Beautification. The seldom-used word has echoed around the Clayton High School campus for a while now, winding its way conspicuously through PTO meetings and Student Government gatherings.

Although the students are mostly accustomed to change by now, after members of the administration have come and gone and a new wing of the school has slowly but surely become an integral part of the school, there were still questions surrounding the inaugural day dedicated to doing yard work around campus.

However, Interim Principal Dr. Dan Gutchewsky didn’t express a hint of concern or worry about the success of the event, an idea inspired by his own high school experiences at Kirkwood.

“We’re going to make up some lists, buy some donuts or bagels, and whether there are 20 people or 200 people, we’re going to get busy,” he said, with a confident voice and demeanor.

What the student body has noticed unquestionably, is that Gutchewsky has been pretty busy himself, whether it be greeting students outside every morning regardless of the weather, personally handing out birthday cards or surveying all members of the Clayton High School community about the personal relationships they’ve formed.

“I really believe in the power of relationships and connecting with people, and I would like to expand and reach out to a broader audience on Beautification Day,” he said. “I want to continually provide reasons for people to come to school every day.”

And so, at 9 a.m. students from all different grade levels rolled up their sleeves and began shoveling mulch and weeding alongside teachers in denim jeans, janitors out of uniform and parents subsisting on Panera coffee.

By 11 a.m. all superficiality had dwindled to nothing, ironically, as sweating students wiped smudged mulch from their faces and clothes, and talked excitedly amongst each other. The Class of 1972 was toured around the hallways they once paced down daily.

Somehow, on a day that was supposed to be committed to improving exterior elements of the school, many members of the Clayton community discovered the very core foundation of Clayton High School: community. When Gutchewsky says, “the little things make the big difference,” one can tell that he was planning for this discovery all along.