Pen pals are not what they use to be when I was in primary school. I lived overseas for half my childhood and receiving mail in the mailbox made for an exciting afternoon. Today, letters are a thing of the past as emails and social media are more popular – and who wants to pay $1 to post a letter when you can email it for free!

This year in 5A, students have a pen pal from Noosa Christian College, a school on the Sunshine Coast. Letters are handwritten or typed, scanned then emailed, before they are printed and handed out at the other end. Students are making a connection to someone else who is their age and have formed a friendship.

Pen pals are great if you enjoy writing and want to get to know someone. This a great way to see what life is like from their point of view. Pen pals are a bit ‘old school’, but they are loads of fun. You learn about someone else, make a life-long friend in the process and you are able to practise your writing skills in a fun and enjoyable way. One day we hope to meet up with our pen pal class at Noosa Christian College and meet our new friends.

-Ms Kylie Jensen, Year 5A Teacher