Comp Sci High’s Shadow Department
“The Ops team deserves appreciation everyday, not just on certain days. They care for us like they care for their own families. We have to remember that we are all part of the CSH family, and recognizing those who impact you the most is important.”
Walking down Wales Avenue, I look up to our beautiful building and I say: “Damn, this school really fire.”
As I’m walking in, I hear Ms. Alder screaming “Gooodmorninggg” at us, with a big smile on her face. I see Mr. P hustling, making sure all the phone bins are arranged properly, and that we know exactly where to put our phones. I go through the metal detectors and I see Ms. G sitting at the security desk asking students if they have their ID’s. She calmly addresses the students and says, “You need to buy an ID if you lost it, but give me your name and I'll type you in.”
I walk towards the scanner and scan my ID, and then I head towards the cafeteria where I see Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Kniesh handling breakfast. Ms. Ortiz screams and says, “Take out your IDs and get ready to scan in in order to get breakfast,” while Ms. Kneish handles the juice and fruits for students.
Can’t you see? It’s the top of the morning and they are already getting to work! Even though you see these four on the front lines, there is also a shadow behind the scenes making sure this building is at its best. Mr. Heyes, who was once an English teacher at CSH, is now the Building Facilities Manager. You notice how you never see him anymore? It's because he is running his ass off making sure that everything in this building is running properly. Can you see how these five are doing more for us than they do for themselves? They are making sure that we have everything we need, not just for one day, but for a whole year (including the summer!).
Have you ever asked Ms.Alder questions surrounding the school and she tells you to ask someone in the main office? If you have, which I assume you have, I have some people to introduce to you.
Introducing the Ops Team: Ms. Kneish, the Director of Operations, Ms. Ortiz, the Operations Manager, Ms. G, the Finance Manager, Mr. Poon, the IT manager, and Mr. Heyes, the Facilities Manager.
Ms Kneish, who I like to call Ms. Alder’s evil twin, is a mother of 2 boys. She is the baby in her family (you wouldn't expect that, would you) and she loves to read.
Ms. Ortiz is the oldest child, which makes sense, as she has a little bit of an authoritarian side to her. She loves shopping, and she’s also a sneakerhead. Just like many of us, Ms. Ortiz loves Harry Potter; she even has a tattoo that revolves around Harry Potter.
Ms. G, who is a mother of 4, as well as a devoted wife, is a serious Catholic. Not only is she a Hunger Games fan, but she's also in charge of the kids at her ministry.
Mr. Heyes, who is a musician, has played the guitar since he was 9 years old. He loves soccer and baseball. He also likes to read. Mr. Heyes spends time going on road trips because he loves to travel.
And then there’s Mr. P, who is obsessed with Spiderman. Aside from his job, he is also a coach for the track team, and he is a big sci-fi and sports fan. A big part of his life is dedicated to his fraternity (Kappa-ALPHA-PSI), where he serves as the president for his chapter. Mr. P is also a big foodie and fan of adventure: he loves food festivals, theme parks, and he has also been skydiving.
Together, these five people make up the CSH Dream Team.
When we had only one floor, with all 4 grades crowded in those damn hallways, I would always stop by the office on my bathroom stroll. As soon as I walked in to the office I’d see Ms. Ortiz clicking on her computer back to back. I’d go “Ms. Ortiz what are you doing,” and she’d tell me “Susu I'm working.”
I’d start to laugh because in my head I thought to myself what can she possibly be doing, the main office is the “chill spot.” I recently learned that Ms. Ortiz herself is in charge of student enrollment, events, trips, and making purchases at all the teacher’s request, and that she also works with student data. Many of us students think that when we walk into the main office and Ms.ortiz has a RBF we think that she doesn't like her job. The truth is she loves her job, and she loves the students at CSH also.
During an interview, I asked her what she loves most about CSH. She said “the students, her co-workers, and the building.”
Unlike Ms. Ortiz, who is always in the office, there’s Ms. Kneish, who is never in the office. Are you ever in class and you hear Ms. Kneish in the hallway telling a student to go to class, or walking side by side with Ms. Alder? Well, she plays a big role at CSH. She once told me: "For teachers, students are their babies, but for Ops, the building is their baby.” I asked her what she meant and she told me, when something is broken in the school they have to be notified, and when we are running out of supplies they also have to be notified. She basically told me that whenever something is wrong they are the ones who make it right.
Ms. G, who I like to call the “silent killer” is usually the quiet one who sits in the back. You might even think she is not there or she is not listening, but trust me she hears and sees everything. Some of you may wonder what Ms. G does. She is in charge of making sure that our school is financially stable. She reports back to Mr. Noah to ensure that nothing ever happens to our school. You may not think that her job is a big deal, but imagine if our school was to ever close because we had to file for bankruptcy? It isn’t easy being on top of all of our schools financial needs, especially because of the fact that CSH is really good at making sure that we don’t have to pay for the bare minimum.
Mr. P runs around the school making sure that the school’s wifi is working, that all the teachers are able to use their smart boards with no problems. He is the one we get sent to whenever we have a tech problem, or when we need a loaner. That is not the only thing he does, as he is also now our morning “security guy.” When you walk into the school you will hear someone say “TAKE OUT YOUR POUCHES,PUT YOUR PHONES IN YOUR 6TH PERIOD CLASS.” That's Mr. P. He is in charge of every single technology at CSH. Anything that plugs into the wall is managed by Mr. P. He makes sure that the “wheels do not fall off the bus.” Before the end of the day Mr. P also makes sure that all of our phones are in the right place at the right time.
To be honest I’d never imagined Mr. Heyes to be into managing the building because one thing I can forsure tell you is that he was a fantastic ELA teacher. He is now in charge of the physical building. He is the staff who is certified to test fire alarms, and non-fire and fire emergency drills. He also inspects all the HVAC systems, water and electrical systems. The custodians at CSH all report to Mr. Heyes when something in the schools needs fixing.
The Ops team does so much for us but we don't recognize it. We are so ungrateful and entitled that we don't take a second to appreciate those who make our lives easier. During my interviews with all the Ops staff members I asked them different questions to get a sense of what CSH students meant to them individually.
Ms. Ortiz said she wants the kids to remember that she will always have their backs, and she's always one phone call away. She also said that one lesson she would give the kids at CSH is to keep the people that look out for you the closest to you, and to believe in yourself no matter what.
Ms. Kneish said to make sure that “you enjoy highschool, utilize your resources and work harder now so you can work smarter later.” She also said that if she ever left the school she wants the kids to remember that, the “tough love came from a good place”.
Ms. G said she wanted the kids to always take advantage of their resources and whatever opportunity they get, and she also said that if she ever left she wanted the kids to remember that she will forever be part of the CSH family.
Mr. P said that “Life is a culmination of your choices but your preparation is key to the right choices.” When I asked Mr. P about the legacy he wanted to leave at CSH, he said “to remember me as the guy who worked hard and cracked jokes but I was also firm with the students and fair all across the board.”
I chased down Mr. Heyes and asked him the same questions. His responses were: “If I were to leave the school I would want the students to remember me for being an approachable and selfless person and that I made sure everyone got what they needed.” He also said that one lesson he would give the students at CSH is to “always follow your intuition and trust yourself no matter what,” because believing in yourself can lead you to amazing things throughout your life.
The Ops team deserves appreciation everyday, not just on certain days. They care for us like they care for their own families. We have to remember that we are all part of the CSH family, and recognizing those who impact you the most is important.