Memories Unearthed: Odom Elementary Time Capsule Tradition Connects Generations of Students

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More than five decades ago, a group of fourth graders at what was then Colonial Hills Elementary School buried a time capsule filled with memories from their young lives. On Friday morning, Aug. 7, those memories — and the connections created through them — resurfaced once again at Odom Elementary School.

Former students and staff members returned to the campus to uncover a piece of their shared history and continue a tradition that began in 1972.

Sharon (Henslee) Siebern (center) poses with a few of her former students.

During the 1971–72 school year, students in Sharon (Henslee) Siebern’s fourth-grade class created and buried a time capsule at Colonial Hills Elementary. The project captured a snapshot of their lives as students and preserved memories they hoped to revisit someday.

When members of the class returned in 2002 to open the original capsule, they discovered the plastic container had deteriorated and filled with mud. Rather than allowing the tradition to end, the former classmates and Siebern created a new time capsule, placing it inside a durable PVC pipe before burying it.

The class reunited in 2002.

Twenty-four years later, the group reunited again — this time to discover what they had left behind in 2002.

For Siebern, the reunion was about much more than opening a time capsule. It was an opportunity to reconnect with students whose lives she helped shape more than five decades ago.

“It was life-affirming to go back to where your career began and see your students, now adults, many of whom are grandparents now, as successful individuals,” Siebern said. “It moved me to see them and know that I had a small part in that.”

The moment served as a powerful reminder of the lasting influence educators can have on their students’ lives — often in ways they may not see until many years later.

Siebern began her career at Colonial Hills Elementary in 1969, just two years after the campus opened. During her years at the school, she witnessed a close-knit community where families, students and educators worked together to support one another.

“When I started there in 1969, it was a very different place,” Siebern said. “There was a community full of little houses and young families. They all knew each other, and many of the students had brothers and sisters attending the same school.”

Superintendent Dr. LaTonya M. Goffney (in red holding cell phone) approaches the table to capture the time capsule and its contents.

She recalled an active PTA, family involvement in events such as field day, and a strong partnership between the school and the surrounding neighborhood.

“The community supported the school, and the school supported the community,” Siebern said. “It was wonderful.”

Siebern also reflected on Weaver Odom Jr., the longtime principal for whom the campus was named.

“He was a wonderful man and a good principal,” she said.

While the neighborhood surrounding the campus has changed over the years, Siebern said the memories and relationships created at the school remain.

Odom Elementary School is currently closed as part of Aldine ISD’s Bond 2023 school rebuild projects. Plans for the campus are still being determined, but the legacy created by generations of students, families and educators continues.

The time capsule tradition serves as a reminder that schools are more than buildings. They are communities built through relationships, shared experiences and the lasting impact of those who teach and learn within them.

What began as a fourth-grade classroom project in 1972 has now become a tradition spanning more than 50 years — a reminder that some memories are worth burying, finding and sharing again.