“If you hold back, it’s less easy to concentrate. » The observation is basic but remains essential. Who hasn’t turned around when entering the toilets at their primary school because of how dirty the place was? All the children who had this experience spoke about it to their parents.
To combat this, students from the municipal children’s council of Vitry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) had the idea of launching a cleanliness label. This initiative, launched by the previous children’s council in 2020, has just come to fruition with the awarding of the Gold label to the Anton-Makarenko A school, this Saturday, September 23 morning, in the municipal council room.
“It’s important to remember that this was launched by our predecessors,” insists one of the students. “This cleanliness label was intended to make these places cleaner, more joyful and above all, to make it possible to go there without problem,” explains Léhava, in 6th grade, with students serving a two-year term between CM2 and first year of college.
“If it’s not clean, we stop”
“We had to do something to change things. It smelled bad. It was terrible, not to mention the balls of wet paper thrown to the ceilings, the toilets not flushing, explains Eden, a former student at Montesquieu primary school. Even in the morning it wasn’t clean. »
“After Covid, there was no more paper, it was even worse,” adds Mia. “We go there often and if it’s not clean, we stop. It is not pleasant. In the long term, this could be dangerous,” notes Raphaël, a student at the Anatole-France school.
The toilets of the Anton-Makarenko A school, which received the Gold label. LP/Sylvain Deleuze
To launch this label which takes into account the toilets and playgrounds of the 41 schools in the town, the students took the challenge of involving all the schoolchildren. The delegates explained their approach in the establishments to involve as many people as possible.
“We raised awareness among others by explaining that we were all going there and that we had to take care of it,” explains Fanny, from the Jean-Moulin school. And to obtain this famous label on three levels (with gold, silver and bronze), everyone rolled up their sleeves.
“Make others aware of not getting dirty”
“The objective is to make others aware of not getting dirty,” emphasizes Raphaël. We are all responsible for cleanliness in the toilets and also in the yard. » “At the beginning, it went in all directions and then we presented the project,” rewinds Habib Hassouni, head of the children’s council, who supported them in their approach.
“They made sure that cleanliness was everyone’s business,” summarizes Pierre-Mickaël Tochon, the director of the winning school. We are all responsible for it. » The town hall which takes care of primary schools, the teaching staff and of course, the first beneficiaries, the children.
“We can clean every day, do renovation work, if the children are not involved, the situation will remain the same,” notes Isabelle Ougier, deputy mayor for children and education. They can be proud of their work. »
All schools were made aware with forms to be completed by a member of school staff and a representative from the town hall, with checks several times a year. “We check the toilet paper, if there is no urine and papers everywhere, if the toilets are flushed,” explains the director of the winning school. For the yard, we inspect the premises for waste. »
“Good habits to keep”
And it ends up paying off. “Clearly, I held back less,” notes Raphaël. “Before, it was a dump, a place to play and also where people came to warm themselves with the radiator in winter, despite the smell,” remembers Fanny. Now we can actually go there to relieve ourselves. »
“There are good habits to keep,” rejoices Pierre-Mickaël Tochon, who wants to be a philosopher: “Pedagogy is repetition. » A repetition, which does not prevent us from thinking about the maintenance of the premises, nor from making repairs.
“Even if our toilets are clean, we have odors, for example,” explains the establishment manager. “We use air freshener,” adds Christophe, the site caretaker responsible for cleaning, who has noticed an improvement since the label was put in place. “Every vacation, I spend everything in the karcher. »
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