Administrators at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and JC Schools Central Office teamed up to bring a little appreciation to TJMS teachers.
They worked together to wash teachers' cars in the parking lot at TJMS, scrubbing them down with soapy water and rinsing them off with a power sprayer. The car wash was initially planned as part of teacher appreciation week, but the teachers got a free wash that day because of the rain.
Teachers signed up for the wash, and handed off their keys or brought their cars around during a planning period.
Those on valet duty got to hear a little bit of everyone's music taste as they drove their cars into the wash area -- rap, Christian, pop and "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."
The washing team seemed to be having a lot of fun doing it, too. Laughter abounded, along with good-natured ribbing about the messy state of each others' cars.
The washing went on all day, and in the early afternoon had reached 25-30 cars.
Superintendent Larry Linthacum was among those washing cars Friday afternoon.
"They just want to show their teachers how much they appreciate them, so their administration and their leadership staff is washing their staff's cars, so they just asked if I'd come fill a slot," he said.
"That's where the rubber meets the road, is our classrooms, and we're here for kids, and that's why they're in this profession and all of us are. And it's just, I think, important for them to know how much we do appreciate them," Linthacum said.
Becky King, seventh-grade counselor, was on her second hour-long shift at 1 p.m. Friday. The number of cars ebbed and flowed with teacher availability.
She said TJMS teachers also got to enjoy donated meals from local businesses this week, so they got "spoiled" with two weeks of teacher appreciation festivities.
Assistant Principal Jennifer Penserum said they'd done lunches and pancakes for teachers, and they were looking for one more thing when they settled on a car wash.
Washers dumped their wash buckets after every third car, then washed the grime down the drain.
"Water well spent," Linthacum remarked.
Julie Smith/News Tribune As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, albeit a postponed activity, members of the administrative staff at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and district administration volunteered their time to wash teacher vehicles Friday at the school. Jefferson City Public Schools Superintendent Larry Lithacum, shown here, joined staff to take part in the activity.[]