Ellsworth Students "Visit" Spanish Pen Pals

For decades the establishment of foreign pen pals in elementary classrooms has been customary; however, modern technology has enabled those pals to become far more that a distant voice coveyed only through the occasional hand-written note.

First graders at Oliver Ellsworth recently had the privelege of meeting their pen pals, a group of students from Martos, Spain, face to face during a recent Skype session.

Skype, a popular software application, which allows Internet users from around the globe to video chat with one another, was utizlized in Kathleen Furie's class to enhance the traditional letter-sending experience.

The session also allowed Furie's students to utilize a bit of Spanish, having learned basic conversational terms, such as "Hola" and "Adios" prior to meeting their Spanish pals.