THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130281
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER CAMPUS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
Santa Claus is coming to town, and don't try to tell the pupils at Birdneck Elementary School otherwise.
They have proof.
With the help of the fifth grade, more than 400 kindergarten and first-grade kids have sent letters to Santa Claus via e-mail, and Santa is writing back to each of them this week. This is the first year that Birdneck youngsters have been able to contact the jolly old elf by computer.
``It's a great program,'' said Richard P. Sidone, principal. ``Besides working with the technology, the kids are brushing up on their writing and communication skills. Then you have the interaction between the older and the younger kids. It's worked out real well.''
Fifth-grade teacher Irvin Beard, a retired Navy pilot, took off with the idea after reading an e-mail message about it. Since this is the first year Birdneck pupils have worked with the Internet, he has been experimenting with computer activities over the past couple of months.
Santa e-mail is a way to capture a child's imagination.
``We wanted to introduce the younger children to what computers can do,'' Beard said. ``We wanted them to see that, in the blink of an eye, Santa can get a letter in a matter of seconds.''
Although the sending takes only a few seconds, the process takes a few days.
Before jumping on the keyboard, fifth-graders help kindergartners and first-graders put together their letters to Santa. Most teachers have a general format to follow, so the older pupils pair up with the younger ones to assist them with reading the letter format and with spelling.
While their duties are limited, some of the older students take their jobs further. ``I think some people might not believe in Santa Claus,'' said fifth-grader Amy McCulloch, 10. ``I know to them (the letter writers), Santa is real. I like encouraging them, making them happy and helping them believe in him.''
The teachers, who stand back and let the students take over, are impressed with what they have seen.
``It's like they matured in five minutes,'' fifth-grade teacher Tom Brooks said of his students' tutoring. ``Suddenly they have much more patience. They're explaining everything. It gives me goose bumps to see something like this happening.''
After writing, the students go into the computer lab together to type the letters on 15 Apple II GS computers. All of the letters are saved and sent to Santa's mailbox at WHRO on the one computer that is hooked up to the Internet.
Santa, with lots of help from Beard, collects the messages, writes back to each child individually and prints out his responses. The letters are personally delivered to the children by two Santa volunteers from the Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic, Birdneck's Adopt-A-School partner.
``The kids are just captivated,'' Beard said. ``They're excited about it. .
Beard is spreading the word about Santa e-mail to elves all over the school system. Expanding the program to involve elementary, middle and high schools would be ``the ultimate,'' he said.
``Sending e-mail messages to Santa just starts them on the idea that if they have a question, they can go to the Internet,'' Beard said. ``This activity is a fun and easy way for everyone up and down the line to learn about telecommunications.'' MEMO: Holly Wester is a sophomore at Virginia Wesleyan College.
ILLUSTRATION: MORT FRYMAN
Staff
[Color Photo]
As Christian Page, a fifth-grade student, looks on at right, Kevin
Luck examines his letter to Santa Claus on a computer screen at
Birdneck Elementary School in Virginia Beach.
TO E-MAIL
Send an electronic mail message to Santa Claus at one of the
following addresses:
santalistaol.com
santacris.com
santanorthpole.net
Or on the World Wide Web:
http://northpole.net/santa.html
Or visit the Local News page on the Pilot Online; see page A2 for
details.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nissa Grover holds Christmas messages received at the offices of
NovaLink in Westborough, Mass. The on-line service company has an
e-mail address, santa(AT)novalink.com, so Internet users can send
holiday wishes to Santa. An automated reply from Santa is sent for
each message.
by CNB