4 MARCH 11, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Maspeth HS launches pen pal program with local senior home
schools, children, but (not) really
high school students. So, that
was really really a nice surprise,”
Huggins said.
Since all students in every grade
level are required to take English,
Pachter reached out to English
teacher Stacey McDonald to see if
there was a way to ask students
through the English department if
they were willing to make letters
for Valentine’s Day. According to
Pachter, there was an overwhelming
turnout from the students.
Some students even wrote up to
five or six Valentine’s day cards
each. They look forward to writing
more letters in the future with the
seniors, according to Pachter.
The students at Maspeth were
asked to make the letters the old
fashioned way: handwritten.
“I want my students to get away
from the computers. We’re trying
our best to decrease the amount of
screentime as possible and this is
a great way to do it. Also, the residents
prefer handwritten,” Pachter
said.
Huggins said she appreciated
the fact that they were handwritten,
because that is something the
seniors can hold on to. Many of
them have their letters taped to the
walls or propped on their dressers
so they can admire them.
The partnership kicked off on
Valentine’s day, when Pachter
safely dropped Valentine’s day
cards off at the senior home. Huggins
decided to surprise the seniors
that day because she wanted to see
their faces and reactions.
“I love surprises! And most of
them, when you say ‘I have a surprise
for you!’ they’ll open the door
real quick,” Huggins said.
One senior was so impressed by
the craftsmanship of the letter, that
she continues to look at it. Huggins
recalled another senior being so
excited about her letter, that she
immediately wrote a letter in response,
eager to start the pen pal
relationship.
“Dear Student,
I was sitting in my room today
thinking about Valentine’s Day,
which is one of my favorite days
of the year. All of a sudden, there
was a knock on the door, and a
beautiful lady walked in and
told me to pick a card from a big
bag. Guess what? I was the lucky
one because I picked your card. It
made me laugh and cry because
it made me so happy. I taped it to
my door so that everyone can see it
and admire it and have a wonderful
Valentine’s day too. Thank you
from the bottom of my heart.
Love,
Kathy
Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Maspeth High School mentioned
the partnership with Castle Senior
Living in an email to the school
community and Pachter says parents
were excited to hear about the
initiative.
One parent has a child in an
elementary school and decided
to pitch the idea and soon, this elementary
school will be starting a
pen pal program of their own with
another senior home.
“Writing letters is like a long-lost
art and something we are hoping
to bring back to hopefully use and
connect the senior citizens with
high school students and they’ll
probably find out they have more
in common than they ever thought,”
Pachter said.
BY SOFIA VALDES
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
An assistant principal at Maspeth
High School launched
a pen pal program that
encourages students to write to
residents of a nearby senior living
center.
Due to the pandemic, many senior
living homes have closed their
doors to visitors, in order to reduce
spread to the most at-risk population.
This has left many seniors
upset that they can no longer see
their families in-person.
Because of this, Jesse Pachter, an
assistant principal at Maspeth High
School, reached out to multiple senior
homes asking if they would be
interested in a partnership where
students would become pen pals
with the elders in senior homes.
“I knew that the senior population
was struggling mentally during the
pandemic, specifically socially, so
I thought, what a great way to do
something,” Pachter said.
Many senior homes turned down
the idea, saying that they couldn’t
take anything from the outside
despite Pachter’s promises to stay
within the COVID-19 safety guidelines.
When Pachter reached out to
Cynthia Huggins from Castle Senior
Living in Forest Hills, she thought
it was a wonderful idea and agreed
to partner with Pachter.
“It was a wonderful suggestion, I
was pleased. We do have facilities
from time to time like children
who make up things, girl scouts,
Photos courtesy of Castle Senior Living
MEDIA ADVISORY
Middle Village Preparatory Charter School
Veronica Cokley is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: March Board Meeting
Time: Mar 17, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
JOIN ZOOM MEETING
https://zoom.us/j/3545060762
Meeting ID: 354 506 0762
Password: 895821
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,3545060762# US (New York)
+13017158592,,3545060762# US (Washington D.C)
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 354 506 0762
Passcode: 895821
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aI4g9ziMO
68-02 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village, NY 11379
All meetings of the Trustees and all committees and subcommittees
are conducted with the New York Open Meetings Law
(N.Y. Public Officers Law §§ 100-111).
/WWW.QNS.COM
/3545060762
/aI4g9ziMO
link
/3545060762
/aI4g9ziMO
link
