12/16/2009 3:28:00 PM Greenwood school celebrates centennial
■ Greenwood Elementary School students help clean art tiles for display at their community-wide event celebrating their school’s centennial. courtesy of Greenwood Elementary School
Opened in 1909, Greenwood Elementary School started with 77 students; now a century later with 402 students, the school commemorated its 100th anniversary on Dec. 5, proclaimed by Mayor Greg Nickels as "Greenwood Elementary School Day."
To celebrate, students and faculty joined alumni, parents and community neighbors in a community-wide event to mark the school's progress and a "greener" Greenwood.
Some of the day's events included an open house, art displays, a time capsule and the school's birthday celebration that included Mayor-Elect Mike McGinn and Seattle School Board Director Sherry Carr.
There were also live music, a family bike fest that included a snail race (a race to see who can ride their bikes the slowest) and an environmental education fair that featured educational booths on green living and architectural displays of the certified LEED school, a design developed for K-12 schools that addresses issues like classroom acoustics, mold prevention and environmental site assessment.
"We are hoping that the environmental fair will inspire families to good environmental stewardship practices and to generate ideas/class activities to enhance the green focus at the school," wrote parent and event organizer Marcy Harrington in an e-mail.
A HANDS-ON EVENT
Commemorative art glass and ceramic tiles made by students were on display, along with community-contributed tiles done at various Greenwood community events. It was fun for the Greenwood community, as well as students, to create the glass and tile pieces, said Greenwood elementary art instructor Linda Carlson-Brazil.
Students also made historical timelines of the school and of the neighborhood in class and through after-school clubs and did writing projects that were compiled in a book to commemorate the event.
"The celebration was a good way for us to look back on what has happened with our school and community," Carlson-Brazil said.
Among the attendees were alumni, one having graduating in 1929 when she was 14; former teachers, PTA leaders and community volunteers; along with students, parents and faculty. Wrote Harrington: "It was mainly a day of celebration for all the current and past people that poured their heart and soul into the school."
BONDING WITH THE COMMUNITY
The planning of the 100th Birthday and the Green Greenwood Environmental Fair began back in February with the application for a Seattle Department of Neighborhoods matching-funds grant, Harrington wrote.
Among the 15-person planning committee were exhibitors from the event. "Many exhibitors were partners in planning the event or had committed very early on," Harrington wrote. "Most took great care in developing hands-on learning activities for the kids."
One of the important impacts that the centennial celebration hoped to have is a closer bond with the community. The event had a tremendous impact on the community through the collaborations of everyone involved, said school principal Walter Trotter.
"It is important for people to see their great public schools in action and as an important foundation of neighborhoods," Harrington wrote, "to encourage volunteerism and support for schools and to build on our school focus of arts and environmental stewardship."
AN AUSPICIOUS START
The K-5 and special-education preschool originally started out as a nine-room, three-story building.
The Seattle School Board purchased a portion of the Greenwood cemetery tract in 1909 for the building site. In that same year, Greenwood Elementary School was constructed to accommodate the increasing population of the Greenwood neighborhood.
James Stephen, the architect of the original building, also used the same design for two other Seattle elementary schools: Emerson and Hawthorne, both in Southeast Seattle.
Remodels were made in 1921, with the addition of a west wing, and in 2002 the building was remodeled again to demolish the 1921 addition; however, the project included a new gym, auditorium and more classrooms.
Enrollment at Greenwood Elementary School quickly grew to an average of 690 students between 1922 and 1964 and peaked during 1930-31 with 917 students.
