School Project Helps Students See the World

 

by Jonathan Weaver

Students at Divine Redeemer School in Ford City don’t need a drivers license or a passport to travel the globe – they just need to follow “Flat Stanley.”

Earlier this month, 13 first-graders from Teacher Jamie Clark’s class sent their versions of the storybook character to destinations across the United States.

Clark, of Freeport, has taught 14 years at Divine Redeemer and has taught about “Flat Stanley for nine years.

“’Flat Stanley’ is based on a book about a little boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board and he gets to go on all these great adventures being flat,” Clark said. “One of his adventures is getting to go visit a friend out in California – they said it’s too expensive for him to fly there, so they put him in an envelope and mail him to his friend.

To recreate the story, students made their own ‘Flat Stanley’ characters and mailed them at the Ford City Post Office. ‘Flat Stanley’ has been visiting family members for the past three weeks before returning with a letter and photos of his adventure.

“Throughout the years, ‘Stanley’ has been to some really cool places – the Indianapolis 500 and got to ride with some of the drivers, Barcelona, Spain, Germany, the Canary Islands. Since I started doing this, he’s been to every single state, Clark said.

“A lot of times, we’ll get ‘Stanley’ back and he’ll be wearing an outfit. One time, he came back from Texas and he was wearing a cowboy hat and boots,” Clark continued. “(Students) really like (the lesson). They can’t wait for their ‘Stanley’ to come back and see everything that they get from him.”

‘Flat Stanley’ is also in Texas this month, along with destinations and landmarks such as in California, Florida and North Carolina.

As ‘Flat Stanley’ returns, all Divine Redeemer students will get to see where he visited with a hallway bulletin board.

After reading a chapter per day, first-grade students also wrote their own ‘Flat Stanley’ books and imagined their own adventures. Clark estimated she would read a chapter from the ongoing ‘Flat Stanley’ collection through the end of the school year.

“It takes a long time, but in the end, it’s so worth it,” Clark said. “It makes for a nice project.”

In past years, Clark sent ‘Stanley’ to Spain, Australia and France. She connected with international baseball teams during the annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational.

“He’s been to some neat things – more things than I’ve ever done,” Clark laughed.

Principal Nicalina Carlesi said ‘Flat Stanley has become a “wonderful tradition” at Divine Redeemer.

Carlesi’s son saw his ‘Stanley’ fly with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division in a combat helicopter.

“You can’t imagine the excitement when a letter or package arrives at school,” Carlesi said. “I’m just as excited as they are.”

April 5, the Knights of Columbus presented the school library with a book called, “Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism.”

Venerable Father Michael McGivney was of Irish descent and was known for starting the Knights of Columbus in America to give financial assistance to immigrant families who lost the men in the family or who were still struggling to assimilate into the American economy.

‘Stanley’ is expected back in Ford City late-next week.