Pen Pals Take Part in Project with a Purpose

“I’m educating my third-grade pen pal Kyle for the 21st century, so he can be as cool as me some day,” joked Hamilton High School senior Alex Crane.

Alex was one of nearly 100 students from and who created connections with each other over the last six weeks of the school year by being pen pals.

“When I told them about the project they (Hamilton students) were so excited to have a third-grader to write to. Many of them grew up in Sussex and even went to Maple Avenue, which made it even more special,” said Hamilton communication arts teacher Rachel Hermann.

The high school seniors and third-graders exchanged six letters each. They wrote about things like what they did over spring break, what they want to do over summer, what their favorite season was, and what they were looking forward to doing with them when they met.

“Even the third-graders who don’t really like to write were excited to write letters to their high school pen pals. Their pencils just didn’t stop,” said third-grade teacher Tracy Krenek.

At the end of the project, the high school students each wrote a children’s book for their pen pals. They each picked out an important lesson for kids to learn, and based their stories around that theme. Some themes included:  “Never give up," “Believe in yourself," or “Stand up for what’s right."

Senior Nicky Olson knew that her pen pal Quintin liked sports, so she wrote a ten page children’s story about sports. 

For her pen pal Mallory, senior Emily Schuch wrote 19 pages about a little girl who wants to go to Hollywood to be a famous actress. She gets the part, but after a while decides that her family is more important than fame, and she moves back to Sussex to be close to her family.

“This was a project with a purpose — we were able to get to know little kids and be a positive influence on them,” said Nicky. 

The students influenced each other. The high school students learned about social responsibility and helping others. 

“Through this project I think the high school students gained an understanding of what it means to be a role model, and how to act when someone’s looking up to you,” said Hermann.

The high school students also learned from their pen pals.

“I liked learning about what third grade is like now, and how different it is.  For example, when I was in thirrd grade we didn’t use computers and technology like Kyle’s class does,” said Alex.

After exchanging letters for six weeks, the third-graders came to the high school to meet their pen pals. They had breakfast together, read their books together, and headed outside for some team-building activities like kickball.

“The third-grade students were so excited to meet their pen pals. Some brought gifts, and some had their outfits picked out for weeks in advance,” said Krenek.

The students enjoyed the project, and liked having the opportunity to meet their pen pals.

“My pen pal and I would like to continue to write to each other over the summer,” said Emily.