School prepares to host ‘Cele-BRAYTON’

By Kathleen Torsiello, Correspondent
SUMMIT — Students at Brayton Elementary School in Summit will be celebrating something very special next year — their school is going to be 100 years old.
Although the actual anniversary isn’t until the spring of 2011, plans are already being made to celebrate the occasion. Jackie Browne is a parent who is helping put together activities and fundraisers in which students, alumni and past and present faculty members can participate.
Money raised from the fundraisers — such as “Are You Smarter than a Brayton Fifth-Grader?” and selling stainless steel Brayton water bottles — will go toward a dedication to the school in the fall of 2011.
Brayton School Principal Cheryl Moretz said everyone is very excited about the upcoming centennial. The PTA is “doing a good job of really keeping it focused on the children and looking for ways for the children to participate,” she said.
In January, Brayton students voted on a logo to represent the school’s 100th birthday. The logo, which says “Cele-BRAYTON” with stars surrounding the number 100, will appear on the water bottles that will be on sale within the next month.
“Our contribution for the next hundred years is to get kids to care more about their world,” Browne said.
Along with a 100th anniversary comes many memories. Former principal Wilbur Nelson started as a teacher at Brayton. He worked in that capacity for six years before becoming principal — a post he held until 1985.
“I really have so many memories,” he said. “It’s a wonderful place to live and to work. There are great kids and great families. We always liked to consider ourselves a family.”
Nelson said that the school was donated to the town in 1911 by the Larned family, who built it in honor of their son Brayton, who died at a young age. Builders faced some trouble the day after putting down the foundation — water had flooded down from Mountain Avenue overnight and the foundation sunk into the ground. Other measures had to be taken to build the school on the property.

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