Trundle returns in confidence

H House Advisor Al Trundle returned to Samo on Feb. 14 after being rushed to the hospital due to a kidney complication in January. Trundle started having symptoms Jan. 10 and left school that day to go directly to an emergency room. He was then admitted and underwent a procedure to correct the complication. The experience was a pleasant reminder about how much he is appreciated at Samo and was missed by students and staff during his absence. “The funniest part is, walking across campus right now is very difficult, because students and teachers would want to stop and talk. But it has let me know what family is about. The fact that students, parents and teachers sent emails and people came and visited me was immensely sweet,” Trundle said. Many people visited Trundle in the hospital, including Samo Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton. Spanish teacher Claudia Bautista-Nicholas brought her entire family to visit him. Bautista has known Trundle for 15 years, and she was troubled to hear that Trundle was in the hospital. “He is a dear friend and the strongest person I know. I know that if there is ever anything wrong in my life, I go to him. If I ever have a problem with a student, he’s the first person I think of,” Bautista said. “The idea that he was sick devastated me. I found out through a student that Mr. Trundle was not here, so I texted him asking what was going on. My whole family adores him, so we went to visit him to make sure he was okay. I’m so glad he’s back; he was so missed. The kids love him. Having him gone was really scary for us.” Trundle’s absence came suddenly, so there were no preparations for a temporary replacement. Each situation in which a staff member cannot work because of medical complications is different, so actions might need to be taken that have not previously been planned. Samo must figure out how long the staff member might be out. Once this is done, they can contact HR to find a qualified replacement. Due to such short notice, Samo relies on retired faculty members to fill in across the district. “If I knew I was going to go under a procedure like this in the future, I could request to already have someone here filling in before I leave. Since mine was a surprise, it took time to process and to figure out how long I would be out, so it really depends on the situation what the protocol is,” Trundle said. Wendy Wax-Gellis was contacted on Feb. 1 by Suzanne Webb from SMMUSD Human Resources to ask if she could fill in for Trundle. She used to work full-time as a principal for many schools in the district such as McKinley Elementary, Samo, Malibu High School and Grant Elementary. Wax-Gellis worked with students from all grades when filling in for Trundle, but particularly the seniors who are at risk of not graduating. There were also students who just stopped in to get advice on a variety of matters or needed a listening ear. “I loved filling in for Mr. Trundle. It was heartwarming to see how connected he is to his students and how his students are to him. The H House Office was so warm and helpful during my stay and the students were amazing. As a long time colleague and friend of Mr. Trundle, I am relieved to know he is on the mend. He knows if he needs me in the future, I’m there in a heartbeat,” Wax-Gellis said. With the help of fellow administrators, Trundle was able to have a lighter load of work when he came back. He wasn’t as swamped with emails from students and parents as he thought he would be because he kept up with work as best he could from home. Trundle would respond to emails from parents to explain his situation. As a result of the hard work from Trundle’s coworkers, one of the only major things that needed to be rescheduled were the academic planning meetings. More time slots were opened up on Samo’s website for students to schedule their meetings. “Whether it was another house advisor, Ms. Asiaban, Ms. Wax-Gellis or Ms. Martin, they were all amazing with helping out. Everybody chipped in and picked up a little to lighten the fears and tears of students, so to speak,” Trundle said. In order for Trundle to be able to come back to Samo, he had to be cleared by a doctor and give the necessary paperwork to the district. “I’m back, I’m not 100 percent, but I’m working on it and slowly recovering,” Trundle said. The caring gestures of the Samo community and the hard work of Trundle’s fellow staff members helped to make Trundle’s transition back to Samo as smooth as possible. The Samo community is glad to have Trundle back in good health and recovering. “I have seen everyone wishing Mr. Trundle a speedy recovery and being patient as we prepare seniors for graduation and underclassmen for the scheduling process. People have filled in where they can among the advisors in order to support the students and parents on Mr. Trundle’s caseload. This is a very supportive and caring community that wants what is best for all,” Shelton said.