What will St. Albert look like in 25 years? What kind of technology will people be using? And what will they think of what we have today? Undoubtedly the world of 2040 will be different, but students at W.D. Cuts Junior High School in St. Albert will have the chance to look back at 2015 when they open a 25-year time capsule.
What will St. Albert look like in 25 years? What kind of technology will people be using? And what will they think of what we have today?
Undoubtedly the world of 2040 will be different, but students at W.D. Cuts Junior High School in St. Albert will have the chance to look back at 2015 when they open a 25-year time capsule.
“We just thought it would be cool if we could take everything from our generation and seal it, so students in 25 years will have a better understanding about our generation,” Erik Damhof, a Grade 9 leadership student at the school.
He and the rest of the leadership class capped off their year by sealing a time capsule and making plans for a 25-year reunion to see just how close their predictions were.
Among the items in the time capsule are surveys that were handed out to every student asking for their predictions.
Kelsey Dundass, another leadership student, said of all the items going into the time capsule – newspapers, examples of technology like an old iPhone, and futurology magazines that make their own predictions about the future – said the surveys are by far the most important because they really reflect what students at the school were thinking.
“There's so many cool questions in the survey, like will you be married, what will you be doing in the future, where will you live, will people still take selfies, things like that,” she said. “It's going to be interesting to open up the letters, because we're all going to forget by then.”
When asked what changes they might expect to see, both Damhof and Dundass said they weren't sure, but expected to see some significant advances in personal computing devices like today's smartphones.
The capsule is being sealed in conjunction with a series of major renovations the school is about to undergo. This includes the addition of new options classrooms for home economics, industrial arts and music, as well as a complete refurbishment of the gymnasium.
Assistant principal Peter Fenton explained there would also be a major esthetic change in the front foyer. A second story of non-habitable space will be added, with a glass wall to help bring more natural light into the foyer.
Easter Seals donation
Further to just sealing the time capsule, the Grade 9 leadership class celebrated a very successful year of fundraising, including a walk-a-thon the whole school took part in, and donated a whopping $10,000 to Easter Seals.
Dundass explained that at the beginning for the year, students discusses which charity they might want to support, and she chose Easter Seals because she appreciated the work the organization does for those with disabilities.
After students made their cases, the teacher chose Easter Seals as the recipient of the year's fundraising efforts.
“I like what they do for people, and I just think it's a really amazing charity with really amazing people working at it,” she said. “It's just awesome.”
