Wild Rose Elementary School celebrates 50 years

ST. CHARLES – Kindergartner Gavin Hollink didn’t know that Wild Rose Elementary School in St. Charles was 50 years old. He just knew what he liked most about it – recess.

“That’s the best part” said Gavin, who attended Wild Rose’s anniversary celebration at the school on Red Haw Lane in St. Charles on May 6 with his dad.

Unlike most school playgrounds, Wild Rose’s borders a wooded area that has enhanced students’ educational and recreational experiences since the school opened.

“The whole class gets to walk through the woods and see all the animals,” Gavin said.

The woods and playground, which once had old-fashioned tire swings and monkey bars, evoked fond memories for former Wild Rose students.

“We had the coolest playground equipment,” said Christine Gassmeyer, now a third-grade teacher at Munhall Elementary School in St. Charles.

“I remember whipping around on the tire swings,” said alumna Kelly Perry, currently a math teacher at St. Charles North High School.

The 50th anniversary celebration at Wild Rose featured filmed interviews in the gymnasium with Gassmeyer, Perry and other alumni who pursued careers in education in St. Charles School District 303.

Other former Wild Rose students have children who currently attend the school. Michelle Vergara, who was at the celebration with her daughters, was a Wild Rose student from second through third grade. Two of her children now go there, and Vergara is glad her girls can still have the same positive school experiences that she had.

“Wild Rose is just a really fun place,” Vergara said. “I just remember having a lot of fun in the classroom.”

Vergara said one of her favorite teachers at Wild Rose was Paige Baker, now Staroske, who she had for second grade. Now, Vergara’s oldest daughter is in Staroske’s class, and her second daughter will have her as a teacher next year.

The Vergaras were part of a big crowd of students and parents who participated in the run/walk through the Wild Rose neighborhood at the start of the school celebration.

On display in the gymnasium during the event were the contents of a time capsule from 1966, the year the school’s construction was finished. One of the capsule items was a pamphlet from Nov. 13 of that year for an open house to showcase the new school’s special features.

Among the items highlighted were a multipurpose room, classrooms with moveable walls, a sound-proof room for the “speech correctionist” and the instrumental music teacher, listening tables with records and tapes in the learning laboratory, and a cafeteria/gym that tripled as an auditorium thanks to portable staging. And, each classroom had an outside door, which was a “big deal” at the time, one former student said.

The pamphlet stated that the building’s total construction cost was $495,000, which the district paid for with construction bonds. Equipment for the school cost $41,500, and sewer and water service was a $21,000 expense.

Although the school has changed over the years, with various additions and remodelings, the things that have made Wild Rose a great school – community spirit and positive educational experiences – have stayed the same, said Karen Biggs-Tucker, a teacher at Wild Rose for more than 30 years.

“Parents of current students were students here,” Biggs-Tucker said. “They like to keep coming back.”