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Schools

Past Principals Return to Celebrate Ben Franklin Elementary School's 50th Anniversary

Eight of the nine former principals returned to the Lawrence Township elementary school last Friday to help students and current Principal Chris Turnbull celebrate the school's 50th anniversary.

What do Larry Ksanznak, Robert Dornish, Joseph Stroman, Ernest Smith, Russ Stanley, Richard Graja, Robert Copeland, Bernard Bricketto, and William Buss have in common?

They were all principals of Ben Franklin Elementary School. With the exception of Dornish, all returned to the school on Princeton Pike last Friday (Sept.23) to celebrate Ben Franklin’s 50th anniversary.

As they entered the gymnasium, the former principals, accompanied by current Principal Chris Turnbull, were regaled by students singing, “Hail, hail, all the principals are here.”

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After brief introductions, Turnbull asked each principal “what three words do you think of when you think of Ben Franklin?”

Stroman, principal from 1966 to 1968, answered, “Excited to learn.” He added, “That’s what I see when I walk in the front door.”

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Bricketto, who was in charge from 1995 through 2002, replied, “If you work with them [the teachers and staff], you will succeed.”

Ksanznak, the principal who first opened the doors at Ben Franklin back in 1961 and remained there until 1964, said, “Fabulous school family.”

Copeland, who was principal from 1989 to 1995 and who is current superintendent of schools in Piscataway, said, “Community is important.”

Graja, principal from 1974 through 1985, said he enjoys seeing a lot of “little people like you [the students], grow up and become important people in town – that’s the beauty of Lawrenceville… Wonderful people, terrific staff, wonderful parents.”

Stanley, who replaced Graja in 1985 and stayed until 1989, used these three words: “Many wonderful memories.”

“Ben Franklin was a great place to be from,” Smith said. “When I was here it was a great school. Great schools have three things: great principals, great teachers and great children.” His response was met with many cheers. Smith served as principal from 1968 to 1974.

Buss – the principal who hired Turnbull as a teacher in the district and who, having served as principal from 2002 through 2010, is still remembered by many of the students and faculty – said he believes, “Ben Franklin is the greatest school in Lawrence Township.”

Turnbull, principal since 2010, answered his own question with “tradition (people came before us), hard-working (teachers), and fun (every single day when I come to school I have a lot of fun).”

Dornish, who was principal from 1964 to 1966, had planned to attend but was unable to do so at the last minute.

The ceremony lasted about 45 minutes. All the students did a terrific job sitting still and listening to the guests.

As everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to the school, Ben Franklin art teacher Anthony Colavita presented a three-foot tall “cake” students made during their art classes. The principals were also given a tastier cake complete with candles.

Ben Franklin’s first principal, Ksanznak, spoke a little bit about what he wanted for Ben Franklin 50 years ago as he opened the door to the then-new school. He said he wanted it to be a friendly school, with a school paper (“The Lightning Rod”) and a school song. He challenged current students “to come up with a new school song for the next 50 years.”

After singing the school song, the younger grades left, giving the third-graders a more intimate experience with the former principals. This began with a trivia game. Students were told a fact about one of the principals, and it was their job to guess which one matched the piece of trivia.

“This principal toured Europe as a professional basketball player,” was one question. The answer: Ksanznak.

“This principal likes to ride the fastest and highest roller coasters.” The answer: Buss.

The students seemed to enjoy learning more about each principal.

The men shared their favorite memories of the school. Smith said on the “first day I came to Ben Franklin to be the principal, I was very nervous. I had been a sixth-grade teacher. Mr. Ksanznak said, ‘You can do it!’ [On the first day] one of the teachers became sick and I carried her out of the class to the hospital. I was not prepared for a teacher getting sick.”

Buss, the most recent former principal, had a fonder memory to share. “I loved our ice cream socials because I was in charge of squirting the whipped cream. We used to go through cans of whipped cream. My favorite memory was getting a lot of you with the whipped cream.”

Copeland said he particularly remembers one “Back to School” night. Many teachers had accepted early retirement packages and he had to hire eight new teachers that year. He said he had about 1,000 resumes to choose from, and was worried about choosing the right candidates. “I remember introducing the teachers at Back to School Night and they got a standing ovation.”

Stanley remembers having a “spaghetti dinner to celebrate the new playground. About 1,000 people worked on that playground.” He advised the third-graders “don’t be afraid to dream big. Work hard at school. Practice on the field. Choose the right friends. Stay away from the bad things. Make the decision to do only the good things.”

Another 50th anniversary celebration, involving the community at large, was held at the school on Saturday, Sept. 24.

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