In middle school Journalism class with Ms. Ripple, we have learned many things and have made new connections with others. Something we have been working on for a long time is our Ukrainian pen pals.
There are seven people in their class and each of us has one pen pal. Their students’ names are Valeria, Anastasia, Andre, Maxym, Ivan, Maria, and Kyrylo.
Every week we exchange letters with them. We mostly ask questions and answer them. We talk about food, family, culture, and much more.
Earlier in the year we wrote to them and we made presentations about our school for them. We each made some slides to put in a big presentation and sent it to them. And they had an idea for each one of their students to choose something in their town/ country to present about.
Earlier in the year we had two people come and talk to us about all the work they do in Ukraine. Their names were Brett Hill and Amedee Royer. They came in and they showed us a presentation and they also showed A program. The program was called ‘From Ohio With Love.’
Most of Hill’s work is about his music. He would go to Ukraine and learn about their culture and sing and dance in the streets and perform. It was a very cool experience.
Valeria is a 14-year old Ukrainian girl. She is my pen pal. I have learned so much about her. She was born in Mexico and raised there for a little bit. She enjoys lots of activities. For instance, she loves spring and watching the flowers and plants bloom. She enjoys watching her little dog Freida and eating Reeses. Valeria is a very loving and kind person. I’m so lucky to have met her and learn about her. I have learned lots from this opportunity and I hope to learn more.
