CENTERVILLE—It’s been 40 years since Rachel Robbins Clarke walked through the doors of the new Reading Elementary School in Centerville as a kindergartner. Clarke’s four children have also attended Reading. The school recently celebrated the 40 year anniversary with an assembly where students opened a time capsule from 2000. 

“There was a letter from the students in 2000 to the kids of today,” said Reading Principal Roger King. “It was a millennial capsule. There was a Deseret News paper from Jan. 1, a Newsweek, yearbook, a PTA newsletter and a poster about the Y2K bug.”

There was also a school T-shirt and some warheads, he said. “They were reading Harry Potter and there was Toy Story 2, Star Wars, Pokemon and a NSYNC disc and cereal from 2000.”

“I was in the first kindergarten class,” said Clarke. “I remember the classrooms seemed so big. The school felt huge and there were all of the sixth graders.”

Clarke said she remembers going to the library. “I loved when the librarian would read to us. There have only been two librarians in that 40 years. I also loved school lunch. When we’d walk in you could smell them baking buns and rolls.”

Reading has such a wonderful community culture, she said. “There are awesome parents and a lot of community involvement. My mom was in the PTA and loved being involved. The teachers are amazing. They really care about the kids.”

Tauna Connors has been a teacher at Reading for 28 years. “My kids started there 31 years ago,” she said. “The school was about nine years old when my daughter started.”

Before it was built it was all farmland, said Connors. “There was a pond below the school. The kids would get distracted in the fields and the pond. Now it’s surrounded by homes.”

It’s named after Lucile C. Reading, she said. “She was prominent in Centerville. She wrote children’s books and songs.”

When it opened the first year the school held auditions for what the mascot should be, Connors said. “The students dressed up as the mascot they wanted then everyone voted. They became the Reading Wranglers.”

Connor’s daughter Katenlyn Nielsen went to Reading. “It was a bit unconventional because my mom was a teacher there,” she said. “There were a lot of the teachers I knew well. All of the teachers were good and kind and got to know every student.”

Nielsen said she loved the playground. “There was a big old sandbox where we’d build rivers and look for worms. It was a fun place to grow up.”

“When I was asked to be the principal I told people in the community and a handful had been here as kids,” said King. “Some would break into the school song. They could still remember it.”

Reading is part of the community, he said. “Everyone shows up for the school and for the children. We also have an amazing staff. We are celebrating the building but it’s really about the phenomenal people in the neighborhood creating connections and relationships in the community.”