Scott City students find pen pals in Iraq

At Scott City Middle School, students have spent months exercising their communication skills in an uncommon way -- as pen pals to soldiers in Iraq.

Scott City students in Leanne Grant's eighth- and ninth-grade communication arts class became pen pals with Missouri National Guardsmen of the 35th Engineer Brigade, stationed at Camp Liberty, Iraq, in September. The brigade oversees route clearance and construction projects around Baghdad.

Grant contacted Teresa Wagoner at the National Guard to find a unit from Missouri serving overseas. She then e-mailed each soldier in the unit and asked them to send a short autobiography if they were interested in being pen pals with the students. The overwhelming response, from 22 soldiers, gave the students a chance to select which soldiers they would communicate with and provided multiple pen pals for each guard member.

Relationships began to form as the students asked general questions about the mission of the unit, what the troops did during down time and what life as a soldier was like.

Brandon Shemonia, an eighth-grade student, wrote, "The soldiers have told us that they need to stay in Iraq because if they leave it would be too unstable. I feel bad for the soldiers being away from their families but I understand why they have to be there."

Over time, students began to write more personal letters.

Master Sgt. Brian Graves, who participated in the letter writing, visited the school with his wife, Cindra, before returning to Iraq.

"I get to hear about the scores of different ball games, what they did last weekend and what the weather is like," he said in a news release. "Some of them really pour their hearts out and tell me about family problems and how things are going in general."

Grant said the students send about 140 letters weekly.

"It is a great chance for students to learn about world affairs and hone their writing skills and just as important, it offers an opportunity to remind troops thousands of miles from home that they are not alone," Grant said.

Recently, in an effort dubbed "Operation Kookie Kick-off," students mailed 50 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to the guard members. The boxes were addressed with "to" and "from" labels so that students could personalize the boxes they sent.

"This has truly been one of the most educational experiences I have ever provided for my students," Grant said in the news release. "If they forget everything else about this year, they will leave knowing they have made a difference in someone's life. It is so important to care and sometimes 'caring' needs to be taught."

The students expect to receive another visitor from the 35th Engineer Brigade, Spc. Seth Nelson, who plans to visit while on leave this week.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133