It takes many people to run a school but for us, in Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland our community hero is definitely our caretaker John Naughton.
Mr. Naughton found out on Tuesday that he is to received one of the Radio Kerry Local Hero awards and the following is the citation submitted by the school.
“John is first to arrive every morning to make sure the school is open and ready for our school community who begin to arrive around 8am.
He meets us all with a smile and a word of welcome while he gets on with his work.
Above and Beyond
He goes above and beyond the call of duty and takes huge pride in his work. No matter how early or late someone needs to access the school he always appears with a smile on his face.
Covid 19 has meant an extra workload for him and he continues to work hard every day to keep us all safe.
During recent periods of online learning he continued to work to make sure that the school was ready and waiting for our return.
Positive, Caring and Kind
It is hard to describe what it means to us to have such a positive, caring, kind member of staff who is so generous with his time and many skills.
His sense of humour is infectious, and he can often be heard in the corridor sharing a joke with other staff.
The students figure out very quickly when they come to Pres Castleisland that John is the ‘go to’ man for a myriad of different things. He treats everyone the same from management to the newest students.
Fastening Rudolph
He rises to every challenge that comes his way no matter how unusual the request, and there have been some challenging ones!
From creating sets for our musicals and talent shows, to making stands and displays for our student enterprise group, to this year fastening our Rudolph Christmas figurine to the school roof.
John is one of life’s gentlemen and although he prefers to work quietly and consistently in the background, he deserves to be acknowledged for all his work that doesn’t go unnoticed.”
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