, and then the kid doesn't want to leave the parent. Then one kid starts crying and another sees him crying, so he starts. So then the parents go down to the classroom, and it takes a lot of time for the teacher to get them organized."

Over the summer, Mr. Marcy worked out a new procedure. Students will report directly to their classrooms. Volunteers will be posted to help children who are unsure of where to go.

Special students

"I want the kids to end the week knowing they're special," he said.

The former principal of Queensbury High School knows his days of summer solitude are coming to an end, but he looks forward to the camaraderie the return of the school staff will bring.

"I enjoy being with the faculty," he said. "I sense a degree of commitment that I haven't sensed before. I hope we have a good year."

(09-03-98) [[In-content Ad]]