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Date: 6/27/2022
EASTHAMPTON – As Mountain View School prepares for its full consolidation in the fall, students and staff of Center and Pepin elementary schools, located at 9 School St. and 4 Park St., respectively, bid farewell to the century-old buildings during the week of June 20.
The final goodbyes at Center Pepin come after Maple Elementary School simultaneously celebrated their 125th year in existence while preparing for the school’s own permanent closure with activities that showcased the history and era-defining trends of each decade.
Center Pepin, meanwhile, featured a myriad of celebrations and events to remember the longtime elementary staples and prepare students and staff for their journey to Mountain View, according to Center Pepin Principal Jill Pasquini-Torchia.
On June 9, students and families were invited to Mountain View School for a summer socials skills family night to boost social emotional learning for the summer. On June 22, Center Playground hosted their Grade 4 “Step-up to Mountain View Ceremony” and the kindergarten graduation was conducted later that day at the Center Pepin playground.
The day prior to these celebrations included a late-afternoon opportunity for students, staff, and families of all generations to walk around the halls of Center and Pepin one last time before the doors officially closed. Those who visited walked the halls and classrooms one more time before officially exiting. One longtime Hampshire County resident, Connie Dragon, told Reminder Publishing in passing that she spent 15 years working at the two schools as a secretary and payroll person. Her great granddaughters attended the elementary schools and will now move to Mountain View in the fall.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Pasquini-Torchia, when asked what emotions she was feeling while standing outside the Pepin school. “We’re really excited to move to the new building at Mountain View, but we really love these buildings too, and they’re going to hold a special place in all of our hearts.”
Center Elementary School was built in 1902 to accommodate the growing community in Easthampton. Ten years later, a high school was built and later named after Neil A. Pepin. Once renovations were completed in the late 1980s, the building turned into an elementary school. Since then, both schools formed a congenial relationship and succeeded in using each other’s resources.
Pasquini-Torchia was part of Center Pepin for 2 ½ years after serving as the assistant principal for White Brook Middle School. She told Reminder Publishing that she will be the head of Mountain View School beginning in the fall.
“We’re now going to be combining three communities [Center/Pepin, Maple and White Brook] into one larger community, so we’ve had several assemblies to get our students to introduce themselves to one another, get to know the staff, and get to know the different schools,” said Pasquini-Torchia. “We’ve had to do that over Zoom because we haven’t been traveling, but it’s been nice getting to know each other virtually before we actually meet in person.”
Although the last two years have been difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pasquini-Torchia credits the students and staff for being resilient as the schools made the transition back to in-person learning. As everyone at the elementary schools prepare for the fall transition, Pasquini-Torchia said there are mixed emotions all around.
“I’m really excited to have the three communities all together under one roof, but I’m also really looking forward to utilizing more outdoor spaces at Mountain View,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of green space, and I’m really looking forward to using some outdoor classroom spaces and having a nice spot for our students to learn and play.”