Aldersgate staff have been in contact with teachers at Karen Acres, and we anticipate that Whiz Kids will begin in late fall this year. Due to the school’s COVID protocols, we will be continuing Whiz Kids through the pen pal program, which we first tried out this spring. The Whiz Kids pen pal program is an opportunity to pair Karen Acres’ ELL students with a mentor through pen pal correspondence. Learning to read and write letters is part of Karen Acres’ ELL curriculum, and the students’ standardized language tests will also include portions in which they will be required to hand-write a letter. The Whiz Kids pen pal program provides opportunities for Karen Acres’ ELL students to practice their handwriting and their language skills in a real life situation, and through this program, we have the opportunity to connect with these students and offer mentorship, even in the midst of the pandemic and all of the complications that have come with it. Volunteers for this program can be of any age, gender, of life stage. Volunteers will receive letters from their students once or twice a month and will be asked to deliver their response letters to Aldersgate within a week of receiving each letter. The school has asked that volunteers write in print, as many students are still working on their literacy skills and may have difficulty reading cursive. Letters can be delivered to the church by mail, dropped off in the church mailbox, or hand delivered during church office hours. If you have any other questions about this volunteer opportunity, please contact Danielle. If you are interested in participating in the Whiz Kids pen pal program, please email Danielle with the number of students you would be willing to exchange letters with this year.