Troy School Has Its Own Student, Staff "Post Office"

Photo: Troy Hofer Elementary School has its own unofficial post office, where students may send and receive mail.

Top from left: “Postmaster” and Assistant Principal Jennifer Tekiela, Social Worker and SEL Committee member Amy Giefer, Principal Kristin Copes and teacher Sarah Wells.

Students from left: Dylan Gonzales, Hunter Naskrent, Nathan Rainey, Macey Gorsh and Lexie Grevengoed.

Students at Troy Hofer Elementary School are learning a “new” way to correspond with their school pals that doesn’t involve an electronic device. They are doing it the old fashioned way – by writing letters.

Hofer has its own unofficial in-school post office called, “Wee Deliver,” designed by the United States Postal Service to assist with students’ reading and writing abilities and to teach them how mail works.

Hofer’s Postmaster is Assistant Principal Jennifer Tekiela. The school has had the service for the past few years for its students and staff, Tekiela said, but this year, they are opening it to family and friends outside the building.

“The goal of this program is to inspire the reading and writing skills of our students,” she said. “We’re super excited to expand it outside the school this year. It’s a good way for the kids to communicate with each other and to engage the community.”

Also new to the program this year are classroom addresses. Hofer hallways were given street names over the summer, and each classroom has its own address. In line with the school’s Be Kind Community goals, street names include Joyful Lane, Peaceful Parkway, Confident Trail, Kindness Street, Responsible Boulevard and Determined Drive.

The arts hallway is on Creative Court.

Students may write letters to friends, school staff and family.

“They put them in envelopes,” Tekiela explained, “stamp them with a stamp, sticker or drawing, and address them.”

The fourth graders sorting and delivering the mail to the classrooms love doing it.

“So far, I think it’s going to be really fun,” Dylan Gonzales said.

“It sounded like fun when I heard about it,” Hunter Naskrent said. “I liked sending mail last year.”

“I like going around the school and delivering all the mail,” Nathan Rainey said.

“I knew I would like it,” Lexie Grevengoed said of the program. “My sister was in it, and she told me about it.”

“I like it because I can practice responsibility,” Macey Gorsh said.

The students meet each day in teacher Sarah Wells’ classroom, where Wells helps them get organized. They are all very responsible students, she said.

Hofer Principal Kristin Copes said she originally got the idea for the in-school post office from Troy Cronin Elementary School Principal Jill Howard, who also has the program in her school.

In addition to WeeDeliver helping with reading and writing goals, Copes said, it gives them real life experience in writing letters, addressing envelopes and learning how mail is processed and delivered.

Copes said the fourth graders also learn job responsibility as mail sorters and carriers. They deliver the letters to the classrooms during the recess portion of their lunch periods.

Troy Hofer Elementary School is a Troy Community School District 30-C school.