HODGESVILLE – Valentine’s Day is traditionally a time to share love with those close to us, and students at Hodgesville Elementary School have taken that a ‘heart-beat’ further and are asking for help to carry that love throughout the United States – literally.
Have a friend or family member who lives in another state or even country?
Students at Hodgesville Elementary School are hoping you’ll ask them to send the school a Valentine for an educational project involving learning about geography, different places and how postmarks work.
Janet Phillips, principal at HES, said she got the idea for ‘Hearts Around the World’ from a principal’s group she belongs to and thought it was a perfect fit for students to share the love while they learn about the 50 states. Phillips said this is the first year for the project and said she hopes people with help.
“We would greatly appreciate if people who have friends and relatives in different states would share our information with them,” Phillips said. “Our goal is to receive Valentines at the school from at least all 50 states.”
Phillips said even receiving Valentines from other countries would be great for the students.
“This project will be very interesting for the kids,” she said. “We will look for the postmarks and we hope to receive Valentines from each of the United States – receiving them from other countries would be icing on the cake.”
She said she hopes this will become a yearly event and expand to include other things.
“This year, we are just hoping to collect a Valentine from each state,” Phillips said. “We hope the kids will enjoy seeing the different postmarks from every location and see what different Valentines we receive.”
Phillips said HES art teachers are working on a bulletin board with a map to serve as a display for the Valentines they receive.
“Then, we will divide the Valentines among the classrooms and allow the kids to open them up,” she said. “After they are opened, we will hang them up on the display for all of the students to enjoy.”
Phillips said as Valentines are received, they will update their Facebook and website so folks can keep checking back to see what states the school still needs to secure Valentines from to reach their goal.
“We hope folks from all over the United States will see it in their hearts to share some love and send in Valentines for this project,” Phillips said.
Cards may be mailed to: Hodgesville Elementary School, Hearts Around the World, 918 Teter Road, Buckhannon, WV 26201.
Phillips said the teachers are very excited about the Hearts Around the World project, and she knows the students will not only enjoy seeing the Valentines and celebrating Valentine’s Day but will also enjoy learning about all the states.
“If you know anybody who can send us a Valentine, please share the information,” Phillips said. “As always, we thank everyone for their help.”
