Custodial Team
Getting to know our amazing Custodial Team
At Hamilton District Christian High, we often talk about ourselves as a “learning community” rather than as a “school.” We want to move from the idea of school as building to school as a group of learners.
Even so, every group of learners needs a place to call home. The campus at 92 Glancaster Road has been HDCH’s home base since 1989. With 466 students and 51 staff using it this year, you can imagine that our facility needs a lot of care – cleaning, maintenance, and planning – in order to stay a great space for learning!
It is the Custodial Team, led by Fred Eisinga that keeps us running. We thought it would be good to put faces and names to these often-behind-the-scenes members of our staff. Rick Wright and Maria Lowe are our part-time custodial staff. They primarily work the afternoon shift, which includes daily cleaning as well as supporting rental groups that make use of our space. Maria started at Hamilton District Christian High in June 2001 and Rick in September 2001, so they know this building and its quirks intimately. They were happy to let Fred Eisinga, our Director of Facilities, do the talking. Read on to get to know Fred better, and to hear his vision for the future of the HDCH facility.
Fred, tell us the story of how you came to work at Hamilton District Christian High.
After a long career in manufacturing as a toolmaker, millwright, and then supervisor, I was blessed with our manufacturing facility making a move to China—although at the time, I didn’t see this as a blessing! That move was the beginning of looking for a new career. I took some time off to do much-needed reflection on what God had in store for me next. When the opportunity for a position at Hamilton District Christian High came about, I was not sure if this was where I should be. After all my years in manufacturing, did I want to deal with teenagers? Well, God is a God of humour! What a ride it has been since I started in 2010.
How would you describe your role here?
My role here at Hamilton District Christian High takes on many faces. I am the Janitor, Head of Maintenance, Property Manager and foremost a Mentor to this wonderful group of young people we call the students.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your work?
The biggest challenge in my work is the many hats I need to wear, and the need to be able to change hats on the run. On a more serious note, the challenge is the needs of an older building with its aging infrastructure. This aging results in many maintenance projects.
Is there anything that would surprise people about the Hamilton District Christian High facility, or about the work it takes to care for the facility?
I am not sure if people realize how much the building is in use. The amount of activity that takes place from 7:00am till 11:00pm most weekdays, and the many rentals on the weekends. This building is a community hub and a great place for outreach into our city. It takes a great deal of coordination and communication to keep the school building in good condition.
Related: Lunch Made With Love
Imagine we are sitting in HDCH ten years from now. What do you see? What has changed? What is the same?
I am not sure if I will be here in ten years, but definitely in five. I see a new addition on the east side with a great student lounge. I see a new fire-suppression sprinkler system in place, and maybe we will be tied into the city sewer system by 2019. New doors and hardware throughout the building. A new bridge over Tiffany Creek, and development of walking trails around the property. But foremost I see this property and the building to be the same as it has always been, as a place for the community to come to and participate in our mandate to “love our neighbours as ourselves.” This will continue to be a place for spiritual and educational growth.
Hamilton District Christian High is blessed with a Custodial Team that cares deeply about students and staff, and that works hard to maintain and improve a space where the character is cultivated, through learning, for lives of service to God. They also bless us by modelling lives of service. We are grateful for their work, and their participation in the life of this community.
Cheryl Webb
Director of Operations at Hamilton District Christian High