They may have only just started school, but the pupils of Room 1 at Tokomaru School are cleaning up when it comes to having the tidiest classroom.
The bunch of conscientious five-year-olds were treated to Goody Goody Gum Drops ice cream by CrestClean franchisee Nelson Vellattukudy Paulose after winning the Cleanest Classroom Award.
The Cleanest Classroom programme is run at many of the over 450 primary and intermediate schools that are cleaned by CrestClean franchisees, with the classrooms that are kept the cleanest in the school awarded a certificate and a prize at the end of the term.
Principal Sonia Mudgway says the pupils worked hard to keep their classroom tidy and were excited to win the award.
“For most of them it was their first term at school. Their little eyes were popping out of their heads when they saw the ice cream!” says Sonia.
“As the youngest class in the school they are really setting an example.”
Sonia says the Cleanest Classroom programme fits in well with the school values of responsibility and respect.
“It’s understanding that, yes, we have a cleaner who comes in and cleans our school but that doesn’t mean we can’t clean up after ourselves. It really supports the messages we’re promoting with our children about being responsible for their space and taking pride in their classroom and their school.”
Nelson has been cleaning at the school since August last year and now Sonia says they can’t imagine not having him around.
“He’s just so lovely and he’s so kind to the kids. He always makes the effort to come into the class when he can. He has become part of our community which is how it should be. It’s a small school so we really value having a friendly face,” she says.
Impressed with the quality and reliability of the service provided, Sonia says she “highly recommends” CrestClean.
“It was a financial cost for us, it was something we had to really work hard to afford to do but it paid off because we have this beautiful clean school and it gets cleaned every day to a very high standard.”
Shareen Raj, CrestClean’s Regional Manager for Palmerston North, has been amazing to work with, she adds.
“She very much stays in contact and that’s something else I really like about the company.”
Nelson, who was a chef before joining CrestClean, says he gets a lot of job satisfaction out of working at the small rural school, where he is made to feel part of the team.
“The kids put a lot of effort into keeping their classrooms tidy and I enjoy seeing their happy faces when they are rewarded.”
