Every person in our school will confirm that Millard Fillmore couldn't operate without our school secretary.
Mrs. Terry Green can juggle the phone ringing, the intercom system buzzing, a line of children waiting for their bus passes, a parent with snacks for their child's class and a couple of teachers asking about the budget. Add to that, a pile of mail waiting to be placed in staff mailboxes, purchase orders for supplies, giving out birthday pencils to young, temporarily crowned royalty-for-the-day students and directing substitute teachers and visitors to the correct wing of an immense building. Green is a master multi-tasker!
The first thing Green said she loves about her job is having the contact with all our students and their families. Often, she is the very first person you meet when you come to our school. Families know that Green is the conduit for reaching their children. Many phone calls are received each day with requests for messages to be given to students or questions about events happening in the school or after school.
Another facet of this job that Green loves is the variety in her day. No day is ever the same as another. She is the main connection between our district office, our administration, the public, families of our students and the entire staff at our school. Other schools send their interoffice mail through our BOCES delivery system. Green sorts this and puts the mail into the staff mailboxes. Every single day, she is in contact with our bus garage, making sure that students are getting on the right bus and going to the right place. Occasionally, that can be difficult. At the end of the day, even Green admits that things can get “a little hectic.” Parents come for their children a few minutes early. The class is outside on the playground for recess or onstage rehearsing for a play. Locating the student to notify them that it's time to come to the office to meet their parent can be challenging. Factor in that random chance that the child went to the bathroom or volunteered to read in a younger class.
Green seems to exude calm in the face of any storm. Recently, we experienced an emergency closing. An impending snow storm threatened unsafe driving conditions for our school buses, so the decision was made to close school earlier than usual. Parents complete forms for this situation at the beginning of the school year. Circumstances can change and occasionally, those forms aren't updated, creating uncertainty for the child, the staff and the bus drivers.
Green knows the children and their families so well, that, in most cases, a quick phone call to the parent, grandparent or the babysitter solves the problem. She also credits our staff with solving uncertain situations.
“If an emergency happens, the staff always pitches in and helps out,” she said. “I love my job because of the staff at our school.”
One might ask how Green prepared for such a position. Her path was full of twists and turns! Eighteen years ago, she started as a teacher's aide. Her principal responsibilities were attendance, working with the AV equipment (televisions, VCRs, opaque projectors, requests for material from BOCES, etc.) and assisting in the library.
She has also worked part-time in our district office and one year at the middle school office. She even assisted in the computer lab and supervised in our in-school suspension room.
Eventually, she took the civil service test and landed our school secretary job, where she has been for the last 10 years.
Green works through the summer on many tasks that must be completed before school opens in September. She usually enrolls between 40 and 50 new students. This involves coordinating the assignment of a classroom and teacher for the student. Arrangements must be made for busing, often one route in the morning and a different route to a child care provider in the afternoon. All the student's records must be received, either from the parent or from a previous school district and filed. School supplies for the following year are shipped during the summer and must be checked in. Green accomplishes this in time for the custodians to stack the boxes in preparation for the return of the teachers. Surprisingly, summer work for Green can require longer hours than the school year because of this crunch to get everything done before school opening.
Our mission here at Millard Fillmore and at Moravia is educating our students to become all they can be. That can be a complex task with so many facets and aspects brought together for the benefit of the students. Green, with her pleasant and welcoming demeanor, works at the epicenter of this effort.
Thank you, Mrs. Green, for all you do to make our school such a good place for children!
Pat Kinney is an art teacher at Millard Fillmore Elementary School in Moravia.
The first thing Green said she loves about her job is having the contact with all our students and their families. Often, she is the very first person you meet when you come to our school. Families know that Green is the conduit for reaching their children. Many phone calls are received each day with requests for messages to be given to students or questions about events happening in the school or after school.
Another facet of this job that Green loves is the variety in her day. No day is ever the same as another. She is the main connection between our district office, our administration, the public, families of our students and the entire staff at our school. Other schools send their interoffice mail through our BOCES delivery system. Green sorts this and puts the mail into the staff mailboxes. Every single day, she is in contact with our bus garage, making sure that students are getting on the right bus and going to the right place. Occasionally, that can be difficult. At the end of the day, even Green admits that things can get “a little hectic.” Parents come for their children a few minutes early. The class is outside on the playground for recess or onstage rehearsing for a play. Locating the student to notify them that it's time to come to the office to meet their parent can be challenging. Factor in that random chance that the child went to the bathroom or volunteered to read in a younger class.
Green seems to exude calm in the face of any storm. Recently, we experienced an emergency closing. An impending snow storm threatened unsafe driving conditions for our school buses, so the decision was made to close school earlier than usual. Parents complete forms for this situation at the beginning of the school year. Circumstances can change and occasionally, those forms aren't updated, creating uncertainty for the child, the staff and the bus drivers.
Green knows the children and their families so well, that, in most cases, a quick phone call to the parent, grandparent or the babysitter solves the problem. She also credits our staff with solving uncertain situations.
“If an emergency happens, the staff always pitches in and helps out,” she said. “I love my job because of the staff at our school.”
One might ask how Green prepared for such a position. Her path was full of twists and turns! Eighteen years ago, she started as a teacher's aide. Her principal responsibilities were attendance, working with the AV equipment (televisions, VCRs, opaque projectors, requests for material from BOCES, etc.) and assisting in the library.
She has also worked part-time in our district office and one year at the middle school office. She even assisted in the computer lab and supervised in our in-school suspension room.
Eventually, she took the civil service test and landed our school secretary job, where she has been for the last 10 years.
Green works through the summer on many tasks that must be completed before school opens in September. She usually enrolls between 40 and 50 new students. This involves coordinating the assignment of a classroom and teacher for the student. Arrangements must be made for busing, often one route in the morning and a different route to a child care provider in the afternoon. All the student's records must be received, either from the parent or from a previous school district and filed. School supplies for the following year are shipped during the summer and must be checked in. Green accomplishes this in time for the custodians to stack the boxes in preparation for the return of the teachers. Surprisingly, summer work for Green can require longer hours than the school year because of this crunch to get everything done before school opening.
Our mission here at Millard Fillmore and at Moravia is educating our students to become all they can be. That can be a complex task with so many facets and aspects brought together for the benefit of the students. Green, with her pleasant and welcoming demeanor, works at the epicenter of this effort.
Thank you, Mrs. Green, for all you do to make our school such a good place for children!
Pat Kinney is an art teacher at Millard Fillmore Elementary School in Moravia.
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.