Huron Expositor, 2009-02-11, Page 20{ , i
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Page 20 The Huron Expo4itor • February 11, 2009
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News
Students correspond with `ePals' from Russia
The Grade 7 class of Fred,
Zack and Kelsey at St. James
School are getting to know Ar-
tyom, Zhora, Olga and their
classmates in Russia, thanks
to the Internet networking
website "e -Pals."
The 18 local students became
ePals, or electronic pen pals,
with 14 students on the other
side of the world after teacher
Jennifer Ritsma learned about
the "classroom exchange" web-
site that links more than 11
million students and teachers
from 191 countries to build
relationships and learn collab-
oratively.
Ritsma created a profile for
her class and submitted it to
the site, requesting a connec-
tion outside of North America.
Shortly after, she received a
letter from a school in Ryazan,
Russia, 200 kilometres from
Moscow,
The 10 to 12 -year-old stu-
dents were learning *English
and their teacher thought be-
coming ePals with children
their own age in North Amer-
ica would help develop their
conversational skills.
Ritsma saw it as a great
way for her students to learn
about a different culture, from
citizens of a foreign country
instead of from the pages of a
textbook.
"It's about global awareness,"
she says. "Diversity is one of
the things we're focusing on
this year."
The students received their
first batch of emails from the
Russian students last month
and have since responded with
letters of their. own.
They've found out. while there
are some cultural differences,
the similarities are abundant.
Fred Logan, 13, found out
that his ePal Max likes some
of the same rock bands as he
does.
While Kelsey Feeney, 12,
found her ePal Vasilisa likes to
sing and dance.
"I like to sing and dance too,"
Kelsey says.
They also learned some of
the interests the students from
Russia have include tennis,
"handycraft," which is similar
to the home economics stud-
ied at some schools in Canada,
or years, our readers
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and "Parkour," which is a type
of acrobatic activity.
Ritsma's class was also sent
photos of a Russian cathedral
and some government build-
ings near the school in Ryazan,
which enrolls 1,000 students.
She's thinking about having
her class work collaboratively
with the students abroad on a
project on child poverty in both
countries.
In the meantime, her stu-
dents will ask their ePals
about the climate, environ-
ment and culture in their part
of the world.
They'll then consider the
similarities and differences of
both areas.
"They're so excited," Ritsma
says. It's giving them some
exposure to some things that
are different."
She expects the school will
most likely send photos of St.
James School and possibly the
church.
Ritsma says she hopes the
class will continue their cor-
respondence with the students
in Russia after the end of the
school year.
Story 8s photo by Dan Schwab
Zack Vulders, Fred Logan and Kelsey Feeney are three of
18 students. from St. James School who are part of an
ePais program with students their age in Russia.
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