Highcroft Traditions Reflection

Highcroft, formerly one of Blake’s elementary schools, was one of the three school campuses of Blake, along with the Hopkins campus and the Northrup campus. Highcroft was sold to Hand in Hand Christian Montessori after the 2022-23 school year. The current 8th graders (class of 2030) were the last fifth-grade graduating class of Highcroft. Whether Blake knew it or not, when Highcroft closed, Blake ended ages-old traditions.

Pinewood Derby

Every spring at Highcroft, students would prepare for the Pinewood Derby by making creative miniature cars and racing them down a track. Some students would choose to focus on the theme and look, and others would choose to focus on speed. There were many awards up for grabs, and everyone got a participation trophy. The derby continued at the Hopkins campus during the 2023-24 school year, but was canceled last year because the gym was under construction.

Cuckoo Clock

Highcroft used to have a huge cuckoo clock above the couches and fireplace in the common area on the lower level of the building. Every Friday before school started, former 4th-grade teacher Don Quinn would use a key to start the clock that included drums, whistles, chimes, and moving buildings, with a grand finale of the cuckoo bird coming out of its nest. Now, the bird is located in the Early Learning Center (ELC) on the Hopkins campus. A painted block that was part of the cuckoo clock was on display at the Upper Elementary on the Hopkins campus, but was taken out of its display case to make room for different art pieces.

Bears Club

Bears Club was Highcroft’s version of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. While the Bears Club agenda never included selling cookies, they had many activities similar to Girl and Boy Scouts, the most notable being the campout and the Pinewood Derby. Bears Club was split up by gender, which is one aspect of it that was questionable. Blake strives to be an inclusive school, and the gender-separation approach did not reflect Blake’s values. Bears Club was exclusively a part of Highcroft because scouts are more of a “country” tradition, so it was not continued at the Hopkins campus.

Ben & Jerry’s

As the end of the year approached at Highcroft, after-school gatherings at the Ben & Jerry’s down the street started up. Kids from many different grades would go to Ben & Jerry’s to get ice cream and celebrate the start of summer. Most kids would show up on the last day of school, but there was almost always someone from Highcroft there after school during the last couple weeks of school.

Woodland Acres

Woodland Acres was a game that many kids at Highcroft played at recess. It started by kids making little buildings with sticks and leaves, but as more kids got involved, it became so much more. The Woodland Acres had shops, magic, special artifacts, currency, government, quests, and wars. It was an incredibly fun and creative game. The kids of Woodland Acres attempted to pass the game on to the next generation of kids at the Hopkins campus and to the kids at the new Montessori school at the Highcroft campus.