The students of École Desrochers are marking the end of their time in the Jasper Legion in style. The school has operated out of space for more than a decade, and in August will move to Jasper’s joint school facility. For the past few weeks students have been creating time capsules to commemorate the move, which they officially sealed June 25.
The idea, according to school representative Janice Branch, started as a school-wide project to highlight their relocation. But as students began work on the project, it quickly picked up steam.
“It’s been an awesome project, and the kids are really into it-and the result is really amazing,” Branch said June 19, as she walked among some students who were putting the finishing touches on their personal capsules.
Around her, students plunked pictures, toys, letters and other memorabilia into potato chip containers. They were also getting weighed and measured, information they put in their capsules, along with who their best friends are and what they want to be when they grow up.
As they filled out the information, some chatted about what they thought the future would be like.
Thomas Leclerc showed off a picture of his guinea pig, Coco, which was going into his capsule. He also added a hockey card and ski pass.
“I’m going to be more big; I’m going to be fat,” he exclaimed.
“I’m going to have my own candy store!” he added a few seconds later, his eyes bulging.
“I think that hundreds will start being like dollars,” his classmate, Shanti Zangevin, chimed in.
Beside her, Karol Martiens, who said she was going to be a doctor when she grew up, filled her capsule with pictures of her as a toddler in Mexico, and an elastic bracelet she made herself.
Branch said the project has been a great activity, which students have even been working on at home. Many have been coming to the school with letters from family members and family photos, which they added to their capsules.
“Even at home [we’ve] seen a lot of work was done - and [we’ve] seen a lot of bonding time with their families,” she said.
Younger students’ will open their personal time capsules when they graduate ten years from now, while the school-wide capsule created by Grades 5 and up will stay sealed for 15 years.
Branch said the older students have been working really hard on the project, filling the capsule with newspaper clippings, future predictions and even multi-media presentations they created themselves.
They also sealed away information on current fashion trends - aviator sunglasses and Ugz boots - the prices of everything from flights across the country to the cost of a Netflix subscription and records of their favourite memories from their time in the Legion building.
Branch said that some of their work will also end up in the museum, as a record of the past years of the school’s history.
‘It’s been a really fun project,” she said.
Trevor Nichols
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