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Southside Academy students go flat
Students sent character to various places
By Denise Dick
Youngstown
He visited the White House, Progressive Field, Las Vegas and parts of Canada, Washington, Hawaii and Georgia before returning to his classroom at Southside Academy.
Southside third-graders Friday marked the Flat Stanley Finale, inviting parents and people from the community to relive some of Flat Stanley’s travels. Flat Stanley is based on a book about a boy named Stanley who is flattened when a bulletin board hung over his bed falls on him at night.
He makes the most of things by slipping under doors and visiting friends and family by getting into an envelope and mailing himself to exotic locales.
Through the Flat Stanley Projects, students decorate Flat Stanley cutouts and mail them to friends and relatives around the community, country and beyond. Those who receive them take Flat Stanley with them on their travels, documenting his experiences with photos and a letter.
Vickie Allison, a third-grade teacher at Southside Academy, said her
students had a great time mailing the character and waiting for him to return.
“Whenever we got a Flat Stanley back, we just stopped on our heels,” she said.
The students were anxious to see where their flat friend had traveled.
Serenity Febres, 9, sent a Flat Stanley to her sister who lives in Middlefield. Her sister sent back photos of Stanley, who went to work with her at Walmart.
Tanon Fitzpatrick, 9, sent Flat Stanley to his grandma and sister who live in Philadelphia. They included Tastykake treats and Philadelphia Eagles memorabilia with the photos and letter. Grandma even marked the letter with a kiss.
“I kissed back, because I love my grandma,” Tanon said.
Lavell Jones, 9, said Hawaii was the coolest place Flat Stanley visited.
“He went to a volcano, walked under a bald eagle and watched a sunset,” he said.
Amiliyah Lee, 9, thinks the best place Stanley visited was the White House.
President Barack Obama sent a letter to the school, telling students about Stanley’s adventures. He played ball with the President and the family’s dog, Bo, and saw how President Obama uses reading, writing, math and science in his job.
“We sent a letter to Camelot Lanes in Boardman, and they took Flat Stanley to an international pizza convention in Las Vegas,” Allison said.
A video, set to music, shows him enjoying pizza, meeting people and tasting sauce.
He also went to Progressive Field in Cleveland where he sat in the front row and visited employees.