St. Anne Pen Pal Program Enriches Students' Lives

Receiving hand written letters in the mail seems like a thing of the past. But that’s not the case for the fifth grade students at who have been keeping pen pals with a sister parish in Cicero.

Since the beginning of the school year, the fifth graders of St. Anne have been writing to their pen pals at St. Frances of Rome. The program is part of the relationship the two schools have through the St. Anne’s Sharing Parish.

“St. Frances of Rome is our sharing school, and we have been working with them for eight years,” Kim O’Neill said. O’Neill is the school liason between St. Anne and St. Frances of Rome.

In October, St. Anne took a fieldtrip to visit their new pals at their school in Cicero. They were able to tour the Mexican Museum of Fine Art, and learn more about their school. In the springtime, St. Anne plays host to St. Frances of Rome where they are able to take in the Barrington culture.

“They were looking forward to seeing their buddies and meeting them again,” St. Anne fifth grade teacher Paty Lyajk said of the students’ Barrington visit. “I think they get the biggest kick out of giving them a tour of the school,” she said.

From writing back and forth, the students have formed a friendship with their pals, and hope to continue writing after the program ends.

“My favorite thing is getting to know him better,” said St. Anne student Will Raider. Raider said he plans to keep writing after the school year ends. “We actually talked about that with Father Bernie today, we’re going to try [to keep writing],” he said.

Raider’s pen pal is Rafael Ramirez. The two, along with the third buddy in the group, Liam O’Neill of St. Anne, sat together decorating a picture frame Tuesday afternoon. In the frame, they plan to put a photo of themselves with their buddy.

“I like it,” Ramirez said of the pen pal program. He enjoyed visiting St. Anne School and seeing how things work in Barrington. “They showed me things like how stuff works and the classrooms,” he said.

Liam O’Neill also loved the pen pal program, and found a true friend in Ramirez.

“I like making friends with him. He’s really fun to play with. We both play football. I like just showing him around,” he said.

Parents of the St. Anne students have seen how the pen pal program has enriched their children’s lives.

“I think it’s great that she’s learning about the culture. She’s learning about communicating with someone through writing, which she loves to do, and it’s just near to see how they can form a relationship that way,” said fifth grade parent of Arleigh.

St. Anne’s relationship with St. Frances of Rome goes beyond just the pen pal program. St. Frances is St. Anne’s sharing parish, which means they have a connection with them through their faith, but also through service. St. Anne does service projects to benefit St. Frances, and the two also do service projects together.

This year, St. Anne students had the idea of donating books to St. Frances to fill a need in their school.

“The children for the past two months have been bringing in books,” said Anne Rometty, St. Anne’s fifth grade teacher. “I went around the school and asked all of the teachers if they had any old math textbooks that they’re no longer using. We came up with 10 boxes of mathematics material as well as reading material.”

The generous donation came as a complete surprise to the St. Frances family.

“When we went there in the fall, I asked their principal if it was okay if we did this. I saw the need there,” Rometty said.

The relationship between the students of St. Anne’s and the students of St. Frances of Rome is unique, and is noticed by all who see them interact.

“St. Anne’s kids are really special. These kids are really beautiful kids, too. It’s funny that they may live in different environments but they have a lot in common,” Rometty said.