Snail Mail

We are Target Who and we love to receive mail.  Our mail box mainly receives requests from schools to be included in our project or confirmation of deliveries.  Occasionally though something special surprises us, perhaps tales of children’s reactions, and school assemblies about Target Who or comments passed on from the children who have read the books (the best of all).  Most surprising of all was our first email from a non-human…

The sender was Stanley Hufflepuff, a Giant African Land Snail that resides in St. John the Baptist Catholic Primary School in Padiham.  Stanley has his own TARDIS, and when he isn’t residing in Mrs Carlile’s Year 2 Classroom, he’s off having adventures in Time and Space.  He also writes an online diary that’s avidly followed by the children in the school, and maybe a few people outside the school after this blog post!  You can read his dairy here: Stanley's Diary

Stanley’s school is up in Lancashire, a long way away from any of the Target Who team.  We managed to reach them with the help of the lovely Victoria Gartner of Hays in Liverpool, who passed books up to Bridget Hothersall in their Preston office, who delivered them to the school. Stanley wrote all about Bridget’s visit in his diary on 14^th January. (Stanley’s Diary - January 2014). He even got Mrs Carlile to contact the local papers to spread the word about Target Who.  What a Super-Star Snail!

But that wasn’t the end of our communication with Stanley.  Here in Gloucester the Dovey family have four pet Giant African Land Snails of our own.  I couldn’t resist sending Stanley and the class a few photographs of them.  I also realised that it will be a few years before Mrs Carlile’s class will be able to read those Doctor Who books that are now in their school library.  I therefore sorted out a few more books that are age appropriate for them as a special thank you.  I parcelled them all up and addressed them to Stanley Hufflepuff.  He was so excited to receive some mail he wrote all about it in his diary last week! (See end of 2nd May entry here).

Mrs Carlile, who is obviously a brilliant teacher, harnessed the children’s excitement in last week’s literacy and IT lessons.  To our absolute delight a small parcel of beautifully written thank you letters and a whole gallery of amazing snail pictures arrived in the post last Saturday. The letters contain a large number of questions all about Target Who, so I’ll be busy answering them via Stanley in the days ahead. See all their drawings here: Snail Gallery

We are Target Who and it’s an honour to be a small moment of inspiration in the education of these children.  

Target Who would like to thank Victoria Gartner, Bridget Hothersall, Mrs Carlile, Stanley the Snail and all the children of Year Two.