Students in Room 3 at Te Awa School recently enjoyed a pizza lunch for being the cleanest classroom in term two. Hawke’s Bay franchise owners Ankush and Mandeep were impressed that such young students were so committed to looking after their learning environment. Their consistent efforts made them the obvious choice for the term’s Cleanest Classroom Award.
“They always keep it nice and tidy. They’re small kids, but they’re amazing,” says Ankush.
Room 3 was so spotless that Ankush and Mandeep initially mistook it for an extension of the school library.
“When we first started, we thought this classroom was part of the library because it was cleaner than any other space, even the principal’s office,” Ankush laughs.
“The teacher asked why she never won the award and that’s when we realised it was a classroom, not a library.”
Although Ankush and Mandeep each own their own franchise, they team up five days a week to clean Te Awa School. They also present the Cleanest Classroom Award together, delivering pizzas and certificates to the winning classroom. Ankush jokes that whoever is holding the pizza often gets the credit.
“I was the one holding the pizza, so they started hugging me. Everyone started hugging me!”
“When I told them the pizza was also from Mandeep, they finally went to him and hugged him too.”
Ankush says the most rewarding part of the Cleanest Classroom Awards is seeing the joy and sense of accomplishment among the children.
“I was so happy for the whole day after seeing the kids happy and smiling.”
Seeing the positive impact of the Cleanest Classroom Awards on overall cleanliness, Te Awa School Principal Greta Van Zyl introduced a weekly rewards system. She has asked Ankush and Mandeep to let her know which is the cleanest classroom each week, so she can present a certificate at the school assembly.
The Cleanest Classroom Awards are an excellent way to encourage students to maintain tidy classrooms and develop good habits. To see more kids reap the rewards of the Cleanest Classroom programme, Ankush and Mandeep are considering expanding the awards to recognise a second-place classroom each term. More winning classrooms means more happy students!
