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Lydiksen Elementary School marked five decades of educating young minds last Friday with a 50th birthday extravaganza.
About 1,000 people showed up for the “Family Fun Night” celebration at the school, which included a magic show, cake walk, food, auction and more.
“It was a good way to bring together family and staff, to get together and celebrate the school,” said Jacob Berg, Lydiksen’s principal.
School officials first started planning the celebration in 2017, after realizing that the school’s 50th anniversary was coming up.
Berg began researching to determine when Lydiksen officially opened, and he found a document highlighting its opening date of April 15, 1968. Back then, the school was part of the now-defunct Murray School District, which encompassed Dublin and northern Pleasanton. The school is named for George Lydiksen, an influential Murray school board member.
The Murray School District eventually split among the Pleasanton and Dublin unified school districts, and in 1988, Lydiksen was transferred to the newly formed PUSD.
School staff decided to hold the milestone celebration last Friday in conjunction with their annual spring carnival event, since the timing coincided.
The 50th anniversary comes during a critical time for the school located at 7700 Highland Oaks Drive, just off Foothill Road.
Lydiksen is set for a major rebuild and modernization project in the near future, paid for by Measure I1 school facilities bond revenues — the PUSD board just approved the project’s conceptual design.
And Berg points to other recent successes at the elementary school, including being named a California Distinguished School, and Lydiksen first-grade teacher Arlene Simpelo selected as PUSD Teacher of the Year.
“The last four months have been incredible,” Berg said.
He added that he was heartened by the high turnout, especially by former staff and parents from the school — people with no current direct ties to Lydiksen.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge these kinds of milestones, to reflect on how far schools and education have come,” Berg said.
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A Lydiksen classroom in the early days. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary) -
The elementary school on Highland Oaks Drive officially opened on April 15, 1968, according to Principal Jacob Berg. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary) -
These photos of Lydiksen’s early days are among a collection of slides that Principal Berg found in library storage as they geared up for the 50th anniversary celebration. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary) -
Lydiksen used to be part of the Murray School District, which encompassed Dublin and northern Pleasanton. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary) -
Lydiksen was transferred to the newly formed Pleasanton Unified School District in 1988. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary) -
Last Friday, Lydiksen celebrated its 50th anniversary at the school’s annual spring carnival. (Photo courtesy of PUSD) -
The Family Fun Night included food, a magic show, auction, cake walk and more. (Photo courtesy of PUSD) -
School staff decided to hold Lydiksen’s 50th anniversary celebration in conjunction with their Family Fun Night because the school’s official “birthday” closely coincided with the school’s annual spring carnival. (Photo courtesy of Lydiksen Elementary)
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Our daughter (now in middle school) had Ms. Simpelo as her 1st grade teacher. Her recognition for the honor is well deserved. She was a great teacher and really cared about the students. She also had a habit of going the extra mile. For example, for the classroom speeches that all her 1st graders gave, she video-taped the student speeches and posted them on the class website so that we parents could see them. Great feedback to the parents! It allowed us to review how our daughter did in the actual class speech and helped her to improve her performance for next time (like speak more loudly, speak more slowly, pause before a dramatic ending, etc.). Our daughter really made great strides forward in giving class speeches by the end of the 1st grade due to Ms. Simpelo’s conscientious efforts and her going the extra mile to provide valuable feedback to us. Great teacher!