Days for Dana Lawhorn, secretary at Junction City Elementary School, are filled with answering phones, caring for boo-boos and belly aches, calling parents, helping teachers and staff and so much more.

“Sitting here, you do people’s invoices and time sheets, you write checks … People don’t realize it’s a lot more than just answering telephones and checking kids out,” Lawhorn said.

But, she said, she’s “pretty much here to serve the kids.”

It starts early, getting there well before school starts at 8 a.m. to make sure there are enough teachers; in not, subs have to be called in. Mornings can be hectic.

At about 11:15 a.m., the school nurse leaves for Woodlawn Elementary, where she spends the second half of the day, and Lawhorn adds taking temperatures, distributing medicines and inhalers and taking care of minor first aid for kids to her list.

“If a child’s really sick, you can pick up the phone and call her. Sometimes, she’s come back,” Lawhorn said.

Multiple kids come in complaining of stomach aches; checking their temps, asking if they’ve eaten and have tried going to the bathroom and calling their parents is all a part of taking care of the kids.  Another one gets checked out by his mom for not feeling well.

“Kids (come here) if they’re sick, if they have an accident we get them a change of clothes,” she said. There’s a washer and dryer at the school and there are clothes available in the Family Resource Center. Lawhorn said she tries to get their own clothes washed, however, because “they want to wear their own clothes home.”

A lot of her job involves dealing with parents, too, especially if something is wrong with a kid. A parent calls to inquire about moving. Another talks to her about an ongoing fundraiser.

Mentors, community members who come and visit their buddies once a week to spend time together, leave, sharing about the day.

“For the community to come in and see our kids — it’s a great group of kids … It’s neat when you have the mentors come in. They’re like, ‘This is a great school.’ It warms your heart to know our kids impact adults as they come in the building.

“It makes you feel good.”

Lawhorn thinks part of that comes from the Leader in Me program in the school. It teaches kids to take on jobs of their own within the building.

“It’s so neat. You get to see the kids become leaders. They’re excited to bring their clip up,” she said. Students are chosen to bring their “clip,” a clothespin with their name on it, up to the office, where it hangs on a ribbon under the Leader in Me board. The students are chosen based on how well they show the principles of being a leader.

Students also get to ring a bell in the hallway when they meet goals.

“That’s rewarding in itself. It’s a joy for me,” she said.

The staff, she said, is a family.

“We’re very much a family. It’s much more than just saying, ‘I’m going to work,’” Lawhorn said.

She said she doesn’t “make a difference, nothing like the teachers do. My role is different than their’s.”

She likes being able to help the teachers, too.

“It’s really rewarding. It really is. There’s not so much you do for the kids, but you also help your staff. You do for them, too. If a teacher needs to order product for their room,” she orders it, she said.

Lawhorn started at the Central Office. “I started, I think, in 2000,” she said. She loved it. It’s a different way of helping the kids, she said.

Her son Josh passed away in a car crash in 2011.

“I thought, the lady here was retiring, ‘I need a change in my life.’ Especially after my son passed away” she said. “This came up and I thought, what a great way to give back. I came down here and it’s a whole different world.” That was about five years ago.

“It’s good. I don’t know how to describe it — (being here) is so rewarding, I think, in a way you really can not describe.”

The passing of her son changed her heart a bit, Lawhorn said.

“I’m like, ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff,’” she said.

Kids, Lawhorn said, deal with a lot more than people realize.

Originally from Parksville, Lawhorn said she knows a lot of the families she serves. Her own grandson is a student at JCES.

“I’m very fortunate that he attends Junction. Every morning he comes in,” she said, smiling. “It’s a blessing to have him here.”

Lawhorn said the biggest relief is knowing the kids are all home, safe. And her favorite part of the job?

“The kids. Seeing their smiles,” Lawhorn said. “Just to see their smiles and to know — when I have a bad day, I can be walking down the hallway and one of those little kids will come up and hug me for no reason. You think, ‘Oh. Life’s good.’ It’s good. Even on your bad days. You come to a school and something’s always positive for you.”