By Kath Gannaway
Gladysdale Primary School students will be pitching for the opportunity to open a time capsule retrieved from beneath the flag pole at the school.
The time capsule, believed to have been buried sometime in the ‘80s, will be opened to reveal the contents in the lead up to the Gladysdale Centenary Celebration in October.
Principal Jeff De Villa said the students have been asked to write a piece detailing why they would like to open the capsule.
He said popular folklore says there may even be an even earlier time capsule in the school grounds somewhere but research so far has failed to pinpoint where that might be.
“Exactly what is in this capsule, and the location of the other one, is a bit of a mystery,” he said.
What is not so much of a mystery is what will be put in a new time capsule commemorating the Centenary.
Mr De Villa and Centenary Committee member Amy McDonald said examples of students’ work and current newspaper articles are definite possibilities.
A USB stick with photos and examples of the current curriculum are also on the list.
The Centenary is a joint event with the Gladysdale Hall where the school had its origins.
An entry in the Education Department ‘bible’ of state school histories indicates that the first request for a school at Gladysdale arrived on their desk on 20 May 1918.
The letter was signed C. Pettitt and indicated that “a hall could be rented on land owned by W.H. Bready.”
The school opened full-time in the hall on 1 October 1918 with Laura Caudry as head teacher.
A new school was built on the current site with school starting there on 24 January, 1925.
What happened to get that school built, and in the more than 90 years since, is a history that will be explored and celebrated by current and past generations on the weekend of 20 and 21 October.
The celebrations include the Gladysdale Hall Dinner on 20 October and celebrations, including burying a new time capsule, at the school from 11am to 2pm on Sunday, 21st October.
The school would like to hear from anyone who has stories to tell of their time at the school, anyone who played a part in putting together the 80s time capsule, or who has other memorabilia to share.
Phone the school on 5966 6202.
