The four monitors patrolling the hallways agree the most frequent hassles of the day are overcrowded hallways and disrespectful kids.

Melissa Stefanick and Rosalba Antonelli both say respect from students is an issue. “[I’m bothered by] children who don’t give me a chance to be respectful to them. It’s the kids who automatically think I’m going to be mean to them that annoy me,” said Stefanick.

Antonelli said her “bottom line” is respect. “If I approach you with kindness, I can only hope and pray you have the same respect for me, but that doesn’t happen in a lot of cases,” Antonelli said.

Marilyn Taucher patrols the 11-12 building in the morning and says the students and their teachers make her job harder. “Trying to get the kids to tell me where they’re supposed to be, and just simply getting them there [is the toughest part of my day]. When the teachers do not hand out passes to their students and just let them go wherever, it gets on my nerves a lot,” said Taucher.

Hall monitors do more than just check the halls according to Antonelli. “Sometimes you’re a counselor on wheels, a mom, a shoulder to cry on, and a disciplinarian. It really all varies each day, but I’ve been all of those at once before,” Antonelli said.

After serving as a cafeteria monitor for years, Taucher saw this job as a perfect opportunity to make the hallways less chaotic. “I’ve been working as a building monitor for the past 14 years, and I would see a lot of unnecessary ruckus in the halls. I’d always see kids where they are not supposed to be, without passes just leaving the classroom and not returning. When the administrators brought up the idea of hall monitors, I thought it was a great idea,” Taucher said.

Even with the difficult times, each hall monitor still finds joy in their work. “The best part of my job is definitely talking to the kids each day and forming relationships with them,” said Stefanick.

Taucher enjoys seeing kids mature. She said, “Watching them grow, develop, and the best part is when you see the 12th graders graduate after being with them all that time,” Taucher said.

Stefanick, Antonelli, and Taucher all hope to be back next year patrolling the halls.