“Dear Joey, I am so hapee that I hav a pin pal. I luv the letr that you gave mey.” (“Dear Joey, I am so happy that I have a pen pal. I love the letter that you gave me.”)

On March 24, National English Honor Society (NEHS) members received their first letters from their elementary school student pen pals. These children attend third grade at Centerville Elementary School. Their teacher, Mrs. Beverly Lloyd (band teacher Mr. Kevin Lloyd’s wife) has been partnering with NEHS for almost a decade.

For the next month and a half, the honor society members will continue writing letters to their eight-year-old pen pals about topics ranging from favorite activities to what they want to be when they grow up.

The purpose of these pen pal letters are not only to teach and understand how to write letters but to build relationships through the practice of writing from all different ages, cultures, races, and interests.

“I love the idea of pen pal letters. I’ve only gotten one letter back but I can already tell a lot about my pen pal. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it this much.” said junior NEHS member Hannah Plyler.

The first letter was a way for each member to introduce themselves to their pen pal. 

In the second letter members were able to create more personalized letters. Some of the questions were, “What is your favorite memory from school?” “What is your favorite subject in school and why?” 

In the third letter members asked What the third grader’s favorite season is and why? In the second to last letter members asked the final closing question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

In the final letter both sets of students said good-bye to their pen pal.

Chapter members will continue writing letters back and forth with their pen pals. In May NEHS members hope to invite  Centerville students to Linganore in order to meet their pen pals face-to-face for the first time.