Tinc Road Elementary School in Flanders has seen some changes since opening 50 years ago, but its foundation, dedicated staff, bright students and supportive families remain its cornerstone.
Staff members, both current and retired, celebrated the school’s milestone anniversary on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Tinc cafeteria, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Out of the 130 attendees, all four principals from the past five decades were present.
“We were so surprised that all four principals came to join us!” shares Laura Iacampo, second grade teacher and one of the organizers of the event. “Dick Wenner who opened the school, followed by Dr. Richard Fair, then Scott Lipson and today, Mark Grilo. Each of them came! It is very rare to have only four principals over such a time span, but that just goes to show you how beloved and special Tinc Road School truly is!
“We had a special honor of flowers and crowns for the two members who were literally here the day the school opened: Mr. Dick Wenner, the principal and Mrs. Ellen Willsey, a classroom teacher,” she adds.
Attendees enjoyed music from the 1970s to today, a photo booth area, hors d'oeuvres, desserts, cold drinks and even a mocktail called a Tinc-tini, describes Iacampo.
A committee of faculty and staff organized the food, decorations, music, slideshow, memorabilia, photo wall and photo booth. The PTO at Tinc sponsored it all with no cost to attendees.
“Our current principal, Mark Grilo, led us off with facts about the school over the years, from changes and renovations to what is being planned for the future,” she adds. “Then each decade of staff was recognized to come have a group photo taken. We shared stories, took a walk down memory lane as we looked at Tinc memorabilia and yearbooks, and enjoyed seeing colleagues from long ago and today.
“It was a night we will never forget,” says Iacampo who has been working in the MOSD for 24 years. “Each attendee received an ornament with a picture of the school on it to take home and treasure.
“It was truly a magical event!” she adds. “To see everyone come together who has made a difference in some way to the school was very powerful. We all had, and still have, a collective vision: To make the lives of our students better by teaching them the basics, but more than that, how to be productive citizens in our world. We shared moments remembering staff members who have passed away, and that was sad, heartfelt and yet beautiful because we all share precious memories of times spent with them over the years.”
The school opened in October 1974 and classes were kindergarten through sixth grade. Tinc held its first anniversary celebration at the 40-year mark and decided the 50th was a good time for another celebration.
“We just felt this was momentous because of the big number and we have so many people still connected to the school that we felt it was important to celebrate!” says Iacampo, who also worked 13 years at Chester M. Stephens Elementary School in Budd Lake. “It has seen a lot over the years: A redistricting initiative, a renovation, COVID learning, and so much has changed in our world during those 50 years. Yet one thing remains: This amazing building with its incredible staff, students and family members!”
As a long-time employee of MOSD she has witnessed its changes.
“The structure is still the same, but it had a major update in 2018 with new floors, an updated library and cafeteria, lighting throughout and so much more!” she shares. “In 2019, the staff and students worked together on a beautiful hallway mural to which each and every person contributed while at the helm of the Olmstead Mural Group. Every paint stroke and handprint was left by someone here at Tinc Road.”
Some who attended reflected on the event and Tinc’s milestone.
“I am so proud to be a teacher in Mt. Olive, and I would not trade my years at Tinc or Mt. Olive for anything,” says Stephanie Tarnowski of Roxbury, current teacher at Mt. Olive Middle School. Hired in 1991 to teach third grade at Tinc, she also taught kindergarten, fourth and fifth grades, before moving to MOMS in 2011.
“Throughout my years at Tinc, I worked with the most intelligent, hardworking, kindhearted colleagues and my 20 years at Tinc were truly some of the best years of my life and career!” adds Tarnowski.
“As a Tinc family, we celebrated happy times together, and we supported each other through the difficult times,” says Tarnowski. “We looked for reasons to celebrate, had lunch together daily, and we supported each other day in and day out. Our goal was always what would be best for our students, and we lived and breathed positivity and hard work. We were a Tinc Road School team, and we worked together alongside each other, our students and the families to find great success as a school, and I am most proud of those years at Tinc Road School.
She attended the 50-anniversary event “to be reunited with my Tinc Family. I got emotional several times throughout the night, looking at the memorabilia, pictures, and talking with the most outstanding people, reliving the incredible times we had at Tinc Road School-we are truly a family. The celebration was so beautifully planned and wonderfully attended. So much hard work went into this event, and the best of Tinc Road School was clearly on display!”
Longtime teacher Kathleen Diefes of Budd Lake also attended to catch up with longtime colleagues.
“It was an opportunity to connect with colleagues past and present to celebrate the success of Tinc Road of which I was an integral member for many, many years,” she shares. “Tinc Road has a very special place in my heart, my children went here, I spent countless hours here nurturing and encouraging learners. I am proud of the lives I changed, the dreams I inspired, and the insight I shared with many colleagues. It was an afternoon to celebrate all of that with the fabulous staff I shared the halls with.”
She is grateful she was able to attend.
“The celebration was a lovely afternoon of nostalgia, laughs, snacks, photographs, stories, hugs…a connection of educators past and present filled the room with pride in their craft,” says Diefes. “It was just perfect!
Diefes spent 33 years at Tinc Rd. School from 1990-2023, teaching grades first through fifth and Basic Skills Reading.
“I believe I was the only teacher in attendance to have worked for all four principals that lead Tinc Road School,” shares Diefes. “That’s a pretty cool piece of trivia!
“While I have many memories of my years at Tinc, one of my favorite memories would be the micro village community, called TincTowne that was created by myself and my teaching partner Kathy Dewey,” adds Diefes. “TincTowne was an innovative kid run community at school. There was a bank, post office, store, museum, as well as a mayor and his town council. Our goal was to make students in second grade productive citizens. Students were fully immersed in society. It was famous!”
She too saw many changes.
“When I started at Tinc it was a K-6 building, teacher centered classrooms,” says Diefes. “Enter technology, technology, technology! The integration of technology shifting from traditional blackboard teaching to laptops and smart boards and personalized learning. There is a lot more collaboration amongst students with problem-based learning activities. Classrooms are now more student centered.”
Another long-timer, Roberta Foster of Cedar Knolls, also reminisced about her time at Tinc from 1978 until 2010, where she taught third, sixth and fifth grade gifted and talented.
She recalled so many memories “things that make me laugh; kids were incredible; feeling of being on the faculty, it was truly like a family. This was always my heart school. I’m so proud I was a teacher. Now that I’m retired I’m so pleased that was my career choice. These kids were wonderful, parents were wonderful. It was pleasure to come to work.”
She too was so happy to attend the event.
“This is amazing,” says Foster, “to see the effort with the artifacts; the people it’s so good to see everybody again. It’s great to see all the principals here. It’s really, really amazing.”
Agrees Iacampo, “The hard work by each person to make this event come to life meant so much to all who attended. We were all glowing for days as we continued to celebrate all week with our spirit week. We will infuse special 50th touches as the year goes on until June, and we are just so proud to celebrate our wonderful school!”
The next 50 years look bright.
“We are going to be undergoing parking renovations and an eventual addition to the school in the future!” concludes Iacampo.
