A Day in the Life of the Custodians

Santa Monica High School, 5:45 AM. It is still dark outside but two men stroll in the school and open the Michigan Gates. While it is still chilly outside, slowly, the whole school lightens up. First the lights of the Innovation building turn on, then the History building until the whole school is lit. These two men are Jeff Peep and Dashawn Green, Samo’s day custodians. While most kids arrive at school at around 8 in the morning and some at 7:12 AM for their first classes, this is all made possible by these two men.“Everyday we’re the first ones on campus.” Peep says. “We do all sorts of things in the morning, from opening the restrooms to raising the flags.”The custodians are often to be seen around school, riding their cars all around campus.“When the day starts, we have a lot of tasks to take care of.” Green says. “We go around answering all different types of call. Also, we pick up trash after lunchtime.”“We love all the teachers on campus.” Peep says. “I wish I could pick a favorite. But I can’t think of anyone. They are all so great and always take time out of their jobs to help us do ours.”Finally their day ends at 2:30 PM, and after eight and half hours of hard work, they leave place for the afternoon custodians to finish their work. Sometimes, as students of Samo, it is easy to forget that the custodians have lives outside of school. While Peep has a lot of hobbies such as cars and dogtraining, when he is not at school, Green takes time to take care of his son.“When I’m not either taking care of the school or of my son, I love to play and watch football and basketball.” Green says. “I’m a 49ers fan. For basketball, I’m a big fan of the throwback era with Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson.”“Same here.” Peep says. “Though, since I live in Los Angeles, I’m also a Lakers fan, although the last couple of years have been a little rough.”“If I had a message to tell to the students it would be to help us help you.” Peep says “You guys have a great campus - the best one of the district I think- and it’s a shame when I see kids not taking care of it. Studying at such a beautiful school is a great opportunity and it sucks to know that some kids just trash it.”“Personally, for me it’s great to see all the students at Samo interact with each other.” Peep says. “I would encourage all the seniors and juniors - the upperclassmen - to talk to the freshmen and encourage them to take care of the school.”Both of the custodians encourage the students of Samo to chat with them, introduce themselves, and talk about sports, cars or even dogtraining.