Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 5, 1991 TAG: 9103020338
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TAMMY POOLE NEWSFUN EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If you are like most kids, you probably would rather call your friends or relatives who live far away instead of writing to them.
Lucia Craighead, who teaches at East Salem Elementary School, decided to make creative writing more fun for her pupils by having them write to pupils at another school.
Her first-graders have made their room a camp, called Camp Shining Star. "I have Camp Shining Star and my friend, Jayne Perala, at Cave Spring has Camp Hi-Ho . . . The kids have been writing to each other since last year," Craighead said.
The pupils love to write letters and get mail in the big mailbox in their room, Craighead said. Craighead said she was surprised that few of the pupils had exchanged telephone numbers in their letters, and that it was probably because they enjoyed sending letters with a favorite treat or sticker inside.
Many kids in the area who may not have had pen pals before have been writing to soldiers, Marines, sailors and air personnel who are part of Operation Desert Storm.
A group of second-graders at Wasena Elementary School has been writing to Marine Lance Cpl. Frank Massie, who is in Saudi Arabia.
Ashley Phelps said the class sent Massie a package "with a lot of things. He said he didn't like the water so we gave him some juice in the package."
Brady Kennedy said Massie has written to the class several times. "He is saying that he's going to come to Wasena School when the war is over."
Brad Aldridge had this to say about Massie: "He is in the war. He is fighting in Saudi Arabia. He almost got bitten by a scorpion. He was scared."
A recent poll showed that American pupils were not able to read or write much better than they did 20 years ago. Pupils must know how to read and write before they can improve in other subjects such as in math or science, history or geography, U.S. Education Secretary Lauro Cavazos said last year.
Craighead agrees. While her pupils have fun writing letters, they also are improving their language skills, she said. "The more they write, the better they become. They don't realize all they are getting out of it."
By becoming a pen pal, you can improve your writing skills while having fun. At first it is hard to write to someone you do not know, but it becomes easier as you learn more about each other.
The pupils at Camp Shining Star send letters once or twice a month to their pen pals at Camp Hi-Ho.
"My pen pal's name is Katie," said Shannon Lewis. "I like writing to her. When I saw her picture, she looked cute. I have not seen her in real life but I hope that I get to see her soon. I wonder when I will really get to see her?"
Not only have the kids gotten to know pupils at another school, they also videotape events and places at their school so the other pupils can "tour" the school by watching the tape, Craighead said.
Although they've never met, the pupils think of their pen pals as friends, Craighead said. "They talk about them like they really know them. They call them `our friends at Camp Hi-Ho.' "
"My pen pal's name is Meg. I like having a pen pal because I like to write. Writing is a lot of fun for me. Having a pen pal is a lot of fun, too. My pen pal loves singing. I love singing too. My pen pal likes to color. I like to color, too," said Elizabeth Jetton.
The teachers plan to have the classes meet after school is out this year, Craighead said.
Kids writing to service personnel in Operation Desert Storm have learned about their lives in the military and shown support for them.
"Our whole class has pen pals," said Demesey Perry of Roanoke. "I have a pen pal in the gulf. We wrote to him to make him happy and encourage him. I have another pen pal in Milwaukee, Wis. She is very nice. I like having pen pals."
Jack Gary of Salem has a pen pal. "He is a military policeman in the Marines," said Jack. "I try to write to him as often as possible. Even though he can't say much without having his letter censored, we still try to tell each other what is happening around where we are. I usually tell him what I have been up to, and then draw funny pictures of different things to cheer him up."
Michael Reese of Rocky Mount has a pen pal in the Air Force. "We share secret information and I ask him what he's been doing."
Some kids write to relatives who are in the military.
"I have a cousin over there in the military. Her name is Martha. She has been over there for a long time. I tell her that everything is OK over here and I am doing OK in school," said Jessica Hall of Rocky Mount.
Desiree Gravley of Wytheville said her class has a pen pal named Smythers. "He is in the military. He is really nice. He writes our classroom a lot. We write to him about different things."
Lindsay Reagan of Roanoke wrote her military pen pal this letter, "I'm sending a letter to you. I'm writing about you. I hope you liked your cards and packages that we already sent you. I hope you all come back."
Tina Jones of Rocky Mount said her class sends letters to " `Any Soldier in Operation Desert Storm.' Our principal is afraid we will get attached so we write to `Any Soldier' unless we are related to them."
If you would like to send a letter to a service man or woman, write: Operation Desert Shield, APO, New York, N.Y. 09848-0006 for members of the Army, Air Force and Marines, or FPO, New York, N.Y. 09866-0006 for members of the Navy and Marines stationed on ships.
Although the war is over, it will probably be some time before all the troops return home. Massie
by CNB