Contents of a time capsule from 1969.

This past weekend, with more than 700 alumni on campus over the course of the school's reunion weekend, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy celebrated many historic milestones, including the opening of a time capsule that had been placed in a cornerstone of the current Lower School for Girls building in 1969.

Chief Financial Officer Frank Aloise had chiseled the cement block out of the corner of the building that students have occupied for 50 years. It will soon be razed to make way for the new lower school building. On Saturday morning, prior to a tour of the new McCausland Lower School, a group of alumni had the chance to view the opening.

With onlookers eagerly awaiting the big reveal, Aloise pried open the lid of the capsule, which was about the size of a traditional mailbox. Despite the efforts of those who had packed and sealed it, the contents of the capsule had been damaged by water. Nonetheless, it was carefully removed and placed on the sidewalk to dry. The contents included a Philadelphia Inquirer with the headline “Journey Clears Way for Landing on the Moon,” the weekly lunch menu featuring hot dog, celery, carrots and cake, a class list for each grade, a history of the Springside School from 1879 to 1954, the school’s phone directory and several Polaroids taken in 1969.

Peggy Mandell, a loyal member of the Class of 1969, was present for the big reveal.

“It was exactly 50 years since the cornerstone was set and here we are today poised to tour the beautiful new McCausland Lower School,” she said. “The symmetry of it all is elegant and stunning, and no school does a more authentic job of being at once future-focused and reverently respectful of its past.”

To see videos of the opening, readers can go to the SCH Instagram account: @schacademy.