WOODCLIFF LAKE—The centennial celebration of Woodcliff School, paused in 1995, resumed and even outdid itself last week, reaching through its participants toward the year 2045—a future that, maybe this time around, will include flying cars.
June 9 was Time Capsule Day at Woodcliff Middle School, whose eighth-graders helped organize a program that, at the front lawn, included unearthing a stainless steel cylinder containing some of the hopes, dreams, memorabilia, and fun of the year 1995, when it was interred as part of ceremonies celebrating 100 years out from its founding, in the Borough of Woodcliff, in 1895.
(The Borough of Woodcliff was established in 1894. On March 1, 1910, after the creation of the reservoir, the name of the borough was changed to Woodcliff Lake.)
Doubtless, to those residents of the late 19th century, the capsule’s contents would have been as alien as they seemed to many of this year’s sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders. There were pogs—pre-Pokémon collectible discs flipped for fun like milk caps with the aid of a “slammer”—and a home-burned compact disc with rap artist Coolio’s 1995 hit album “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
There were school papers and town resolutions. Sneakers and signed jerseys. Candy wrappers and letters and predictions. Some unprotected paper emerged with water damage, but on the whole this was a perfect bounce pass.
One student’s prediction from the year Pixar’s “Toy Story” premiered—it was the first fully computer-animated feature film—got the edges of our life right: “I think in the year 2020 school will be totally virtual. The kids will wear virtual [reality] masks and gloves to communicate with one another. The need for paper books were no longer exist, just CDs that would have massive literary knowledge on them so you could learn at your own pace. Your binders would be laptop and you could use them anywhere…”
There was a 1995–1996 student yearbook, and newspaper clippings of the day. One story follows then-president Bill Clinton’s remarks on race relations on the occasion of the Million Man March—a large gathering of African-American men in Washington, D.C. calling for more Black self-sufficiency against pervasive economic and social ills.
Clinton said in part, “Here, in 1995, on the edge of the 21st century, we dare not tolerate the existence of two Americas. Under my watch, I will do everything I can to see that, as soon as possible, there is only one, one America under the rule of law. One social contract, committed not to winner take all but to giving all Americans a chance to win together—one America.”
There was a banner headline on the outcome of “the trial of the century,” that of former football hero O.J. Simpson, prosecuted for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. “Not Guilty,” the paper reported.
Kenneth Sinkovitz, a student here in 1995, and now 36, helped organize the school’s time capsule’s outfitting and burial. He’d included a treasure: his crisp March 27, 1995 copy of Sports Illustrated, featuring the NBA return of Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, following his outing in baseball with the Chicago White Sox.
Sinkovitz, speaking on behalf of that older student body, urged his audience—the whole school turned out—to hang on to their friendships: to treasure them and grow with them.
He said classmates of his had gone on to become doctors, teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and a top French horn player.
And he lauded the school and its community. He urged ambition and gave permission to fail. “It’s OK to fail. It’s OK to fail. Because if you don’t occasionally fail you might not be trying hard enough or maximizing life’s experiences.”
He said, “If you want to succeed at something you have to surround yourself with people who support you and people who share your passion in that field. even when It’s really intimidating.”
He added, “The good news for us back then, and you today, is that Woodcliff School is really challenging. It allowed us to try new things and even fail occasionally. My friends and I always supported and encouraged one another even though we all wanted to get As and make honor roll.”
He said, “At Woodcliff School, working hard and being smart and taking risks was cool. That’s an amazing advantage that you all have here today and it will equip you with the right attitude and work ethic to make your dreams a reality.”
He recalled the town’s two former working farms: Tice’s Farm and Van Riper’s, since gone to developers.
“We had two haunted hayride options at Halloween. It was awesome,” he said.
Looking back to the school’s centennial, which included a parade, students learned that the oldest continuously operating school in Bergen County is the two-room building now at the front of WCMS: today’s school’s art room. The cobblestone building was built from the ground up in 1895 at $2,500 to construct and $750 to operate the first year.
Math teacher Elizabeth McIntyre told today’s students, “During my earliest years of teaching I had the privilege of being part of the 1995 Centennial Celebration, when this time capsule was buried. My former colleagues Pam Sakowitz and Bob Bagley, along with their social studies classes and members of the Dorchester and Woodcliff Student Council, chose the items to be sealed away—and set the time of 25 years for it to be unearthed.”
She said, “While I didn’t personally fill this time capsule, we were all excited to have had experienced a small piece in the celebration.”
Last week’s ceremony included the ringing of that old school bell: two tolls. Adults called out, “More, more!”
The day included remarks from Superintendent Lauren Barbelet, Principal Michael Andriulli, STEM instructor Thomas T. Nikolaidis, and Video Production teacher Frederick Maltzan.
Barbelet, Nikolaidis, and Maltzan have been preparing for this event since fall 2020, when they set out to locate the time capsule. Digging ensued, but it wasn’t obvious where the treasure chest was; it took a metal detector upgrade and help from Sinkovitz, who remembered roughly where the capsule lay waiting after catching “The Last Dance” miniseries on Netflix, about—who else—Michael Jordan.
The staffers made sure the capsule was there, then set out to design a related elective class for eighth-graders and lessons for the younger students. They asked everyone to learn a bit about time capsules and the year 1995. Students interviewed family members abut 1995, “talked” to their future selves, and crafted a mural.
On June 9, Nikolaidis and Maltzan wrenched the time capsule out of the ground and unscrewed its cover. From there the items were laid out on tables for inspection by each class. Noted in that parade were face masks and Apple Watches.
“We wanted to make this a really historic and unique event for all of our students here, and they really rose to the occasion,” explained Nikolaidis. He said some items from 1995 would join new contributions from fall 2021, when a more secure time capsule is left in care of Woodcliff Lake 2045.
That will mark the school’s 150th year, its sesquicentennial.
Maltzan, for one, is saving the date. “I’ll be here. You’ll see me fly in. I’m coming in my flying car.”