The students of Georges H. Primeau School in Morinville have a secret – and you’ll have to wait 50 years to find out what it is.
Georges H. Primeau Middle School students sealed a time capsule Monday as part of the school’s celebration of 150 years of Catholic education in Alberta. It won’t be opened again until the Catholic school district’s 200th anniversary in the 2064-65 school year.
The event gave students a chance to be a part of something that they may later share with their grandkids when the capsule is opened in 50 years, said principal Allan Menduk.
“It’s one way to link one generation to the next.”
The stainless steel 20-by-14-by-14-inch capsule contains about 400 letters from students to the future, as well as artwork, yearbooks, regional newspapers, lanyards, T-shirts, staff pictures and some rub-on tattoos. It weighs 40 pounds empty.
The capsule also contains a wrapped mystery item, Menduk said – only he and a few others know what it is.
Menduk refused to drop any hints as to the nature of the item, saying only that it was not edible.
“It’ll be a surprise.”
The capsule will be sealed with silicone and filled with various moisture and oxygen-absorbing substances to preserve its contents, Menduk said. They plan to keep the capsule in the school’s front lobby, as it could easily be lost if buried for 50 years.
Dignitaries also read speeches speculating on the nature of education in the year 2065.
“There’s always going to be room for the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic,” Menduk said, although the delivery method will likely be much different.
Menduk said he was confident that Primeau School would be around in some form in 50 years, and hoped that it would still have the same name.
“Father Primeau represents everything we’re trying to instil within our students,” he said, including love for community and a commitment to public service.
“Those are the values that we don’t want to see lost within our community.”
St. Albert francophone students are getting a first-hand look at poverty this week as they help out some youths in Edmonton.
Teacher Cindy Pereira is taking her Grade 8 religion class to the Edmonton Youth Emergency Shelter this Wednesday as part of a social work project.
The 28 students have collected a large amount of clothes, food and other supplies for the shelter and will tour the centre after dropping off the donations, said Pereira, who is also the school’s vice-principal.
“A lot of them don’t realize how fortunate we are on a daily basis to have a home, clothing, food and shelter,” she said. She hoped the trip would show her students how other kids their age live.
The class plans to run a skip-a-thon to raise funds for peace and development in the Philippines this February, Pereira said.
