Carmichaels graduates open time capsule to the past in old letters
From left, Jeffrey Pratt, Josh Bogucki, Abby Cutwright, Jessica Reeves and Katlyn Allison, all Carmichaels graduating seniors, open envelopes with letters Friday that they wrote to themselves when they were in fifth grade.
Jeffrey Pratt, center, leads a line of graduating seniors through the halls of Carmichaels Elementary Center on Friday as the elementary students line the walls to cheer them on and offer high-fives.
John Childs, one of Carmichaels’ 89 graduating seniors, looks at a drawing he did when he was in fifth grade. All of the seniors opened letters Friday they wrote to themselves in fifth grade.
From left, Baylee Wydo and Carleigh Riley, on Friday read letters they wrote to themselves in fifth grade.
CARMICHAELS – Carleigh Riley can’t wait to graduate with her high school class next month, and although it’s a great accomplishment, it’s not nearly enough for what she predicted as a fifth-grader.
“I was supposed to be a model, get a job at Subway and get my own place by now,” she said.
“I told myself that if I didn’t accomplish at least two of those goals, I shouldn’t be proud of myself.”
Carleigh and her 88 graduating classmates at Carmichaels Area High School read letters Friday they wrote to themselves seven years ago while in fifth grade.
The letters were put away for years and finally brought out to reminisce just weeks before the students’ June 3 graduation.
Before opening the envelopes, the seniors walked through the halls of their old elementary school with their caps and gowns on, giving high-fives to the elementary students who lined the walls with signs to cheer on the seniors.
Cassie Menhart, senior class sponsor, said this is the first class to open their fifth-grade letters since the tradition of writing the letters began.
“It’s been an amazing year,” she said. “It’s the hardest working and kindest group of students I’ve ever worked with.”
Menhart noted some of the students cried while reading their letters.
“They’re going to miss each other, and this is just special,” she said.
David D’Antonio got choked up after reading letters from his family and best friend that he had put in the envelope.
“I’m going to miss all of them,” he said about his class of 2016. “This is hard.”
Jeffrey Pratt said his envelope contained a letter from his mom and friends and newspaper articles of the Pittsburgh Penguins winning playoff games.
“What’s funny is I wrote, ‘I’m going to college to be a teacher,’ and now I’m going to California University of Pennsylvania for teaching,” he said.
John Childs collected a page full of signatures from his fifth-grade class that he found in his envelope.
“I wrote in my letter, ‘I have accomplished being smart, funny, being playful and having a friend,'” he said. “That’s still true today.”
Abby Cutwright, Jessica Reeves and Katlyn Allison all wrote letters to each other. Jessica’s letter to Abby said, “You’re the one who got me to jump off the diving board.”
The girls said the letters they wrote to each other stated they’d still be friends when they graduated.
“We were friends in fifth grade, but then in middle school we had different classes and we weren’t friends,” Abby said. “But then, in high school, we got back together and all clicked again.”
“It’s like everything we said in fifth grade turned out to be true,” Jessica said.