Grant High, Spring Grove student pen pals finally meet
They've been pen pals for months, but had yet to meet.
As part of a psychology project, students from Grant Community High School and second graders from Spring Grove Elementary School have been writing each other since the start of the school year.
And after so many weeks of sharing life's details, the kids connected Tuesday in Spring Grove for a morning of reading, crafts and a few laughs.
The idea for the exercise came from teachers Jennifer Levernier, of Grant and Erin Notriano of Spring Grove. The educators are also friends and have been talking about the idea for awhile.
"Our kids were so excited to finally meet their pals," Notriano said. "This is a big day for them."
The project has several goals. It's a way for the high school students to see educational advances first hand. The elementary students used it to practice their writing skills and how to organize their thoughts.
"I wanted a way for my students to understand child development in a way that goes beyond reading a textbook," Levernier said. "This is a way they can watch progress in action."
It's a fairly simple idea and decidedly low-tech. Students created a journal in which they wrote short notes, questions, anecdotes and hand-drawn pictures. The notebooks were exchanged on a weekly basis between the nearly 45 students. The second graders would ask typical questions about favorite foods, TV programs, and siblings. The high schoolers responded in kind. And with time, comes improvement.
"It's been cool to see how much better the letters have been getting over the weeks," said Grant senior Paul Gardner. "They are easier to read, the letters are formed better and they are writing about interesting things."
The kids hung out for a couple of hours Tuesday by reading books and chatting. They ended the morning by doing a holiday craft together.
Levernier said they will start the program again next semester with new students. It seems to be working.
"It's one thing for my students to read about educational concepts in a textbook. It's another to see it first hand," she said. "And this was a nice way to put a face with a name."