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Date: 6/14/2022
EASTHAMPTON – Maple Elementary School is celebrating its 125th anniversary as its community simultaneously prepares to close the doors for good at the end of the school year.
Maple Elementary School Principal Judy Averill has worked at the school since 2004 and has worked together with the school community in celebrating the school’s age and history before it closes and students consolidate to the new Mountain View School in the fall.
The Maple Elementary School is one of the oldest active school buildings the state and the move of students and staff to Mountain View will provide a much needed update to school resources and space.
“Obviously with the Maple being 125 years old, it’s definitely not a state-of-the-art building,” Averill said. “We’ve been working for many years to consolidate the schools and open a new pre-K-8 school building.”
The consolidation coinciding with the 125th birthday of the Maple School has provided a unique opportunity for lessons on the school’s history as they celebrate the milestone.
Staff have made an effort this year to showcase the history of school through the decades while also teaching about history in those time periods. Each month since December has featured celebrations of two different decades during the school’s 125-year run. In the first month it was about the present, followed by the 90s and 80s in January, the 70s and 60s in February and so on down, getting to the era when the building was first opened.
“We taught the kids about the different eras and what was happening at Maple School in each era and we dressed up on one day of the month in period clothing and made it a year long exploration of the history of Maple,” Averill said.
The lessons provided a unique experience for students in learning of certain aspects of the school’s in the town’s history according to Averill. The school will host a 125th anniversary celebration at the school on June 16. Students, families and past members of the Maple School community are invited to attend.
Averill said the celebration will also include a special presentation of a oral history video where past principals, teachers and students will be interviewed and talk about their memories from the school through its history. She added that the project was very meaningful to her and that it was a bittersweet situation for the school community as they are moving on to a better situation but are leaving behind what has been an integral part of the Easthampton school community.
“I think everybody – kids and adults – are excited for the new adventure and also very sad about closing our precious neighborhood school,” Averill said. “We very much love Maple School. It’s a really special place.”
Looking ahead to next fall, Averill did say she looks forward to bringing the elementary school communities together to create a stronger district and improve the education of Easthampton students. Pepin and Center elementary schools will also relocated to the new Mountain View School.
“I think the thing I’m most looking forward to is having all our grades together. Having all of our teachers and all our students in one place I think will really help bring the district together and provide the best education for the kids possible,” Averill said.