By Emilie Ng
A FORMER student from St Kevin’s Primary School, Geebung, returned 25 years later to a “breathtaking” scene when he opened a time capsule he helped bury back in 1989.
Nick Wood was 10 years old when he and two other students buried a case filled with uniforms, a tape recording of the official school song written in 1989, handwritten letters, homework, and newspaper clippings about the school.
The capsule was buried to commemorate the school’s silver jubilee with plans for it to be opened in 2014 for the golden jubilee.
Mr Wood and fellow former student Michael Mukauskas, one of the two who originally helped to bury the capsule, retrieved it in February this year as part of the school’s golden jubilee celebrations.
He said he barely remembered the event, let alone that he was one of the original students who buried the capsule.
One former student who did remember the event in 1989 was the school’s first enrolled student Lorraine Caesar, nee Tierney.
Her name was first on the school’s register on January 28, 1964, the official opening day.
Mrs Caesar enrolled her children in Year 1 in 1989 and one of her daughters added a drawing to the time capsule.
The Tierney family was one of the first parishioners in Geebung, long before the area had a church.
Mrs Caesar’s father helped build St Kevin’s Church, which opened in 1962. She returned to the school in February for the capsule reveal.
“It was a real thrill and a real honour to be there, and see just how beautiful the school has become,” Mrs Caesar said.
Her grandson will be enrolled next year.
The school has continued celebrating 50 years of Catholic education in Geebung throughout the year, most recently inviting Bishop Brian Finnigan to celebrate Mass on May 24.
The Mass coincided with a family day of live entertainment, food and rides.
Principal Helen Mackay, who was a student in the late ’60s and now the school’s sixth principal, said for 50 years St Kevin’s had “provided robust and comprehensive primary education”.
“Inevitably there have been many changes over the decades … but amongst all this change St Kevin’s has remained constant in the most important aspect of all, its vision for a Catholic education based on Gospel values and a commitment to the traditional school motto – To Work Is To Pray,” Mrs Mackay said.
The school plans to bury a second time capsule at the end of the year but is yet to decide if it would remain buried for 25 or 50 years.
Photo gallery: former students Nick Wood and Michael Mukauskas (left) helped bury a time capsule with artifacts from the school in 1989; and returned this year to retrieve it (right). Click to enlarge.
