***This article was written by Alisha Chaidez, a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.
“Twenty years ago, Mr. Hamerlinck was coaching volleyball for Cambridge High School, and I was coaching for Wethersfield High School. At a game, we were discussing how to provide authentic writing opportunities for our students, and that is how the 2H and 2V pen pals began,” said Tonya Vincent.
Over the years, email and text messaging has replaced traditional letter writing, so the coaches saw the pen pal program as a great opportunity for the students to bring it back.
How the program works is that students write to each other monthly. Through letters, they enjoy learning about what their pen pals are doing throughout all subjects.
Each fall, the Cambridge pen pals go to Wethersfield. The students work through “getting to know you” activities, tour the schools and play outside with their new friends.
In the spring, the students from Wethersfield visit Cambridge school.
“After the initial shock and shyness, it doesn’t take long for most to warm up and start talking with their pen pal. It goes to show that young kids adjust easily and make new friends easily. They are often amazed at how much our classrooms are alike and how we learn the same kinds of things,” said Chad Hamerlinck.
The students benefit greatly from this project, he said, and it helps improve sentence structure, paragraph writing and penmanship.
And from a social standpoint, the program encourages the students to make new friendships that may carry on for years to come, whether that be at a school event, at school or even out of school.
“I even had one of my students get invited to a birthday party of their pen pal. What a cool experience.” said Hamerlinck.
