The Fourth grade students of Mr. Gordon and Mr. Reardon’s classes at James Bean are excited to take part in a new Pen Pal program in collaboration with Colby College. Each fourth grade student will be writing and receiving letters biweekly to and from the penpal they were paired with.
This new program is the product of James Kim, a current Senior at Colby College, who is double majoring in English: Creative Writing and Philosophy. He was selected to serve as one of the O’Hanian Szostak Fellows for Civic Leadership to create an ongoing civic engagement project with the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Partnership at Colby. For his fellowship he decided to create a pen pal program and reached out to the James H. Bean School as a potential first run of the program since he already serves as a Mentor at the school through the Colby Cares About Kids (CCAK) program.
The intended goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for both Colby Students and James H Bean School students to engage in a form of communicative writing different then what typically happens in the classrooms. Kim felt that with human connection being a significant loss during this time in a pandemic, he wanted to emphasize the importance of human connection and mentorship through a letter writing program. Kim states, “As an aspiring educator, I believe in the power that one-on-one relationship building-focused activities can have in a student’s growth and development. I hope to provide a space of learning and growth through this pen pal program. I wish for our students to experience the joy in writing letters and to develop a positive relationship with their pen pals throughout the academic year!”
The James H. Bean School could not be more thrilled to have yet another wonderful opportunity to connect its students with Colby’s students in this fun, educational, and interactive method!
RSU 18 Messenger 