Staff and students prepare for celebration
By: Minx McCloud
Staff members and pupils at Hillsborough Elementary School are in the midst of several different projects to celebrate the school’s 50th anniversary.
In September, a committee of 16 faculty members and parents brainstormed ideas to commemorate the anniversary. Projects they chose will be on display at a celebration scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17 at the school.
One of the projects is a timeline of the past 50 years.
“We’ve turned the timeline into an academic or research project for all our children,” Principal Edward Forsthoffer said. “We took the five decades from 1950 to the present and instead of giving each grade a decade, we made it a cross-project. For example, the ’60s might have a kindergarten class, a first-grade class, a second-grade class and so on working on it.”
Six different topics will be covered in each decade: historical events and politics, technology and inventions, television and movies, fashion and clothing trends, music and children’s literature.
Each decade will be allotted a 3-foot by 10-foot section on a 50-foot long sheet of paper, resulting in a giant montage of the past 50 years.
“The project involves each child in the celebration, but is academically focused,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “It allows the child to use research as a tool, but is also purposeful and entertaining.”
Children found a lot of useful material on the Internet, but parents also helped.
“We sent letters home telling parents about the project,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “Many worked at home with their children or sent old magazines or something we could cut up or use. We received some memorabilia that we can’t use in the timeline, but it will be displayed the night of the celebration.”
These items include an old 1956 yearbook that shows the school before it was expanded, and a “tax levy” brochure sent to all residents to raise money for the proposed expansion. There is an old band cape used when the school had a marching band, and a bass drum with the school emblem. Photos also will be on display.
“If anyone has anything they’d like to lend us, we’ll put it on display and return it right after the 17th,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. Those interested should contact the school at 874-4777.
In addition to the timeline, students and faculty wanted to contribute something permanent to the school.
“Originally we were going to commission an artist to do a painting, but then we decided we really wanted to get the children involved,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “We had read about another organization that had done a patchwork quilt. Our art teacher, Laurel Suk, spearheaded that project for us.”
Each class contributed one panel based on their decade and theme, and Mrs. Suk has been assembling the quilt in her basement. The quilt will be presented to the school and community and hung at the main entrance.
“After the first couple of classes finished their panels, Mrs. Suk put them on display for the other teachers to see,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “That was smart, because right away the teachers saw the quality that was coming in and generated a buzz among their students. It’s quality work.”
The quilt will be comprised of 30 patches with one patch in the middle that Mrs. Suk herself has created.
“We wanted to do something that would be a lasting testament to the school,” Mr. Forsthoffer said.
Commemoration events on May 17 will include daytime activities for the pupils, as well as the 6:30 p.m. festivities, open to the entire community. Invited speakers will share memories of their years at the school and refreshments will be provided by the school’s Home and School Association.
Attendees will be invited to sign a guest book and a “visible time capsule” will be sealed in a recessed area in the front hallway.
“You won’t be able to see the contents,” Mr. Forsthoffer said, “but the time capsule will always be on display, so we’ll never lose it.”
The L-shaped school on the corner of Amwell Road and Route 206 is the oldest school in Hillsborough, according to Mr. Forsthoffer, and it has undergone various transformations.
In the past, the school has been alternatively a high school, a school for sixth-graders and a school for fifth- and sixth-graders. It also has housed the district’s administrative offices. Currently it is a elementary school serving about 600 pupils in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The school has been a base for recreation programs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, a Chinese School, and even church services. Its fields are used for Little League, Dukes football, and high school football practice. In essence, it has been a part of many Hillsborough residents’ lives over the past 50 years.
“Mr. Blackstone, the former principal for 16 years, will be invited to attend,” Mr. Forsthoffer said, “and I’d also like to see any former alumni, teachers, or employees to visit. It’s an exciting time for Hillsborough Elementary School, and it will be a chance for people who haven’t seen the school for awhile to see some of things we’re doing now.”
Although all are welcome to attend the evening celebration, those attending should call Mrs. Morrison at 874-4777 so refreshments can be planned. There is no admission fee.