Skyping for a good cause; Pacelli schools kindergarteners raise money for Iowa pen pal
Published 10:16 am Tuesday, May 12, 2015
The students in one of Pacelli Catholic School’s kindergarten classes show letters they wrote and pictures they drew for their pen pals at Irving Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa, Monday morning over Skype. The class raised money to help a girl at Irving who fell out of a second-story window. — Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com
A kindergarten class at Pacelli Catholic Schools helped out an Iowa kindergartner recently.
On Monday morning, Kaitlin Tuohy’s kindergarten class excitedly told their pen pals at Irving Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa, they had collected $420 to donate to a Waterloo student who fell out a second-story window.
Tuohy’s class was eager to help out.
Pacelli kindergarten student, Kaitlyn McMahon, 6, shows the check for $420 to her class’s pen pals in Irving Elementary School in Waterloo, Iowa, Monday morning over Skype. The class raised the money to help a girl at Irving who fell out of a second-story window.
“It’s so cool to see that they want to help someone else that’s their age,” she said. “When I told them what happened they were so shocked to hear that that happened, and then they were like, ‘Well what can we do, when will we see them again?’”
Willow Wilson, from Irving Elementary School, fell from a two-story window in March. On Monday, she told Miss Tuohy’s class she was feeling better and she was glad she could Skype with them. Tuohy said her class was excited to help Willow.
Pacelli students are allowed to wear clothes other than their uniforms once a month if they bring a donation for a good cause, and Tuohy’s class decided to raise money for Willow.
“I told my class about [Willow’s accident] and they were really sad and they wanted to help,” Tuohy said. “So we thought maybe we could raise some money.”
For 6-year-old Kaitlyn McMahon, Skyping the other class has been a good experience.
“It’s fun,” she said.
She was glad to see Willow was feeling better and was happy her class raised money to help.
She was excited to write to her pen pal later in the day. She planned to tell her pen pal about her favorite things to do.
“My favorite things are playing with toys and playing outside,” she said.
Tuohy said the students had fun making cards and raising money for Willow.
This is the second time the class has Skyped with Irving kindergarteners. They started Skyping after Christmas, and Tuohy hopes to continue with future classes. Tuohy hopes this experience will help the students realize there are other kindergartners just like them in other places in world.
“It’s cool for them to see other schools, and they might not know that there are other kindergartners out there like them that are learning,” Tuoy said. “And it’s fun to see them ask questions about what they learn and what they do at school. They’re like, ‘They do the same stuff as us.’”
Tuohy also hopes that through donating money for Willow, the students will realize they can help other people anytime, whether it’s through money or simply a card.
