A two-month pen pal project at Marks Point Public School has bridged the gap between generations.
Pen Pal Power involved Year 5 and 6 students writing to, and receiving letters from, younger and older clients of local health care provider Hunter Nursing.
Topics included love, safety and learning, participating, health and wellbeing, material basics, and communication.
Marks Point Public School principal Sharne Turpin said the benefit of the project went far beyond extending students’ literacy skills.
“They have gained insights into the lives and histories of other people in a way they simply wouldn’t have done otherwise,” she said.
“And the feedback from their pen pals and Hunter Nursing has been truly heart-warming: the correspondence has given the clients a new outlet for their life experiences and a new interest in what’s important to today’s young people.”
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser was among the guests at a special celebration on Friday as students met their pen pals face-to-face.
Ms Turpin said the event developed a mutual understanding of the diversity of human needs and experiences.
“It was a beautiful ceremony of humanity and making connections – young, old, able-bodied and disabled,” she said.
“I think it really helped to foster that understanding of other people’s circumstances.
“Some of the other pen pals don’t have the mobility or access that [our] students have so they’re loving learning about what they are able to do.
“There was a 96-year-old client who spoke about how she used to pluck chickens and had no running water where she grew up – it was an amazing tale, and the kids shared some of them throughout the project.
“I recommend that any school participate in this; what the students, staff and clients got out of it is absolutely priceless.”
The Intergenerational Wellbeing Project – From Pen to Pal was a partnership between Hunter Nursing and the University of Newcastle’s Social Work Department.
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