Thursday, October 1, 2026
Students and staff at Oceanside Middle School recently took a step back in time as a time capsule buried during the height of COVID-19 was officially reopened.
The capsule, originally buried in June 2021 by students in the Junior National Honor Society under the guidance of Spanish teacher and adviser Cristina Castilla-Lyson, captured a unique moment in school history. At the time, Oceanside schools were still operating in hybrid learning, with students wearing masks, maintaining social distance and adjusting to pandemic-era routines.
Current members of the Junior National Honor Society gathered to dig up and open the capsule on May 28, joined by one student who had helped bury it in 2021 and is now a senior in high school.
Inside were photographs, handwritten notes from OMS students to future students and a large poster that had been torn into puzzle pieces before being sealed away. The poster read, “We masked up and we showed up for 100 days,” commemorating the 100th day of school during the challenging pandemic year. Students and staff throughout the building had signed the poster before it was placed in the capsule.
As students unpacked the contents, they worked together to carefully reassemble the poster puzzle piece by piece. Teachers and administrators said they were impressed by the students’ enthusiasm, teamwork and determination throughout the activity.
The reopening served as both a history lesson and a reminder of the resilience shown by students and staff during an unprecedented time. For many involved, the capsule offered a meaningful look back at how the Oceanside school community stayed connected and persevered during the pandemic.
