The generous donation of the AC units allows Spartans such as these Newspaper staff members to enjoy more comfortable days at school. photo by AJ Domagala (L to R, front: Avery LoJacono, Georgia Hartley, Caitlin Beery; back: Jael Iyema, Ella Stephens, Ryan Moe, Ben Abram, Tess Ware, Maddie Staples, Atlas Zaina, Jack Ciulla)
Thomas Jefferson students enjoy cooler classrooms in this major heat.
The third week of August is drilled into every student’s brain as the beginning of school. Kids already dread the start of school, but this year had a particularly alarming factor: the immense heat. Kids had to suffer in classrooms that reached temperatures higher than it was outside, all while having sometimes only one little plug-in fan per class. With outside temperatures being in the high 90s during the first week back, and an added 10-degree in a room full of teenagers, some classrooms qualified as being in a heatwave-having 97 degrees or higher for three days straight. This heatwave was felt by both students as staff; their groans of discomfort echoed throughout the halls.
Though this problem seemed to be the end of some students, action was taken. Administrator Paula Hammel took charge of the problem by reaching out to multiple local companies to see if there was anything that they could do about the heat. “The challenge came with: ‘What am I looking for?’” Hammel explained. “I was told to look for portable units and I found a company that had them for sale. I asked and they said yes.” Hammel struck a deal with Supportek, a company that sells AC units, and much more, to have AC units donated to the boiling hot classrooms of TJ. Those units were delivered just after the school season had kicked off— great timing given the fact that it had all been orchestrated within around a week’s time span.
Not long after the deal had been struck for these units to be delivered to TJ, a problem arose regarding the hoses attached to the AC boxes. Though Supportek was supporting TJ in giving the units, they still required a hose to take the hot air from outside, turn it into cool air, and have that air be dispelled into the rooms. So after a long search for the correct sized tubes, the company Hercules came to the rescue with a donation. Distracted by the heat, junior Olivia Cech mentioned “I could barely pay attention. I just remember that it was the only thing that was on my mind.” Now that she is in a classroom with an AC unit, Cech stated, “You barely even feel anything. It’s perfectly neutral.”
Tolerable temperatures greatly improve the climate of the classrooms, allowing students to stay comfortable and focus. The glamor of all of this was how well these companies worked with TJ, feeling the Spartan’s sorrow in this hot weather. With an estimated figure of well above $2000, the community donations were extremely generous.
Not only have the students been feeling this gratitude from the gifted AC units, but the obvious winners were the teachers who got to keep these units in their rooms. The lucky teachers were Eileen Adair, Victor Godoy, Jason Klimczak, and Carlie Frydman. With some classes approaching 100 degrees, these were the teachers that did, in fact, need them the most. Custodians went around to each classroom in the school, taking the temperature of each class to find out which were the hottest. Though Klimczak’s room might not have been the hottest, it was definitely pushing the limits. The angle of his room places his class in the direct glare of the sun. When the second half of the day rolls around. Klimczak remembered how the heat would get progressively worsen throughout the day. “At times the heat gets people thinking about the heat more than what’s actually in front of them,” said Klimczak. The new AC unit helped redirect his students’ focus, and the focus of all students who benefitted from this donation. Again, the Spartan community would like to thank Supportek and Hercules for their generosity.
