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HILLSBOROUGH: Time capsule unearths memories at Amsterdam School

By Peter Sclafani, Staff Writer
   The Class of 2020 surrounded four students from the Class of 2012 and cheered in encouragement as the high school seniors dug up a piece of their history on June 14.
   The students of this year’s graduating class returned to Amsterdam Elementary School where they ventured back in time to the year 2004 when they buried their time capsule.
   Former Amsterdam Principal Nancy Richmond, who retired in 2004, was on hand for the ceremony.
   ”There isn’t another place in the world like Amsterdam School,” she told the assembly.
   Seniors Justin Luckenbough, Courtney Johnson, Jessica Freeman and David Demchik worked quickly to dig up the time capsule that has been buried for eight years.
   After a couple minutes of digging, a green plastic container with an old suitcase inside was ripped open and hoisted out of the ground.
   Time had not been kind to the makeshift time capsule; it was filled with water and dirt.
   Each student wrote who their best friends were, what activities they liked to do and what they liked most about the school. Although the binder that held the students’ papers together had all but disintegrated, the memories the students had of their time in Amsterdam School were still intact.
   Upon reading her letter, Kim Barone was shocked to learn that, although she has the same friends now as when she was in fourth grade, her favorite subject was writing, something she can’t stand now.
   Mallory Abramovitz said she has become more involved in sports than she ever thought she would when she was in elementary school. Mallory said, if she had the chance to bury another time capsule, she would want to save her dance shoes.
   Perhaps the biggest change for Jimmy Cao, this year’s senior class president, was how his personality has grown.
   ”I used to be very shy,” he said, “but that all changed in high school.”
   Parents and teachers both came out to greet the high school seniors. Years ago, Amsterdam’s current principal, Mary Ann Mullady, taught many of the seniors who visited June 14.
   ”A lot of these seniors I taught in kindergarten,” she said to the crowd of fourth-graders gathered around her. “It’s amazing. They’ve grown up so fast I can’t even recognize them.”
   The high school seniors read “Curious You” to the current fourth-grade students. Afterward, the youngsters buried their own time capsule, which will remain in the ground for eight years.
   Erin Manning talked about the friendships she made while she was in elementary school. Although she didn’t remember her favorite subject or activity, she was excited to see who she wrote down as her best friend.
   ”This is exciting because my best friend is still the same,” she said. “We’ve always been great friends.
   In eight years, the Class of 2020 will be back to uncover the Blackberries, iPhones, remote games controllers, toy cars and baseballs they placed in the time capsule. They may not remember why they chose these items, but if their counterparts’ history is any indication of the future, they still will remember the relationships that began on the elementary school playground.