Items of the times: Chromebook, face mask and gloves, student memory book, cookbook go in Hutch time capsule

Editor’s note: This press release, video and images were provided by the Pelham Union Free School District.

As progress continues on the new Hutchinson School, students, teachers, parents, elected officials current and former, architects, construction managers, District administrators gathered for a time capsule ceremony on Tuesday, June 1 to commemorate the historic project.

To begin the ceremony, the attendees were led in the pledge of allegiance by fifth grader Sananda Nagesar before classmate Katie Howard spoke about the significance of time capsules. Fellow fifth grader Riley Campbell, who served as master of ceremonies, then introduced Dr. Cheryl Champ, Superintendent of Schools, who noted that the new Hutchinson School will be the fourth to serve the students of north Pelham and thanked the many individuals and entire Pelham community who worked so hard to bring the new school to fruition.

“As the existing school has served 108 years, we are on the verge of bringing a new facility into service for our community,” Dr. Champ said. “While this building is new, the history and heart of Hutchinson School will remain the same.”

Board of Education member Jessica Young, who serves as Chair of the Bond Steering Committee, spoke about how the Hutchinson community has served as a second family over the years – a sentiment that she hopes will continue when the new school opens in the fall.

“Through Hutchinson, I became involved in the Board of Education and the efforts to determine how to address the failing facade of our 100-year-old school building,” Ms. Young said. “Hutchinson also connects me to my neighbors. . . new neighbors with young kids, excited to attend the new Hutchinson school and neighbors who have lived here for decades who shared with me stories of their own children or themselves attending Hutchinson. Old or new, inside or outside of the constructed walls, Hutchinson is a reflection of our community.

“The new walls we have constructed can not contain the character of Hutchinson, but they can nurture it, and help it grow. The new building will shelter our students and protect them, but it is the students and teachers who will inspire the growth of the community.”

Finally, Dr. Trisha Nugent Fitzgerald, Hutchinson School Principal, shared the list of items to be included in the time capsule that will give future generations a glimpse into the past when Hutchinson School was being designed and built.

The items include:

  • A Chromebook and charger that holds Kindergarten and 5th grade Flipgrid Projects to symbolize the quick educational transition to technology during the COVID-19 pandemic, while capturing kindergarten students’ wishes for the graduating 5th graders and our 5th graders favorite memory of Hutchinson School through the FlipGrid technology
  • A Memory Book created by 1st through 4th grade students highlighting favorite memories of Hutchinson School
  • An Alumni Memory Book containing photos and quotes of their time at the Hutchinson School
  • A rock blasted from the site to commemorate the original topography of the land
  • Mask and gloves to mark the COVID-19 pandemic
  • A presentation by our architects, KG+D, from February 12, 2018 that summarized the design options for the new school, including the current design
  • Flyers and literature from the Bond Referendum
  • Scanned blueprints from the “new” addition added to the current Hutchinson School in 1926, that contained the addition of a space on the lowest level on Lincoln Avenue that was used as a public library in Pelham
  • The 2021 Hutchinson School International Day Cookbook that represents the diversity of our Hutchinson School families
  • The Pelham Town Board Update from May 2021 which gives an overview of the state of the town.

“The purpose of a time capsule is to represent the current culture that created it,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. “The Hutchinson school has educated children for over 100 years and generations of families have called Hutchinson school home. So as we began to think of ways to honor our current culture, we needed to be mindful of the past history that made us who we are today. When the time capsule is opened, people can think about what it might have been like to live in the Hutchinson School in 2021 and earlier.”

About the New Hutchinson Elementary School

The 68,000 square foot new Hutchinson Elementary School, designed by KG&D Architects, P.C., will be the first new elementary school built in Pelham in four generations. The new school will have sufficient classrooms to meet current and projected enrollment, dedicated special education classrooms, a spacious learning commons, MakerSpace, art and music rooms. Additionally, the school will have a dedicated cafeteria/multipurpose room, and small-group instruction spaces. The building will also feature a number of environmental features such as plentiful natural light, LED lighting, and efficient water and heating systems, designed to make the building equivalent to a LEED Silver Standard.

The new school is slated to open in the Fall of 2021 and a ribbon-cutting ceremony has been tentatively planned for September 1, 2021. Following the opening of the new school, the current building will be demolished and the site will be converted into a new playing field and playground.

Construction of the new school is being managed by Triton Construction.