BROWNSTOWN — First, they shared their plans after high school and their favorite memory from elementary school.

The plans included going to college to study business, behavior therapy or human biology. Others chose architecture, mechanical engineering, pharmacy, speech therapy, elementary education, psychology and computer graphics.

One already started cosmetology school but didn’t like it, so now, she’s trying to discover a new path. Another one wants to study trades to become an electrician.

As far as elementary memories, they noted having fun in physical education class, losing a bet with a teacher and having to do the tango with a classmate, eating yogurt-covered pretzels as a teacher read to the class, enjoying a Hawaiian party, getting water dumped on their heads by a teacher, filming Kids TV programs, participating in a wax museum and going extra time at the end of school days to make up for missed days due to winter weather.

Following that trip into the future and down memory lane, 18 members of the Brownstown Central High School Class of 2023 stayed in that reminiscent state as they opened manila envelopes they had created in the 2015-16 school year when they were in Becky Baker’s class.

In the time capsules, they found a letter they wrote to their senior self, an autobiography, a career plan, artwork, essays and more.

At that point, many more laughs were shared between the students, reading letters they had written to each other and looking at photos of themselves in fifth grade. It was a special time to gather before they graduate today.

While Baker couldn’t be there because she was out of state, she was able to FaceTime to watch as her former students opened their time capsules. Their fourth grade teacher, Amy Hartley, was able to be there. Eighteen of the 25 students in Baker’s fifth grade class that year were able to attend.

Kalee Borden and Kamryn Rollins both said it was like a flashback and a nostalgic moment.

“I just remember she was always super energetic and always high-paced, but she was a good teacher. I liked her,” Rollins said of Baker.

“She was probably one of my favorite teachers, and we always had fun,” Borden said. “It was always hands-on. It wasn’t always just listening to her. We always tried to do hands-on stuff in class.”

Reuniting as a class also made them realize how fast time goes.

“It’s just sweet, especially for the people that moved away,” Rollins said. “Like I haven’t seen Kalyn in years. It’s good to see everybody back.”

Kalyn Ritz said she moved to Bedford for school in eighth grade and will graduate from Bedford North Lawrence High School.

“I’m already out of school, so I was like, ‘I’ll go,’” she said. “I haven’t seen a lot of people here since seventh grade. It was really fun. I’m really happy that I was able to look back and reminisce, but I’m also happy because it reminds me of how far I’ve come and that I’m leaving this behind, but I’m still connected to it.”

She said the time capsule was one of many things Baker had the students do in class that made it fun.

“She was really good about making everything fun,” Ritz said. “She always made something interesting. Like we were doing math and it was still something that you were into. And she was also just a really nice person.”

As the students made a circle on the elementary library floor to open their time capsules, nearby on a wall was a large blanket they made in Baker’s class. Each year, she had her fifth-graders draw something based on a theme, and each of their drawings were put onto material to form a blanket. In 2015-16, the theme was things made in Indiana.

Baker retired in 2019 after 43 years of teaching. She taught third grade from 1976 to 1999 before finishing out with fifth grade. That’s when she started the time capsule project.

The first year, the fifth grade class, which included her daughter, decorated and filled pizza boxes. From the second year on, she switched to manila envelopes and stored them upstairs in the music room.

In 2007, the first class returned when they were seniors.

Baker said this year’s freshmen will be her last group to open time capsules when they are seniors.