Beverly Krocker remembers standing in the Grover Middle School auditorium with Steve Mayer, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, as construction crews were installing the acoustic panels in the ceiling — a finishing touch on a long-awaited middle school project.##M:[more]##
To this day, every time Krocker, who has served as the assistant principal at Grover since its opening in September, 1999, enters the auditorium, she fondly remembers how excited she — as well as the rest of the staff — was about the opening of the new school.
Now, as the school celebrates its 10-year anniversary, the excitement is returning as officials continue to plan monthly events to celebrate.
Grover Middle School is named after Thomas Grover, whose family owned the land on which the school was built (the rest of the farm lies across from the school today). Grover, a graduate of the school district, died at the age of 22 while serving in the Vietnam War. He received two Purple Hearts and a Silver Star for his service.
The school kicked off its celebration on October 10 with the airing of the first edition of “10,” a historical segment commemorating the anniversary, which aired on the school’s TV station. Special effort was made to get the documentary — in which Mayer takes students on a walking tour of the school while footage and images from the time of construction that took place 10 years ago are merged with current views of the school— out specifically for October 10 (or, 10/10).
In the Grover Middle “museum,” located in the lobby, officials have created a display of photos of the faculty and staff throughout the years, as well as pictures relevant to the school’s history and other memorabilia. Pictures from activities, including the language festivals, and the Grover mentoring program also adorn the display. Anniversary banners greet visitors and students in the lobby as well as at the building’s main entrance.
Under the leadership of John Cochrane — a 26-year Plainsboro resident who is in his fourth year of teaching at the school and who serves on the School Life Committee — officials are planning more activities on the 10th day of every month.
Among the activities planned are the building an outdoor classroom and creating a time capsule. While activities are still in the planning phases, a group of staff members meets once a month to come up with ideas as the year moves along.
Cochrane says the group is planning to put together the time capsule for December 10, and although officials are not sure yet whether they want to bury it or put it on display, the ideas are circulating. Cochrane says he likes the idea of placing the time capsule — which he hopes will be made of “something with character,” perhaps a treasure or hope chest — on display in the GMS museum. Some of the items that could be included are mementos from each of the teams in each grade, and items from various departments.
Officials are hoping to work on the outdoor classroom sometime in the spring, when students and staff can become directly involved in putting it together. He said the organizers are looking for donations for the landscaping and other materials to help with the project. Cochrane also says that organizers are also hoping to plant trees on the school grounds to commemorate the milestone.
Krocker has also been sending out a weekly newsletter to staff with Grover Middle School trivia involved, and an aerial photo of the students in the formation of the number 10 for the yearbook has already been taken. She says she is excited to see everyone, from staff to students, celebrating the school’s anniversary.
“It’s just something to show how meaningful it is to us,” she said. “It’s a really special place, and we want to give it the credit it is due.”
The anniversary is special to many of the staff members, especially since 70 of them, or about half, have been with the school since its opening. And it’s their work and the environment at Grover that has made the school what it is today, Krocker says.
She says the school’s motto — Learning Together — really characterizes the atmosphere at Grover over the last 10 years, and faculty and students are “learning from each other, learning about each other,” and are there to support each other.
Krocker recalls moving boxes from the small room in Community Middle School, which housed Grover Middle until construction was completed, through the windows to moving trucks to help transfer supplies to the new building. That’s because construction ran a little later than expected, and a certificate of occupancy was not issued until after Labor Day, and school officials had just two days to get the school set up before classes started. “But we got it done,” Mayer happily exclaimed in the “10” video.
Since its early years, the school community certainly has shared in some experiences that brought them closer together. On September 11 Grover was designated as the school that would remain open all night for students whose parents could not get out of New York. Volunteers were jumping at the chance to take the shifts that night without even thinking twice, Krocker recalls. Then, when Katrina hit in 2005, the students adopted a school hit hard by the hurricane and raised over $10,”000 to help the cause. But this is not unusual for the students at the school, Cochrane says, pointing to the numerous causes for which students raise money during lunchtime. “The kids will find any cause that means something to them,” he said. “It’s just who they are.”
Both Krocker and Cochrane point to the school’s atmosphere as a reason so many staff members stay within the district for so long. Krocker even points out that while many people think of an assistant principal’s job as one that includes dealing with many disciplinary issues, only about 1/10 of her job is actually spent doing so because of the healthy atmosphere, leaving her more time to visit classrooms and interact with the students.
“This school is the way it’s supposed to be,” Krocker said.
As the anniversary celebration continues, Cochrane and Krocker say they are also looking for graduates of the first GMS class to contact them and let them know where they are and what they are doing now so they can also be a part of the celebration.
Members of the first graduating class and those interested in making donations may e-mail Beverly.Krocker@ww-p.org or John.Cochrane@ww-p.org.
