Grandview Heights is building a new intermediate and middle school with a surprise inside.
The new building for Edison Intermediate and Larson Middle School (EILMS) includes a time capsule, set to be locked until 2071, 50 years from now.
Colleen Cross, project engineer for the construction firm Corna Kokosing, originally approached Principal Quint Gage with the idea.
Gage loved the proposal and did what he could to bring the plan to fruition.
“I think it’ll be important in 50 years when they go and retrieve it,” he says. “(They)’ll look back and see what people were thinking and feeling in this pandemic. … It reaches into the future and pulls back to the past.”
At first, Gage struggled to get the time capsule project up and running with the school being in hybrid mode, but by winter 2020, the school was on board.
Students, administrators, and construction team members pose in front of the sealed wall that will house the time capsule for the next 50 years.
A box was set up in the office to collect artifacts. Many students brought in notes, including quotes about racial justice and what interests them at this point in their lives. The seventh-grade team created a three-foot surgical mask with notes stapled to it. One student offered up a hockey puck.
Gage placed a copy of his dedication speech for the time capsule inside.
“Whoever opens it up will know the words that were spoken the day it went into the wall,” he says.
Luc Mathes, a sixth-grader at EILMS, added a face mask from his family’s restaurant, Due Amici, and a drawing.
“(The future students) will think the face mask is weird, and the drawing is cool,” Mathes says.
Cross donated various trinkets that her team found underground during the excavation including a horseshoe.
The capsule, which is about the size of a briefcase, is set in the wall of the new building. A plaque will be placed over it detailing what it is and when it’s to be opened.
The New Build
Grandview Heights Schools is currently working on its facilities master plan to build a new fourth through eighth grade building for EILMS and renovate the high school.
After construction, the two buildings will appear as one unit, with the same brick fa ade and architectural style.
The new build will be attached to the high school, allowing EILMS students with classes in the high school to easily navigate between buildings. Previously, students had to walk outside, despite whatever challenges the weather posed.
“Hopefully, it’ll allow our students to feel more connected with the high school,” says Gage.
The structure and layout of the new build will allow for efficient learning as well as a sense of unity among the fourth through 12th grade students.
“My hopes are that we’ll continue our tradition of excellence,” says Gage, “and that we’re able to continue to support and grow our students to become the best learners they can be.”
Sarah Grace Smith is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
