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STAMFORD, Conn. Students and teachers at Stamfords Toquam Magnet Elementary School have been lining the hallways of the second grade wing as they deliver letters and Valentines cards to the student-run post office.
Each of the second grade classrooms set up a two-person table, with stamps, Valentine's cards and change just before the school day begins in the morning and just before it ends in the afternoon.
Every job that the post office has, they do it, Allison Brocking, a second grade teacher at the school, said of the extra-curricular activity. She watched two of her students as they sold stamps and received letters from fellow students.
They couldnt wait to do this all year, second grade teacher Josephine Cuozzo said of her students.
It really does engage the whole school, Toquams Principal Mark Woodward said, pointing up and down the busy hallway. He has a huge stack of letters in his office sent by students.
The second-graders run the post office annually for four weeks as part of the social studies section of the Bank Street Curriculum, Cuozzo said. During the year, the students learn about the city of Stamford and the different roles people play in the community, including the post office, she said.
Acting out the roles of what they are taught helps the information better stick with the students. Woodward said he takes pride in the school giving real-life experience to the kids.
Although the post office is part of the social studies curriculum, kids learn lessons in other subjects: Students practice math skills by paying for items and making change and English by writing the letters, teacher said.
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