April Spotlight on Support Staff Peggy Arlaud
Peggy Arlaud started out by volunteering when her son, Brody, was in School Readiness. She was hired the next year when he started kindergarten. This is her 11th year at Clearbrook-Gonvick. Peggy lives in the area with her wonderful family including her husband, Glen, and their two terrific sons, Gunner (20) and Brody (16).
Peggy was raised north of Leonard and graduated from the Clearbrook school when they were still the Hornets!
Why did you choose to work at the school in Early Education Education? It’s the perfect job for a mom, having the same hours and same days off as my boys. The best part is that I get to see a glimpse of them during the day! It’s also nice to know, first hand, what’s going on in my child’s school.
What did you do before coming to C-G? I worked at the Clearbrook Good Samaritan Center for about 20 years, first as a CNA, then an Activity Assistant and lastly as a Social Service Designee. I loved working with the residents. So I went from working with the wise elderly to hopefully passing on some wisdom to preschoolers!
What is the best part of your job? I love the excitement and enthusiasm of these little preschoolers, we laugh a lot during the day, they say and do the cutest things! I also enjoy helping in the preparation of the arts and crafts for each week. I am so lucky to work with such a wonderful team of Early Childhood co-workers, they make it easy to come to work each day!
What is the biggest challenge of your job? It would be a more pleasant environment for everybody, teachers and students, if children could be more respectful. On a lighter note, I hate to admit it, but sitting on the floor criss-cross, applesauce many times a day can be challenging, especially getting up, but it keeps us feeling young!!
If you could have any job in the world-what would it be? Why? My favorite job is being a mom, I love being a mom! I wish I could push rewind, go back in time, and start all over again. Or, if I had unlimited funds, I would build a big, new horse barn, and raise and train a big herd of miniature horses, they are so fun to work with, especially the little babies!
What do you do when you are not at school? I love spending time with family and friends, we enjoy 4-wheeling, snowmobiling (when we have snow), grilling, boating, relaxing at home and working with my 6 miniature horses.
What are your favorite aspects of the C-G community? I love living in a small community. I believe that it truly does take a village to raise a child, I am lucky to have the support of many close family and friends. I think it would be very difficult to live in a big city where you may not know who your child’s friends or their families are.
And now a word or two about Peggy from the kindergartners and preschoolers…
Why do you think Peggy likes to work at school? "She helps kids." "She likes kids." "She likes school." "She like to color." "Because she can be a teacher." "To meet new kids." "She likes Clearbrook." "Because she likes to teach."
What do you think Peggy does when she is not here at school? "Go on a vacation." "Does stuff with her family." "Take care of her kids." "Goes to work at a different school." "She is sick." "She takes care of her kids." "Stays at home." "Maybe rest."
What do you think Peggy was like as a kid? "She played with babies." "She had short hair." "She played with Barbies." "She had long hair." "She was nice." "She was playful and worked a lot." "She saw some butterflies and grasshoppers." "Nice."
What is the best thing about Peggy? "I like her doing crafts." "She helps me." "I like her playing with me." "She colors with me." "She is a good teacher." "She is nice." "She wears hair." "She is my teacher."
If Peggy did not work here at school, what job do you think she would have? Why? "She would work at a cooking factory so she can make food." "She would work in the office and I don’t know why." "She would do dishes to make them really clean." "Work at the a store because she could help people more." "A store close to the school because whenever she wanted to go somewhere she would pass the school and see us at recess." "Maybe she would like a zoo job because she likes animals." "I don’t think she would get another job."
If you sent Peggy on a vacation, where would you send her? Why would you send her there? "To Africa so she can look at the animals and they could chase her." "To Hawaii because she could swim and a build a sand castle if she wanted to." "To the gumball place so she can make gumballs." "To a hotel because she can have a vacation from her work." "Oh, I know. I would send her to the swimming pool and the airport because I really like her going there." "The beach because it is nice there."
If Peggy got three wishes, what do you think would be the three things she would wish for? "1) For everybody to be nice, 2) a swing set, 3) a mermaid tail." "1) Be a preschool teacher. 2) a vacation 3) she likes kids." "1) a school with lots of kids 2) to be happy 3) to be excited" "1) a tiger, 2) a bird, 3) and a genie." "1) to be the best teacher, 2) a new teaching room, 3) a new car"
What is one thing Peggy ALWAYS says?"How are you?" " In a little bit I will play with you." "Be quiet." "Be good" "Time to clean up" "It’s time to start playtime." "Hi."