Pine Grove School Celebrates 20 Years

It has been 20 years since Pine Grove School opened on Scoville Road. Students, faculty and administrators celebrated what Principal Gail Dahling-Hench dubbed the elementary school's "annibirthary" Friday.

Assistant Principal Jess Giannini unwrapped boxes within boxes to reveal the gift all students went home with: a Pine Grove key chain.

Dahling-Hench spoke about how she started off as a parent at Pine Grove. Superintendent of Schools Gary Mala and former Towpath and Pine Grove principal Mark Nolan addressed the student body. Prior to the "town hall" meeting, Board of Education members, faculty and former teachers gathered in the cafeteria to celebrate the 20th anniversary.

Each grade gave a special presentation. Fourth-graders led "Name that Tune," playing songs from the past two decades from "Unforgettable" to "A Whole New World" for students and faculty to guess.

Third-, second- and first-graders highlighted what happened in history in the past 20 years worldwide and at Pine Grove, everything from 9/11 to the creation of YouTube. The third-graders dressed up in costumes, so there were a lot of Star Wars characters and Harry Potters on stage.

The kindergartners closed the student portion of the ceremony, singing "Happy Birthday."

Piney, the school's badger mascot, made an appearance on the "annibirthary," as well.