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Eden Hall Project Demonstrates It Is a Small World

two students hold up postcards

Earlier this year, Eden Hall students were invited to participate in the school’s first-annual It’s a Small World postcard project. Aiming to help students understand how connected we all are to one another, the project also allowed students to learn more about new places in Pennsylvania, the United States and worldwide. Students received almost 500 postcards from all 50 states and more than 40 countries!

World Language teachers Alexandra Batouyios, Sarah Mlaker and Meghan Duran set a goal to collect postcards from all 50 states and at least 25 countries and encouraged students to reach out to their families and friends who either lived or were visiting anywhere outside of Pine-Richland and ask them to send a postcard with information about where they were and one thing they loved about it. Community members were invited to participate as well.

Senders were asked to mail their postcard directly to the school in care of the student and teacher. Students were excited to receive mail and would share with their teachers weeks in advance when they knew one was on the way. 

When a student received a postcard, they read it to the class and passed it around for all to see, and then the teacher would share photos and information about the location to study together as a group. “The kids were really surprised just how beautiful so many other parts of the world are!” said Ms. Batouyios. 

a group of students stands in front of a wall covered in postcards

Students learned how far some postcards have to travel and how much time it often takes—some postmarks were a month old by the time the postcard reached Eden Hall. During every class period, teachers and students would look at a map together to see just how far a postcard had traveled. 

It was a project extremely accessible to all generations with no technology or high cost required. “It was wonderful that so many grandparents, great aunts and uncles, etc. were able to get in on the fun and connect with this generation of kids!” said Ms. Batouyios.

Pine-Richland World Language alumni also participated, sending in postcards from where they are currently living, including as far away as Asia. More than half of the postcards received came in from strangers who had heard about the project through word of mouth and wanted to participate.

several boys sit at desks and hold up postcards

Entire classes of students from other schools participated, including a French-speaking kindergarten class in Alaska that sent several cards. Many cards arrived written in other languages, giving students an opportunity to help translate or leverage technology to do so. Some of those arrived while students were studying that unit, including one from Italy during their Italian unit, and one from Brazil written in Portuguese during the students’ Portuguese/Carnaval unit. 

Ms. Batouyios said the project was a fun way to create bridges between cultures and communities, a goal of the Pine-Richland World Language Department. “We exist to help students communicate, connect, and explore our world through experience and engagement,” she said. “This project helped us to do just that, and helped students learn that it really is a small world after all. We look forward to doing this again next year!”

The World Language Department extends a big thank you to the community for their help and support, noting that the project would not have been possible without the parents and community members who sent postcards and shared the project with others.