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Orchard Elementary celebrates 40 years with carnival, time capsule opening

Jun 10, 2019 01:45PM ● By Jess Nielsen Beach

Students and community members help themselves to some cotton candy at the carnival. (Jess Nielsen Beach/City Journals)

By Jess Nielsen Beach | [email protected]

Students past and present gathered at Orchard Elementary to celebrate the school’s 40th birthday on April 24. The school was named for a Magna pharmacist who was so well loved, he had the elementary school named for him after his tragic death.

A birthday carnival was set up outside to mark the occasion, including food trucks, bouncy houses and castles and other activities for the community to enjoy.

Part of the celebration included the opening of a 20-year-old time capsule in the auditorium, with the Orchard family in attendance. The past items recovered included floppy disks (much to the shock and confusion of the students), headlines from the local papers, gas prices and what the then-students wished to be when they grew up, which largely included astronauts.

“I was here when they opened the 20-year capsule last time,” said PTA president Amanda Young. “I attended here all my years, K through six, and now my child is attending here. It’s a legacy; I was here last time and now I’m here to see another capsule be sealed.”

The new capsule will be filled with today’s headlines, student projects, and other artifacts and popular culture of the current year. Students, teachers, and those involved with the school were invited to place something in the container. It was even proposed that a cell phone be placed inside, as that technology will surely look vastly different in 20 more years.

“This capsule will be sealed again by May 22,” Principal Leona Chandler said. “We’ll be sealing it up and then this school is going to be rebuilt out in back. When that is completed, we will move the time capsule over there before they tear this one down.”

At the conclusion of the program, participants were encouraged to play games, enjoy the carnival on the field, and check out the silent auction put on by the PTA. There was also a display of yearbooks that included all 40 years of the elementary school.

“We love Orchard,” Young said. “When you love something, you come back.”