By Alex Evans, GHS Class of 2024
On Monday, June 10, the Western Middle School class of 2020, who are now graduating seniors at Greenwich High School, gathered for a special event: the opening of their time capsules.
These students, part of the GHS class of 2024, returned to their middle school for the Time Capsule Opening, held at WMS for former students who are about to graduate from high school. Opening their time capsules meant they had the chance to read letters that were written to them four years ago by friends, parents, and even their eighth-grade selves.
When the students were eighth-graders at Western, they were asked to write letters to their friends, teachers, and future selves to be opened four years later, just before their high school graduation. Many also included small keepsakes such as stickers, doodles, a favorite pencil, or notes passed in class. These letters and items were sealed in envelopes, creating personal time capsules to be opened after four years.
In the weeks leading up to the event, students received an email from the school inviting them back to open their time capsules.
WMS alumni Sophia Ryan (left) and Nicole Lasko (right) holding their time capsules. Photo: Alexander Evans
Some of the letters were to and from close friends who had remained close throughout the four years since the time capsules were made.
For others, the contents of their time capsules were a pleasant surprise; some said they’d received letters from classmates they’d never expected would write to them.
There was a nostalgic, joyful feeling in the air as students and their former teachers reconnected as well.
Some reminisced about their time at Western, discussing how things had been over the past four years and sharing what they were looking forward to in the future.
Photo: Alexander Evans
While this creative middle school version of a high school reunion was heart-warming for seniors at the end of the 2024 season, it was also nerve-wracking to some.
“It feels great to be back,” said GHS senior Nicole Lasko after reading a long heartfelt letter from her best friend, with whom she has remained just as close over the past four years. However, she followed up her comment with a half-joking remark, “Actually, not really,” explaining that there was both a sense of positivity and negativity surrounding the event. Greenwich High School’s large student body of about 2,700 students makes it likely that many students had not seen their middle school peers for a long time.
“It’s a bit jarring because it’s a bunch of people I haven’t seen in a few years,” Lasko said. “But at the same time, it’s really sweet because it is people I haven’t seen in a few years.”
Despite some light-hearted, teasing comments about her middle school experience, Nicole shared that she truly loved her friends and teachers and had reconnected with people she didn’t think she would.
“I don’t think I would ever like to come back,” she said. “But I think that’s the beauty of it. Once you leave home you’re not supposed to come back, but I’m here for a bit, before I go off to the next place.”