ATHOL – Fifteen children from the Head Start program received a special tour of the Athol Post Office last Friday where they learned the many processes involved, from stamping and mailing a letter to scanning envelopes and packages. They also watched how the mail gets sorted to be delivered to their own homes.
Cara Schutz, lead teacher at Head Start in Athol said the students are currently studying boxes as part of a curriculum-based program, and the field trip was an opportunity to see jobs that use boxes and how the post office is run. “We’re getting our math concepts through shapes of boxes, and social studies in how it applies to who in our community works with boxes,” she said.
The children received a Scooby-Doo DOO GOOD stamp for a letter they each mailed as well as SpongeBob SquarePants post cards. Marge Engberg, a custodian at the Athol Post Office served as tour guide, sharing some unique stories, including how mail in the Grand Canyon gets brought by a donkey and that a rocket in 1963 once delivered 6,000 pieces of mail to Florida.
The group was shown where the mail is held if someone is going away on vacation, and told the reason a pile of boxes was wrapped in plastic was so it wouldn’t fall.
Clerk Abby Sherwood demonstrated how scanning the label on packages determine where they are to be sorted in hampers labeled by carrier route.
Near the end of the tour, the children all gathered on a large scale, collectively weighing over 500 pounds (which fluctuated due to restless shifting).
Head Start is a federally funded income eligible preschool program. Currently 16 children are enrolled in Athol. It is administered by Montachusett Opportunity Council Child Care and Head Start Services.
The program runs from September through June and services children in Athol, Phillipston, Royalston and Petersham up to age 5. “We work in conjunction with Athol public schools and different community programs,” Shutz said. Parent involvement is encouraged. Monthly parent meetings discuss topics relating to children and curriculum.
Head Start is located at the CCD Center, 925 Main St., Athol. For more information call 978-249-6735.