Gardner Elementary School is celebrating its 100th birthday. Here’s a look at its legacy.

SWANSEA — Over the last century, Gardner Elementary School has been a source of pride and connection for generations of students, educators, and administrators. Now, it's celebrating a milestone.

“This building has been so well built and so well maintained that it has lasted for 100 years,” said Judith Eddy, a retired Gardner kindergarten teacher of 16 years.

Principal Nick Overy recalls taking in the original architecture and timeless character of the interior of the building at 10 Church St. “That sense of community is something we take pride in,” to which Superintendent Scott Holcomb added, “The School Committee and central administration continues to pledge their commitment to keep local history alive.”

Two elm trees, accompanied by a pair of screen-prints announcing the school's 100-year anniversary, will be planted out front. The school has plans to hold its annual sweetheart dance at the end of February with a “Roaring” Twenties theme — think lions, tigers, and bears, in lieu of glitzy costumes, and saxophone squeals — in recognition of the decade the school was built, but tailored to young students. For a color scheme: “maroon and gold,” Overy said. “That maroon and gold pride, that Case pride, that Swansea pride,” he added.

Gardner school will be featured in the town’s Memorial Day parade , with a subcommittee of volunteers helping to design a float, including Eddy, and Diane Scherny, an art teacher for the district’s elementary schools. “We're looking to involve students,” Overy said, as well as past and present teachers.

There are plans to host a community event centering around the figure and namesake, Job Gardner, related to Edwin Cotton Gardner , who sold family farmland to the town to build the school in 1924.

The building at 10 Church St. is the second Gardner School location

“This is not the original Gardner school. The original school was built about 1839,” Eddy said. Herald News stories archived by the Fall River Public Library dating back to 1924 report that the first Gardner school was housed in what is known as the American Legion Building at 73 Ocean Grove Ave .

In 1923, Horace Bates, superintendent at the time, cited an influx of children among the nine one-room schoolhouses operating in Swansea. At a 1924 town meeting, citizens voted to approve a $60,000 school in an ideal location dotted with elm trees — and the build went over budget by $55. The six-room school opened officially on Jan. 19, 1925.

“If only these walls could talk,” Eddy said.

Many of Gardner school’s educators were former students at the school.

“There’s a long history for me,” Christine Medeiros, a first-grade teacher at Gardner, said, reflecting on her time as a student in Swansea all the way back to the second grade. She still runs into her former teachers out and about. Her children grew up in Swansea’s school system. “It's a great district to work in,” Medeiros said.

Krystal Mello, an academic intervention teacher, graduated from Joseph Case high school. “I feel very fortunate to work in this town,” Mello said. She always wanted to be a teacher. “I love our community here — our student community, our parent community. We really are a team.”

Paraprofessional Kelly White agreed. “The teachers are wonderful. Mr. O makes school fun,” she said. “You can see the enthusiasm,” and equally, the melancholy when second grade ends and classes are bumped to new schools for grades three to five.

Students of Ms. Gendreau’s second-grade class chimed in, reporting that gym and recess were favorite moments of their day, and that learning about art and science were highlights of their weeks. Jaxon Branco was stunned to learn the age of the school. “It doesn’t look old,” he said. Abigail Camara shared that “people like to go here, because you can have fun at school.”

They confidently said Overy is “a fun principal,” brightening their learning experience with jokes that work well to keep young minds engaged and excited to be a part of the school’s community.

“We're big on character development,” Overy said, sharing that the school serves 280 students. “We know that these indicators are going to be more impactful on student success as they grow older. We value academics,” Overy clarified. Literacy is a particular focus at Gardner, and a new math program was introduced a couple of years earlier. “But,” Overy said, “we know that if we can build the character and also foster that joy and love for learning, that these kids will become lifelong learners.”

“Our educators teach the whole child. They don't just get caught up in the state standards. There's a lot beyond those state standards that's happening here,” Holcomb said. “What you get you get in Swansea, you can’t find everywhere.”

(Editor's note: An art teacher mentioned in this story is a relative of the reporter.)

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Gardner Elementary School is celebrating its 100th birthday. Here’s a look at its legacy.