Future students and historians will learn more about Quesnel Junior School (QJS) when a time capsule is possibly opened in 2100.
The capsule was recently sealed by JEN COL Construction, which is building a new two-storey facility for Grade 8 and 9 students on the same property as the current Maple Drive Junior Secondary School.
Tucked inside it are 25 items that current students and staff suggested. The items were also selected by the Student Voice and Cultural Voices and Allies group.
Some of the items include an orange and pink shirt. The orange shirt with the words ‘Every Child Matters’ is signed by QJS staff and honours residential school survivors. The pink shirt ‘Take a Stand Against Bullying’ recognizes anti-bullying and is annually worn across Canada on the last Wednesday of February.
Also in the capsule are various documents, documents and pieces of memorabilia, including signed COVID-19 medical masks.
“We are to be able to have it anchored inside in the building of the new school, and we’ll be able to walk past it every day,” principal Patricia Simpson said.
“Then sometime maybe 2100 or sometime in the future, people will be able to open it and see what happened here at QJS, at the old Maple Drive site.”
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The time capsule was proposed by JEN COL who QJS thanked in their latest newsletter with construction site superintendent Falko Bittner.
“I think one of the really neat things is that it has voices of students in it, and so there’s a couple of letters that students have written,” Simpson said.
“There’s one that describes the slang that kids were using in 2022 and another there’s questions for future students, so the fact that students have their voices speaking to the future is exciting.”
While completion of the new school remains behind schedule, it is still on budget, noted Quesnel School District secretary-treasurer Jennifer Woollends.
In a memorandum shared at the Board of Education regular meeting Wednesday, Feb. 16, Woollends reported the team JEN COL is working seven days a week to complete the project and makeup time.
The BC Government lists occupancy as Fall 2022.
Read More: Quesnel is getting a new junior school
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: rebecca.dyok@quesnelobserver.com
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