BRUNSWICK

Robert P.T. Coffin Elementary School celebrated its 60 years educating the children of Brunswick on Tuesday night with multimedia, interactive stations that brought together history, memories, present-day work — and cake.

After a booming population with the opening of Brunswick Naval Air Station and the closing of the last rural school in town, Bunganuc, plans began in the spring of 1955 to build a new, modern school capable of educating the local K-5 students.

That fall, Coffin School opened 15 finished and five unfinished rooms for a price tag of $450,000. The school population began at 535 students in 1955, swelling to 645 in 1957. An additional 10 rooms were opened in 1968.

Today, Coffin is a bustling K-1 school and although the old building is facing some problems with age, Principal Steve Ciembroniewicz still sees a thriving community as a powerful force behind the learning that goes on within those walls.

“It’s not just the 60 years. Tonight’s just a confluence of celebration and it’s a celebration of the 60 years of Coffin School which is a wonderful thing — it’s an amazing thing,” Ciembroniewicz said, adding the recognition of a new mural the kids worked on with Arts Are Elementary.

Ciembroniewicz said what makes it nice is that every child had a hand in creating a timeless piece of art that celebrates Coffin School.

Along with the anniversary and the mural, Ciembroniewicz said they were celebrating their annual art exhibit as well as the unveiling of the little library outside.

“So it’s all these pieces coming together and that’s what’s kind of exciting,” he said.

Ciembroniewicz said it goes beyond the 60 years because, as he said, they’ve been sorting out issues of what it means to be a K-1 school and that now things are coming together and Coffin is finding a new identity.

“This is going to sound like a line, but it’s about what goes on — we concern ourselves about what goes on in the classrooms and I think if you look at what’s happening in the classrooms, it’s amazing — it’s positive energy,” Ciembroniewicz said.

Trevor Peterson searched for his first-grade daughter Avery’s artwork along the hallways.

“It’s a lot more than just the building it’s in, but it’s a really good community,” Peterson said. “The parents are involved and we like that Avery is in a multi-age classroom which is neat. She’ll have the same teacher for two years and she gets to interact with some older kids.”

Sue Kelley started teaching at Coffin in 1971 and taught there until 2009, mostly third grade.

“It’s like I never left, really. Things have changed but it was just nice to come back and see everyone. There’s a group of us retired teachers from Coffin who meet every month anyway — it’s kind of nice to come back here to see the place,” Kelley said.

School Board Chairman Billy Thompson started kindergarten at Coffin in 1985. He said he loves the old building and has fond memories of attending there. With no solid plans on a new school to be built on the horizon, Thompson has no qualms with sending his daughter to Coffin when her time comes.

One of the things Thompson misses from his days there — the old safety patrols that used to hold students for the crossing guard at the crosswalk intersection of Columbia Avenue and Baribeau Drive.

“What a great opportunity for fifth graders to show some responsibility, some maturity and do that job,” Thompson said. Sadly, Thompson took the bus and missed out on wearing the orange belt with the badge.

At the end of the school year, the Brunswick Police Department would thank the safety patrols by taking them to a Red Sox game.

dmcintire@timesrecord.com