Fort Simpson (Aug 25/06) - Students in Class 4 at Bompas Elementary school might soon be making new friends with students in a school in southern Ontario.

The opportunity has been made possible by one woman on vacation.

While most people use their vacations to relax and lounge, Marjorie Kildare left her home in Dundas, Ont., with a plan.

While visiting Fort Simpson, Marjorie Kildare made contact with Bompas elementary school so students in Class 4 will have the opportunity to correspond with students at a school in Ontario. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

"No matter where I go I have to do something productive," said Kildare with a smile.

For this vacation, Kildare's idea was to make contact with a school in the North. Her sister Bonnie Rivers teaches Grade 4 at Dundanna Elementary school in Dundas.

The plan was created so her sister's students could become penpals with students in the NWT.

Kildare came to the territories to visit her friend Sister Joan who works at the mission in Fort Good Hope. The two met in Yellowknife and drove together as far as Fort Simpson where Kildare stopped her journey on Aug. 14 while Sister Joan continued on to Wrigley for a gathering.

Kildare met with Bompas principal Terry Jaffray who spoke with Class 4 teacher Leanne Lawley.

"I'm keeping my fingers crossed," said Kildare about whether the program will succeed.

Part of Kildare's reason behind wanting to set up the link stems from her own experiences with a penpal.

When she was eight her neighbour's wife was dying.

The husband brought his unmarried sister over from England to help act as a nurse. Kildare became friends with "Aunt Matt" and wrote to her after she returned to England.

They traded letters from 1960 until 1979 when Aunt Matt died.

Kildare marks the correspondence as one of the defining moments of her life.

Having the penpal taught Kildare about different cultures.

"England was as far as China for me as a child," she said.

Kildare hopes that by writing back and forth students in Dundas and Fort Simpson will learn about each other's lives and cultures.

"I think it's very important for the children to have intercultural exchange," she said.

The students will also learn that you don't have to travel to other countries to learn about different cultures, said Kildare.

Most students in Ontario know where the Northwest Territories are because of maps, but they really don't know much about life here, she said.

To help the process, before leaving Kildare took pictures of the Bompas and the playground so the students in Dundas will have an idea of where their new penpals go to school.