Students share special letters with Fairhaven residents
Teachers wanted children to reach out to seniors during lockdown
“What do you call a cow in a tornado? A milkshake!”
Wyatt Spalding, a student in Pamela Stinson’s Grade 3/4 class at Chemong Public School posed this joke and included its answer in a letter he wrote to the residents at Fairhaven. He and his classmates created and emailed the letters as part of a school writing assignment intended to cheer the residents who are presently not allowed visitors at the home due to COVID-19 precautions.
“My decision to have (my) students write to Fairhaven residents came after watching the evening news and seeing all the families trying to visit their parents through the windows. It really broke my heart,” explained Stinson. “As educators, we are always trying to find authentic writing tasks for our students. The light bulb went off about connecting my students with the seniors in the community. I reached out to Fairhaven and received the go ahead.”
“Fairhaven Residents love to connect with children in the community,” said Jennifer Baro, executive assistant at Fairhaven. “During the school year, we welcome students to participate in various activities with the residents.”
Normally, students from Edmison Heights Public School and St. Anne Catholic Elementary School come to the home to socialize with the residents by doing seasonal crafts, gardening and playing games, says
Baro. Residents also take part in the Sing, Move, and Play program led by retired music teacher Brenda Schepper on Friday mornings. This program for infants, toddlers, parents and grand friends (seniors) builds community through music and movement.
Of course, now with the pandemic lockdown at Fairhaven, these programs are all on hold, so the letters from Stinson’s students were a welcomed addition to the daily lives of the seniors living there.
“Students jumped into this assignment with vigour and wrote fantastic letters describing how their lives had changed as a result of COVID-19 and asked the residents questions about how they were keeping busy,” said Stinson. “It was a great way for the kids to express how they were feeling and gave them a sense of purpose in attempting to cheer up the residents.”
Wyatt included his cow joke, hoping to give the recipients a laugh. Others, such as Mateo Mooney offered advice.
“How are you doing?” he asked. “Do you ever Zoom with your family? If you don’t, I recommend it! Zoom is really good for staying connected.”
The letters were well-received by residents and staff.
“To add to our delight, we were overjoyed when Jennifer Baro told us that they were distributing the letters and would be working with the seniors to have them write back,” said Stinson. “Students have been over the moon to receive letters.”
After student Avery Andrews received a letter in response from a Fairhaven senior, she wrote, “I can’t wait to meet Sharon someday!”
Charly Kemp, who also sent along a painting she had created, received a reply from the residents asking for another. They also invited her to visit Fairhaven “when the world is better.”
The success of the letters for both students and residents has led Stinson to consider expanding her writing assignment.
“I am now hoping to start a pen pal exchange with the residents,” she explained. “Moving beyond the pandemic, I am now realizing what an amazing opportunity it would be to connect with seniors, in our community, in the future and create pen pal programs with my classes. Perhaps when all this is over we will realize how important forging these relationships are and what a benefit they bring to both young and old alike!”