By Andrew Hackmack
Then on June 5, those same students created their own time capsule to be put away for the next quarter-century.
In discovering the past, Principal Theresa Scrocco invited teachers who were at Forest Road in 1983 to come and explore. Those faculty members -- Carol Kislin, Linda Kessler, Jill Luba, Bruce Lesser and Elaine Friedman -- were joined by Joseph Schulman, who was in fourth grade when the time capsule was "buried."
Lesser happened to be Schulman's teacher when the time capsule was created. "The good link in the story is he's still here," Schulman said. Kessler was then his teacher the following year.
Schulman grew up on Flower Road in Valley Stream, just around the corner from the school. Coming back to open the time capsule was quite a thrill for him. "It was a terrific experience," he said. "Everybody should be so lucky."
The first item pulled out of the time capsule was a list of the students' favorite activities at Forest Road School in 1983. Next out were notes attached to deflated balloons. Lesser explained that the school had a balloon launch to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Cards were attached to each balloon asking the finder to return it, so the students could track how far their balloons traveled. Returned balloons came from as far away as Queens and East Rockaway.
There were dozens of index cards in which students wrote about their favorite memories at Forest Road School, and a map of the area which shows the school in relation to JFK Airport. There were also copies of Happy Face awards, which were sent home to parents if their child did something good that day.
One of the most interesting items was a Rubik's Cube, still sealed in its original packaging. It was purchased at Toys R Us for just $1.97.
There were lists of each class' favorites sports teams and movies (E.T., Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Return of the Jedi being among the top flicks), as well as lists of field day winners from each grade. Perhaps the most difficult item to explore will be color slides from those field day events. "We can't even look at them because we don't have a slide projector," Scrocco said.
Librarian Kislin, who organized the time capsule unveiling and re-dedication with teachers Rae Costa and Lisa Freisem, described herself as "the keeper of the box." When the time capsule was first created, it spent a few years in the principal's office before it was relocated to the library. It then spent years on a top shelf until a new library opened four years ago. Recently, it had been in a more prominent location since there was a lot excitement about opening it up.
The old box was dressed up and new items were put in for students to unveil in 2033. Each class made its own contribution. Among the future artifacts were a dollar bill, a Wii video game box, a can of Pringles, a cell phone, student artwork and a third grade English Language Arts assessment.
Daily newspapers on June 5 just happened to report that Barack Obama officially became the first African-American candidate for president in a major political party, so those were included, too. The Valley Stream Herald from that day, as well as the May 1 issue announcing the appointment of District 30's new superintendent, will also be preserved for readers 25 years from now.
Each class included a list of their favorite movies and books. A Forest Road t-shirt, list of the technology in the school's computer lab, 25 Book Club medal and the Forest Road Roadrunner have also been preserved.
Like the previous time capsule, this will be kept hidden in the building. "We don't want to bury it in the dirt and have it ruined," Scrocco said. "It will have a very secret place in our school and people will be able to find it in 25 years."
