Pupils perform post office duties

      Two fourth-graders at Tobler Elementary School are roaming the halls on a sunny Thursday morning. Carrying a white book bag, they don't seem different from any of the other children who are bustling to find a seat for the start of school.
      But these two fourth-graders are mail delivery people picking up letters and messages for the school's self-run post office.
      As a way to encourage writing and offer real world life experience, the school set up the delivery system thanks to a $14,000 state grant.
      "This was an idea we came up with to encourage these kids to write letters and learn a valuable lesson on life," said Barbara Gann, a fourth-grade teacher and head of the Tobler post office. "It really teaches them to enjoy writing and encourages them to gain experience they can use as they grow older."
      Each day pupils mail letters that are collected and sorted by room number and then delivered three times a week. Each letter must include the recipient's name and room number along with the city, in this case Las Vegas, and even the zip code in which Tobler, located at 6510 Buckskin Ave., falls.
      Each week a different class is in charge of the sorting and becomes the central post office for the school.
      The post office is used by all five grades at Tobler, including the school's kindergarten class. Each hallway inside the school was given a street name and each room has its own mailbox where letters are delivered.
      "The kids have had so much fun with all aspects of running this post office," Gann said. "We held a contest to name the streets and each class came up with one that accurately defines what they are all about."
      An example of the type of creativity used in selecting street names is the fifth-grade class at Tobler. Because they are the oldest kids in the school, they wanted a regal sounding street name and dubbed their hall "Fifth Avenue."
      The excitement that runs rampant through the halls of Tobler is evident by the pupils themselves who speak highly of the program.
      "This is a good experience, especially for the younger kids, so when they grow up they know how to send mail," Kelly Johnson, 10, said. "It's also fun to be able to write in class and keep in touch with my friend."
      Denise Burtie, 10, enjoys actually delivering the mail more than she does receiving letters. For her, it creates an opportunity.
      "Delivering the letters is fun because I can go through the halls talking to my friends," Burtie said. "We can't talk in class so I like doing it so we can talk to each other."
      For fourth-grader Stephanie Titiuiga, the Tobler post office allows her to do something she probably won't be able to again.
      "I like it because when I'm older I probably won't be able to deliver the mail," said Titiuiga. "So I'm going to have fun doing it now."
      While the letter writing and delivery system is fun for the pupils at Tobler, Gann said they are working hard and learning many new things.
      "It takes a lot of hard work to maintain this system but the kids have because they are having fun," Gann said. "But there are always new problems that lead to good discussions and good lessons."
      One of those lessons was brought about by a pupil who had joked with Gann about seeing the Unabomber trial being covered on television. That real-life incident turned into a pertinent question for the pupils running the Tobler post office.
      "When he asked me that, I then asked the students if that should be a concern for us," Gann said. "While obviously no one here is going to send a bomb through the mail, it begged the question are we going to also deliver packages? Those types of incidents lead to good lessons that all the kids learn from."
      Gann said students also use stamps, which they design themselves, and are now accustomed to what mailing a letter is all about.
      "Any of these kids now have the tools to go out and mail a real letter through the U.S. Postal Service," Gann said. "It's one of those life skills you don't often think about but that everyone needs to master."
      The program was started in September and has been something in which Tobler pupils have taken pride.
      "The kids really have a good sense of how much work goes into being a postal worker," Gann said. "That type of lesson, one where they are actually doing the job themselves, is so valuable and teaches them so much."