The first principal for Adler Park School said he was surprised by his invitation to the schools 50th birthday party on Wednesday.

I just assumed people would think I wasnt around anymore, joked Tom Knauer, 77, at the gym where he remembers seeing the basketball hoops installed, and at the school where he met his first wife.

Knauer flew from his Colorado home at 4 a.m. to reminisce in front of elementary students, parents and staff about his time as principal at Adler, when his first years salary was $6,000 a year to teach part-time while working as a principal.

He remembers telling students about the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

I had to go to each classroom and think of a way to tell them in a meaningful and kind way about what had happened, he said.

Much has changed throughout the decades, said Knauer, who years of his retirement still stays immersed in education in politics and as a substitute teacher.

Today teachers have to be very concerned about test scores, he said. The job has much more pressure. I believe teaching is both a science and an art with science being the research and the art being the creative aspect. Most of the artistry is being taken away from teachers.

However, some things havent changed, he said.

s still a very innovative school, he said.

Knauer was one of many honored guests of the schools birthday celebration. Among them were former principal and counselor Gene Craig and recently retired principal Janet Brownlie, who said she still feels very much connected to the school.

s still hard for me to drive by the school. This is a family. This is a home, she said.

Brownlie called up to the stage the teachers who helped reopen the school in 1988 after it had been leased to the Special Education District of Lake County for seven years, as well as faculty and staff members who still are working at the school.

Looking back at the time thats passed was not only a discussion of memories and acknowledgement that helped build the school, but also it was a tangible reflection with the opening of a 20-year-old time capsule sealed by Brownlie and the faculty at the school in 1991.

Elizabeth Davis, a fifth grade teacher at Adler who was also a kindergarten student at the school in 1991, helped open the time capsule.

I think its just so cool to see the things they put in there. I thought it was a magical and fantastic thing, Davis said.

Some students last week guessed that the mysterious objects from 1991 would include such things as feathered quills and yo-yos. While those items werent in the capsule, the students were still happily surprised to find what was in there.

Students reached into the large black bin that had been sealed with packing tape, pulling out booklets, drawings and commemorative items placed by teachers and students in 1991.

Some students wrote and drew about their favorite TV shows of the time, including s the Boss, Perfect Strangers and Full House.

Fourth grader Kennah Porcelius said she was surprised to find the t do drugs t-shirt she pulled out of the time capsule. Allison Tong, 11, said she had no idea what to expect.

I knew it was going to be things that were old, Tong said. I think the letter that Mrs. Brownlies husband included, saying to find Mrs. Brownlie if something goes wrong with the time capsule surprised me.

In addition to the time capsule, a mosaic made by elementary students with artist-in-residence Chris Zonta was unveiled.

Parent Julie Vickers explained the theme of the mosaic entitled, Learning is a journey stemmed from a Vernon Howard quote, Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.

Adler may be a small school, but it has a great heart, she said.

Students began working with Zonta in October and finished the mosaic during the holiday break. Following Zontas design, students were involved in every level of making the mosaic from molding and firing clay, hammering mosaic tiles, and laying down the tiles to fit the design.

Madison Hartwig, 9, said she enjoyed most of the project.

Except for working with the grout. It dries out your hands, she said, scrunching up her face.

However Aidan Brown, 10 disagreed.

I liked getting messy with the glue, he said.

Reflecting back to the projects of Adlers first days and the most recent art installation, Superintendent Guy Schumacher, an admitted candy-lover, likened the school to one of his favorite sweets.

I will always think of everyone here as the Starbursts of the school, he said.


Source: Triblocal.com