Pre-K letters penned by sixth-graders
sent to Santa
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
COLE PATERSON, left, a sixth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School, had the holiday spirit as he wore lighted antlers while working with his pre-K partner Ben Langley during the eighth annual Letters to Santa project.
WORKING ON A LETTER to Santa are, from left: Presque Isle Middle School sixth-graders Liam Woodworth, Abigail Dionne, Kamryn Gilmour and pre-kindergartner Jess Grenier Jr.
KACI BATES, left, a sixth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School, composes a letter with Alyssa Blade, a pre-kindergartner at Pine Street Elementary School, that was mailed to Santa Claus earlier this month. This was the eighth year that PIMS students helped the pre-K children with their Santa letters.
RHIANNA DESJARDINS, a pre-kindergartner at Pine Street Elementary School, places the Santa letter she helped write — with the help of a Presque Isle Middle School sixth-grader —in a mailbox during a recent holiday activity between the two schools. The project has been going on for eight years.
ALL SMILES — Enjoying the experience of getting to know one another during the recent Letters to Santa project are, from left: Johanna Cote, left, a pre-kindergartner at Pine Street Elementary School, and Libby Boone, a sixth-grader at Presque Isle Middle School.
CHRISTMAS COMRADES — Gavin LeTourneau, left, a pre-K student at Pine Street Elementary School, and Presque Isle Middle School sixth-grader Alexander Harvath were paired up recently as part of the annual Letters to Santa project. Sixth-graders in Erin Hoffses’ and Casey Johnson’s classes visited both the morning and the afternoon pre-K sessions to help pen the letters to jolly, old St. Nick.
PRESQUE ISLE — Some of Santa’s elves visited pre-kindergartners at Pine Street Elementary School Dec. 6 to help the children write letters to jolly, old St. Nick.
Presque Isle Middle School sixth-graders in Erin Hoffses’ and Casey Johnson’s classes visited both the morning and the afternoon pre-K sessions to pen the letters.
“Sixth grade was asked if we would like to work with pre-K students at Pine Street on the Letters to Santa project this year,” said Johnson, “and knowing the benefits of older children modeling behavior and writing skills to younger children, as well as the fact that letter writing meets our learning targets in mechanics and communication, we readily said ‘yes’ to continuing the project.”
The middle-schoolers would write down what the children wanted for Christmas on a separate list, and then included those items in a formal letter to Santa Claus.
The students had to follow the friendly-letter format, so they had to have the date, ‘Dear Santa,’ two paragraphs — the first what the child would like for Christmas and the second paragraph was if they were good or bad, and what they would like to leave for the reindeer, and the letter also had a closing and the child’s signature.
If students finished early, they could either color or read with their newfound friends.
Pre-K teacher Nancy Watson, who has also participated in Letters to Santa as a sixth-grade teacher, sees the positives for both age groups.
“The sixth-graders get to practice their letter-writing skills which is huge, plus they get to feel good about themselves by being with the little kids and being the role model,” she said. “The little ones get so excited about the sixth-graders coming to see them. When they heard them coming down the hall, they all gasped and said, ‘They’re here!’ They were so excited and were even shaking. They asked, ‘Are they big or little?’ It’s a really big deal for the little ones. They see me every day and I’m not a big deal; but having the other kids come, is a really big deal for them.
“I hope my students learn that school is important and that they see how important it is to write,” she said. “It’s a skill they’ll take with them to middle school and beyond.”
Sixth-grader Kaci Bates enjoyed playing the role of “elf.”
“I thought it was a really great learning experience for the pre-Kers and for myself. They taught me a lot, and I really just enjoyed myself there and so did the little kids,” she said. “I could tell they were having a lot of fun, and I’m really glad we got to do it.
“I liked working with the kids one on one, and getting to know what they’re interested in for toys and just getting to know them. It was so much fun,” Bates said, noting that her protégé had asked for some Barbie and baby dolls, a puppy and ballet shoes. “Hopefully we can get together with the kids more often.”
Thomas Patenaude agreed that the holiday activity was an enjoyable one.
“My partner was excited about Letters to Santa and having us there,” he said. “He wanted things like a four-wheeler, a real phone and a piggy bank. It was good working with the kids, and hearing what they wanted for Christmas. I hope the teachers will continue this because it’s a good experience for the sixth-graders to hang out with the younger kids and help them with their letters to Santa. It was a lot of fun.”
This was the eighth year that PIMS students helped the pre-K children with their Santa letters. The program was started by former PIMS teacher Elaine Hendrickson, who joined the students again this year for the holiday activity.
