Letter to readers: Jillian Boenisch/ Caterpillars, cursive, and growing up with Dundee Elementary

As the doors to the old Dundee Elementary School close, new ones open. A new era of the school begins this fall with the school district’s newly-constructed building. But first, a farewell to all the memories the old one holds.

I attended Dundee Elementary School from kindergarten to fifth grade. Both of my parents, and my brother and sister, also attended.

My first memory of the school is being in the afternoon session of Kindergarten, where I learned about reading, colors, and more. I learned how to write my own name in that classroom.

I fondly remember learning about animals, and the class getting to “raise” a caterpillar and later releasing the butterfly at Crabtree Park in Dundee.

We took a class picture, and in 2022 many of us in that picture graduated high school together.

As I grew within the walls of Dundee, so did my classmates around me. In first grade, we got to learn all about time and the months of the year in Mrs. Bisset’s classroom. I broke my wrist that year, and had to learn how to write with my non-dominant hand.

I remember vividly Mrs. Bisset encouraging me every single day.

In second, we created clay animals and learned about dinosaurs with Mrs. Greiner. I remember sitting on the carpet as she read exciting books to us, and her teaching us to write in cursive.

Throughout all these years of lessons, we also got to learn about music from Mrs. Ganske, with a class program every single year, one falling on my 11th birthday. We would practice three times a week, and even had lessons on certain instruments like the keyboard and recorder.

We participated in PE with Mr. Harris, who would give out awards to students every single class. The gym that I would walk into every day is now named after him.

In fourth and fifth grade, my parents won me the “school sleepover” when a couple classmates and I got to spend the night at the school playing games and watching movies.

As the years went on and we learned more and more, the friendships I gained during that time still stick with me. I have memories of going to outdoor school for three days with Mrs. Bachmeier, with whom I am still in contact.

Her classroom, and my fifth-grade year, hold more memories than I can count. By the time I was headed to middle school, I was already feeling grateful for everything my time at Dundee had given me.

Right before high school graduation, I got to walk through the halls of Dundee one last time in a blue cap and gown. At the time, the ceilings seemed so low and the school that once seemed huge was now small.

I gave high fives to students throughout the hallway, and just thought about how lucky they are to attend this great school, and how lucky I was to have been a part of it.

News-Register intern Jillian Boenisch lives in Newberg and is a junior at Oregon State University.