Phillips Celebrates Schoolhouse Centennial

More than a thousand people turned out for the Phillips Traditional School Centennial celebration to watch the handmade mural unveiling in the stairwell and witness what students have been learning about all year.

PTA President Thatcher Williams said guests included family members, staff, alumni and even school board member Connie Boesen.

“Everyone appeared to be very impressed by the tile mural and enjoyed looking through the memorabilia set out for display,” Williams said.  “Also, many guests toured classrooms to look at students’ work which they have performed while studying the Core Knowledge Sequence over the year. As you know, Phillips is the only Des Moines School and one of very few elementary schools in the state that teaches using the Core Knowledge Sequence.”

The mural was the centerpiece of the night.  Students and staff decorated each tile with care and the unveiling elicited a lot of oohs and aahs.

“The mural is fantastic,” Williams said.  “A lot of hard work and planning by everyone involved in creating and mounting ceramic mural definitely paid off. It is a wonderful tribute to the school which we will treasure for many years to come.”

Williams said the PTA believes the students and their families already know – but the Open House and Core Knowledge Night helped solidify in the hearts and minds of the Phillips family – the amount of involvement, pride and love that goes into each day at our school.  He said Phillips is an exceptional school because of the dedication of each and every person, no matter how young or how old, who walk through the doors.

“While there was a lot of looking back and reminiscing,” he said.  “We heard many talking about looking forward to all the great things we are doing – and have ideas about doing – that will continue the strength and betterment of Phillips in the future.”

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