third-graders excited
about Wee Deliver
Postal program delivers
fun lessons for children
Asher Holmes School
third-graders excited
about Wee Deliver
By jeanette M. eng
Staff Writer
"I do solemnly swear that I take this obligation freely and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."
MARLBORO — Who would have thought that the individuals who uttered this oath of office were but a wee 8 years old?
Third-graders at the Asher-Holmes Elementary School are well into the second month of Wee Deliver, their own in-school post office program. Every Thursday at precisely 2 p.m., 10 third-graders report to work at the "post office" in Room 34.
Letter carriers Stephen Donato and Eijaz Gillani pick up their mail bags and are off to pick up the week’s accumulation of mail. When the carriers return, usually with about 200 letters, the facers, Max Alekhnovich and Patrick Xne, arrange all of the letters into the same direction.
Then, in an assembly line, the letters are passed down to nixie clerks Ijeoma Unachukwu and Amy Sun, who check every address for proper form and punctuation. They stamp faulty letters with an official "Return to Sender," stamp, complete with a red finger. Unachukwu, known as the pickier of the two nixie clerks, does not hesitate with her red stamp.
"It’s sooooo messy," she said, as she sent one of the letters back.
All of the correctly addressed letters then move on to canceller Leon Lin, who makes sure that none of the stamps will be reused.
At the last leg of the assembly line, sorters Bianca Zelicskovics and Sam Manochio separate the letters into individual "towns," place them into street sorting boxes and rubber band the stacks for the carriers to deliver.
Throughout this whole process, postmaster Hallie Roth oversees everything.
"I make sure that everyone’s doing their job and I train new employees," she said.
The youngsters work together quickly and efficiently, enjoying an occasional group laugh at the expense of Lin, who hurts his hand stamping a letter with a bit too much "oomph."
Since the program has been implemented, the third-graders take time out to write to pen pals and friends. The youngsters, some of whom have never written letters before, now write from three to six letters weekly. The best thing, however, seems to be receiving mail.
"It’s fun to read letters from friends," said Ijeoma, who writes about three letters a week. "It’s the same thing as talking, but instead you’re using a pen."
The Wee Deliver employees, who need-ed good attendance records and good behavior reports in order to qualify for the job, have proven themselves to be dependable, well-behaved in the hallways, helpful and good representatives for their peers, said art teacher Philip Silva, who organized the program.
Silva, who heard about Wee Deliver from a professor, decided it would be a great idea for Asher Holmes. After receiving Principal Tammy Grader’s blessing, Silva applied for and received a grant for Wee Deliver from the Marlboro Education Foundation. The $1,500 grant helped to pay for envelopes, stamp pads, mail bags, mail boxes and everything else necessary to run a post office.
Because third-graders have letter writing as part of their curriculum, Silva decided to begin Wee Deliver with the third grade.
"We kicked off the program with a poster contest and the winning poster was shrunk down for our official stamp," the art teacher said.
Now the stamp bearing Sanjana Salwi’s design and using the theme "Promoting Diversity" is on the corner of every envelope.
To emulate a real-life postal system, the school’s third grade community was divided into four towns: Bird Town, Mammal Town, Fish Town and Amphibian Town. Then each class picked their own street name, such as Toucan Terrace.
Wee Deliver was officially launched on March 4 by Rita Ridley, the Morganville post office’s assistant postmaster, who answered questions and swore in the postal workers.
In a promise to the principal to use the mail system properly, all of the third-graders also pledged not to use any unkind words in their correspondence.
Wee Deliver was developed by the United States Postal Service and is designed to provide children with real-life experiences in which to apply basic skills such as addressing envelopes using the mail system; writing a letter using punctuation appropriate for letters; locating street addresses; and using ZIP codes.
At the same time, the program serves as a unifying communication system for the student body; provides a way for students to use their writing skills; provides experiences in proper completion of forms; develops a sense of job responsibility; and improves language arts skills.
According to Silva, the program is accomplishing all that it should.
"We’ve received a lot of great feedback from parents, speech teachers and teachers who use the system," he said, noting that many teachers also write letters to their students.
Third grader teachers Ganna Maymind, Terry Gross, Samara Mark, Chris Gerken and Philip Lozada have also been instrumental to the success of Wee Deliver, Silva said, adding, "The kids are more enthusiastic about writing now."
He plans to expand the program to include the entire school and perhaps even more district schools next year.