This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
The new Mastery Cramer Hill Elementary School in Camden cost $34 million to build. It has 80,000 square feet of space, features a green roof, and has a gym that’s earned rave reviews from the school’s 4th graders.
But when officials dedicated the building Tuesday, the star of the show was a chrome cylinder.
School leaders called it a time capsule, but it was more of a timeless capsule.
Instead of filling the vessel with cultural ephemera, students stuffed it with notes about what they wanted for their school and their lives.
Sixth grader Julitza Martinez wants to be a police officer so she can “help the community be a safer place.” Journey Wynn, an 8th grader, plans to be a lawyer. Seventh-grader Naheem Saulters hopes to be a computer engineer or video game designer.
Jayden Gonzalez was stressed all day yesterday about what to write. The 5th grader finally settled on paleontologist.
“When I was little, I was obsessed with dinosaurs,” he said. “And I asked my mom: What’s a person who studies dinosaurs? And she said, paleontologist.”
Some of the notes laid out grand ambitions for musical careers. Others had less romantic — if equally noble — goals.
“When I grow up I will have a normal family,” stated one postcard.