The entire school gathered to watch a livestream feed in the cafeteria at Maplewood Intermediate School on November 20th as custodian Eric Cajowski used a screwdriver to open a panel that hopefully provided access to a time capsule that was placed in the wall in 2004.  The reveal was part of the district’s 100th anniversary celebration this school year.

No one knew what to expect because there were no current school records of what the time capsule looked like or what was in it.  So it was a happy surprise when the panel came off and inside the brick wall, behind the building’s 1954 cornerstone, was a metal box.  Principal Maria Colon excitedly carried it into the cafeteria to the enthusiastic cheers of students who were anxious to see what was inside.  

The biggest surprise was that there were two large envelopes inside and everyone soon realized that the time capsule was much older than they thought!  One envelope was labeled 1956 and the other was labeled 2000. The 1956 envelope contained items from the ceremony that took place 68 years ago when Maplewood School (which was then an elementary school) was officially dedicated. That’s when the time capsule was first placed in the building’s wall.  The 1956 envelope contained photos of the dedication ceremony, photos of the time capsule being cemented in the wall with the cornerstone, student drawings of the then brand-new building, class photos, student essays and poems about why they love Maplewoodl, and pages of class rosters signed by the school’s students - who are now around 70 years old!

One 1956 essay read “Maplewood is a place of learning and it tries to turn out good law-abiding citizens. Maplewood School is a very modern structure. Maplewood School means to us almost as much as our homes... Maplewood is a place of fun, learning and also a place to learn self-reliance and independence.” 

The envelope labeled 2000 (which was placed in the building wall in 2004) contained a 2000 Maplewood yearbook, a photo and a list of the faculty, photos from the time capsule reinstallment in 2004, a collage with pictures of popular board games, a Sam Goody ad for Britney Spears’ “new album” Oops!... I Did It Again, Pokemon cards, advertisement photos of a “new computer phone” (iPhones hadn’t been introduced yet), a page from a tv guide, an example of gel pens and bead bracelets that were popular fads then, a Newsday page about the 2000 Yankees/Mets Subway Series that said Let’s Go Mets on one side and Let’s Go Yankees on the other side, and student essays about what makes Maplewood special.  

“I think this experience today gave our students an opportunity to really think about how special their time is here and that every moment is precious. And that there were other students and teachers before them who loved the building and loved educating them,” said Maplewood principal Maria Colon.

Now it will be the current students' turn to decide what to put into TWO new time capsules - one for Maplewood and another for the school district. As part of South Huntington’s 100th anniversary celebration, the district is preparing a larger time capsule that will be installed at Walt Whitman High School in May 2025.  Each one of the seven schools in the district will contribute their own smaller time capsule within the larger one. The district time capsule will be marked with a plaque and registered with the International Time Capsule Society (ITCS) with instructions to be opened in the year 2075!

Principal Colon said seeing what past students and teachers included for future Maplewood generations to see gave her some ideas about what they would like to include in the next time capsules. “I just love learning about the past and just to know that past principals and teachers and students all worked together to put something together for us to see, and now we're able to turn it over to our students to put things in for the next generation to see is just amazing.” 

See more photos here. 

Maplewood custodian Eric Cajowski removed the time capsule from the interior of the building cornerstone. 

(left to right) Principal Colon, BOE President Nicholas Ciappetta and Superintendent Dr. Vito D’Elia gingerly opened the metal time capsule. 

Teachers went around the room with the contents of the time capsule for students to get a closer look. 

Assistant Principal Ms. Stephanie Villanueva read a letter written by a student from 1956 to a captive audience.

Retired Maplewood teachers were invited to the time capsule unveiling with much excitement. 

South Huntington administrators, board members, teachers and students gathered around the treasures they found from decades prior.