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Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. The school district recently hosted a cookout to say thanks to is custodial and facilities staff, which continued working over the summer to prepare for the return to school in the fall.
8-30-2026 7:00pm
WPS Hosts Cookout, Thanking Custodial, Facilities Staff for Back-to-School Efforts
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Thanks to Westwood Public Schools for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.
When students return to school at the beginning of each school year, most are unaware of the work it takes to get their classrooms ready. This year, as they do every year, the custodial and facilities staff at Westwood Public Schools (WPS) spent the summer working hard to make sure everything was in top shape for back-to-school.
The school district recently hosted a cookout, attended by Superintendent Tim Piwowar and other staff members, to thank the custodial and facilities staff for their extraordinary effort while schools are closed. In addition to the normal sprucing up, this year the staff took on a good number of larger projects, which included:
· Emptying and cleaning the Deerfield School by July 1. The town has taken responsibility of the building and the facilities staff had to consolidate 15 rooms into one for temporary storage.
· Cleaning, stripping and waxing all classroom floors and hallways as well as painting classrooms and office areas. Westwood Public Schools have nearly 350,000 square feet of floor space.
· Painting the Westwood High School (WHS) kitchen and serving areas.
· Working with the IT department and outside contractors to install a bus camera pole. This included digging over 150 feet of trenching and adding an underground conduit.
· Preventative maintenance and HVAC projects completed by the district’s electrician and HVAC Control Technician.
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Members of the Westwood Public Schools custodial and facilities staff relax at a WPS hosted cookout.As an added degree of difficulty, custodial and facilities staff must work around 250 children who attend summer camp at WHS.
“The Facilities Department within any organization is similar to the book ‘The Little Engine that Could,’” said WPS Director of Facilities Tom Carey. “They use optimism and determination to accomplish goals. Plus, there is a tremendous amount of teamwork, trust and respect involved. We have the support of the administration and do our best to meet every department’s needs daily. Just like that little engine, we just might fall asleep at night saying ‘I think we can. I think we can.’”
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Members of Westwood Public Schools' custodial and facilities staff enjoy a relaxing moment with colleagues, after a summer of hard work.
