With the 2022-2023 school year at Townsend Harris High School set to begin on September 8, the custodians have been working to maintain the cleanliness of the building throughout the summer. Students who participated in the Summer Rising program in July and August have observed custodians working their way through all floors of the school in anticipation of the bustling foot traffic in the coming weeks. 

Some students reported that they moved classrooms at times to allow custodians to clean the spaces. Rising sophomore Fiona Gao said, “They work hard to clean our school.”

Here is a slideshow of the various tasks they have been undertaking to prepare the building:

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Additionally, the custodians have been positioning new furniture in classrooms and the library (see photos). Currently, room 510 has new seating arrangements that can be moved to form different groupings. 

Despite these big projects, custodian Hector Benitez still points out the smaller tasks necessary to get the building ready for the upcoming school year. “It’s kind of tough when [people] hang a lot of paper on the walls, which is kind of sticky,” said Mr. Benitez. “Sometimes, some kids stick gum under the desks, and we have to scrape that off…which gives us more work.” 

Mr. Benitez said he enjoys seeing students returning to the building and getting to watch as they work to reach their goals. He especially loves having former students visit him at THHS.

Photos by Aastha Patel and Aizay Amin