Oak Delivery Mail System Bustling With Letters
Norfolk Collegiate’s youngest Oaks have been keeping their new Oak Delivery Mail System busy and their fourth grade postal workers are loving it!
The newest addition to the lower school is not only improving our Oak’s writing skills, but it’s also improving their communication, thanks to the genius of our lower school Science Teacher Melissa Economou.
“This system will allow students to authentically write and address letters to friends and/or adults in the lower school no matter what grade,” said Economou. “Fourth grade students will be responsible for checking and delivering the mail.”
How It Works:
Fourth grade students take turns working as Oak Delivery Mail System workers.
“Students write letters on notebook paper and fold the letter in thirds or half and put the recipient and address on the outside of the envelope,” said Economou. “Students then put the letter in the drop box at the post office. Fourth graders will check the address and have the student make any corrections necessary. Once the letter is correct, it will receive a stamp and be delivered to the recipient.”
Lower school teachers helped create street names for the hallways. The street names are: Collegiate Avenue, Oak Street, Pre-K Way, Acorn Lane, Cares Boulevard and Oak Pride Road. The signs were then hung on each end of each hall and a list of classroom addresses was posted in their classrooms for easy student reference. Letters can also be delivered to Oaks at the middle and upper school and are transported between campuses by faculty and staff.
“This is meant to enrich and help with our current writing curriculum,” said Economou. Our lower school writing curriculum allows time for writing every day. Students learn skills in friendly letter composition, descriptive writing and expression as well as challenging themselves to use ‘juicer’ words and more advanced adjectives and adverbs. This free writing forum allows students to explore the skills they learn in writing in a less formal setting.”
It’s allow a great way for students to show appreciation and share joy.
“Students are writing just to check in with friends, show appreciation to teachers and staff around the school, get to know book buddies in different grades and make deeper connections with friends in other classes or grade levels,” Economou continued. “The comments we have heard most are how happy students are to receive a letter and how much joy they get from sending a letter and watching the reaction of the receiver. We hope this school-wide postal system will encourage a love of lifelong writing.”
How Much Mail is Processed Daily?
“We are currently processing between 60 and 80 letters per day through the postal system,” said Economou. “This is 60-80 pages of writing done by students that otherwise may not have taken place. This is invaluable writing practice that students are voluntarily doing simply to make someone else happy. As an educator, you can’t ask for better than that!”
The students are loving it, too!
“I love it,” said Charlotte Van Orman ’32. “We all take turns. We get to do it for a week. The bag is full every day.”
Her classmate Karter Bryant ’32 agreed. “I didn't think this many people would send this many letters, especially to the people in their class.”
“We are so proud of our lower school Oaks for independently running this system and for choosing to write and send letters simply for the purpose of making others happy,” said Economou. “It’s a testament to the lower school values that we strive to instill in our students and the incredible example our teachers set for our students each day. It is a great time to be a lower school Oak!”
If you would like to learn more about the Oak Delivery Mail System, please email Mrs. Economou at meconomou@norfolkcollegiate.org.
