Students this week at Excelsior Middle School prepared for the future with a look back at the past. As part of ongoing plans to commemorate the school’s soon-to-be-completed multi-purpose building, Excelsior students and faculty filled a time capsule with items representing the present.

“The time capsule was designed to show what was going on at the time of the construction and to give a sense of the school climate,” said Excelsior Principal Charles Miller. “And to acknowledge the hard work of the community, students and staff in making this all happen.”

The 30-40 items preserved for posterity include a cell phone and iPod, a copy of People Magazine, articles on the death of Osama Bin Laden and headlines from local community newspapers. Excelsior school schedules, P.E. clothes and the wrappers of popular candy bars and drinks were also included.

“Some of the students wrote letters to future students,” said Miller, who placed one of his business cards and his cell phone number in the capsule. “It’s possible that those students could be writing to their own children. Wouldn’t that be something?”

The time capsule is set to be sealed within the next couple of weeks and eventually placed behind Plexiglas in the wall of the new auditorium.