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Lumberton ISD employees seal the time capsule
Fifty years from now, what will the world look like? Will we have underwater roads, anti-gravity hoverboards, self-cleaning homes, voice-activated appliances, daily shuttles to the moon and vacation trips to Mars?
We may not be able to see into the future, but in 50 years Lumberton Middle School staff and students will have the chance to see how school, home and social life were in their past, our present.
On Sept. 14, Lumberton ISD and Lumberton Middle School installed the first of four 50-year time capsules in a wall in the new middle school library/media center. Mary Johnson, LISD director of Communications and community development, set up the time capsule.
“In 50 years (2072), students of the future will get a glimpse of what life was like in 2022,” said Johnson.
Superintendent Dr. Tony Tipton, board members, LMS staff, students and parents attended the ceremony for the time capsule that was placed inside a wall and covered by a plaque stating the capsule will be open in 2072.
Enclosed in the time capsule was an array of items from today’s world.
“The items collected were a collaborative brainstorm between teachers, librarians and students,” said Johnson.
There was a letter written by Tipton to a future superintendent, another to a future administrator by Meagan Hogg, a first-year LMS assistant principal; a letter written to a future teacher by Christina Artiaga, a seventh-grade ELA (English Language Arts) teacher; and a letter written to a future librarian by April Deters, a librarian.
Also, 35 seventh and eighth-grade students were selected to write letters, with their photos attached, to future LMS students.
The book, “Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Big Shot,” a popular book among middle schoolers, was put in the capsule, along with different types of popular stickers that are put on computers, cell phones and Chromebooks.
Students picked the most popular brands and unique items. Nike is one of the most popular clothing brands that students wear and TikTok is today’s most popular social media app.
Currency placed in the capsule included two pennies, two nickels, two dimes, eight quarters, two half dollars, one Canadian dollar, two gold dollars, a $1 bill, a $2 bill and one $5 bill.
A newspaper dated Feb. 22, 2022 (2/22/22), was placed in the capsule, a palindrome that occurs once a century.
An example of the 2021 STAAR test for eighth-grade math, a school lunch menu, supply list and school calendar, and LISD Student Handbook were placed in the capsule.
A 3D printed model of the COVID-19 virus by the Robotics class and an at-home self-COVID-19 test kit was placed in the capsule.
Drawings and predictions of the future by eighth-graders Halle Frank and Parker Powell were placed inside.
Also enclosed in the capsule were a common type of earphones, tech deck, student ID, air pod box, LMS spirit shirt, hair clip, USB flash drive, COVID face mask, baseball and football cards, VISA gift card, Starbucks cup sleeve, Hot Wok menu, finger toy (pop-it), Pokemon and Bakugan trading cards, a mechanical pencil and felt-tip pen, and a 2021-22 year review.
Johnson noted students and staff at four different campuses spent the 2021-22 school year collecting items to place in time capsules as part of the bond projects throughout LISD.
The remaining three time capsules will be placed at the Early Childhood Library/Media Center, The Lumberton Intermediate Library/Media Center, and the CTE building upon completion of these projects.