Lacey Elementary to celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday

There will be family fun as well as nostalgia for those who attend Lacey Elementary School’s 50th anniversary celebration from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The elementary school choir as well as the drumline from North Thurston High School will perform. Guests will be able to tour the school and view memorabilia from different decades. There will be a scavenger hunt for children, and a slideshow of the school throughout the years, set to the hits from 1968. And there will be comments by Superintendent Debra Clemens and Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder, a Lacey Elementary alumni.

The opening ceremony will include a tribute to a beloved tree that was recently cut down for safety reasons.

“There were many tears when it was cut down, so we want to commemorate the tree by keeping a round and turning it into a buddy bench once the wood has cured,” said Principal Sharon McGourty in a news release.

A piece of the tree will be on display Saturday. The bench will be surrounded by a series of pavers decorated by each class at Lacey Elementary. This is part of an Eagle Scout project of Nic Morhous, the son of a Lacey staff member.

“I attended Lacey Elementary myself and am excited to be able to do my Eagle Project and to have a part in the 50th anniversary celebration!” Morhous said in a news release.

Lacey Elementary, known as the “round school,” is set on more than 10 acres at 1800 Homann Drive SE. Named after O.C. de Lacey, a real estate agent and attorney at the turn of the 20th century, the school was originally located where the Carpenter Road Safeway store stands today, according to a North Thurston Public Schools news release.

In 1968, the new Lacey Elementary was built at its current location, two years after Lacey was incorporated as a city. It was most recently updated in 2002-2003, according to the school district.