Friends connect through letters
Grade 5 class writes to students across the country
Andrew Livingstone
Northern News Services
Thursday, April 16, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
When Damian Isaiah got the postage-stamped white envelope in the mail late last year it was the beginning of a new friendship.
Bompas Grade 5 student Abigail Pascua-Matte holds a letter from a pen pal she received recently as part of the Great Canadian Mail Race. Students across Canada are asked to write letters to one school with the goal of other students responding, to help build on writing skills and to learn about other regions in the country. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo
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Isaiah was one of more than a dozen Grade 5 students at Bompas Elementary School who penned letters to students in other cities and towns across Canada as part of the Great Canadian Mail Race.
The project, which started out of the United States, connects students from across Canada through snail mail, something teacher Leanne Jose said is a dying form of communication.
A self-proclaimed letter writer, Jose said it's important for students to learn how to communicate effectively and that writing is an important skill in their lives.
In the age of e-mail, text messaging and social media, Jose said it's a unique opportunity to connect with other students around the country, and learn about where they live.
"I write my mom because she doesn't have any technology, and I do it regularly," she said. "It's a good way to get kids to write for a purpose and they get excited about it."
Isaiah took to writing his pen pal, a student from Ontario named Jordan, that he even began writing letters from home and his grandmother would mail them for him.
"I've lost count of how many letters I've sent," he said. "He's my friend and I like being able to write someone who isn't from here. It's cool because I can't text him so I have to write. It's like texting in the old-days."
Abigail Pascua-Matte said it was a great learning experience for her to write back to her pen pal in Whitehorse.
She said she liked interacting with people in other cities across the country, and found the experience exciting.
"I thought it was different and fun to do something that opened me up to new experiences," she said.
Pascua-Matte said working on her writing and communication skills is an important thing to learn as she gets older.
"I think it's important because you learn how to write better," she said.
Jose said her students put a lot of time and effort into writing their letters, and are learning the skills necessary
to effectively communicate with people through their words.
"They always need to know how to write a friendly letter," she said. "And they get to learn about the rest of Canada and the people there."
