- 303 Haggar College Center
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579 - Director of Media Relations
Gwen O'Brien
gobrien@saintmarys.edu
Press Release
Saint Mary’s College to Host Pen Pals Day on Campus
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Ind.
(574) 284-4579
April 14, 2009 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—Signed, sealed and delivered. Saint Mary’s College students and fourth grade girls from the Warren Primary Center in South Bend have been exchanging letters for an entire semester and will finally meet face-to-face next week for a day of activities on campus.
The fourth annual Pen Pals Day will be held on May 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saint Mary’s students will greet their pen pals in Reinbeaux Lounge, off the west entrance of Le Mans Hall, and then give them a tour of campus. They will then have lunch together at 11:15 a.m., followed by games, both in Reinbeaux Lounge. The event will end with a reflection circle on the lawn where the fourth graders will reflect on their day. Before the Warren students leave, College students will give them stationary so they’ll continue writing to their pen pals during the summer.
The Pen Pals program is an effort by the college’s Office of Civic and Social Engagement (OCSE). “The Pen Pals program is a wonderful and innovative way of mentoring,” said Olivia Barzydlo Critchlow, with OCSE’s College Academy of Tutoring (CAT) program. “It’s also a chance to expose the children to college at an early age and introduce them to the wonderful opportunities they have for education right here in South Bend.”
The Pen Pals program is just one of the many between Saint Mary’s College and Warren Primary Center. The relationship between the two schools began in 2006 when OCSE began its CAT program. CAT places Saint Mary's College students in Title 1 South Bend public schools to serve as tutors, reading partners, teacher’s assistants and interns. The College also provides Warren with after-school tutor help and teacher’s assistant support in English as a New Language (ENL) classrooms.
The Indiana Campus Compact (ICC) announced last month that Warren Primary Center is the recipient of its “2009 Outstanding Community Partner Award” for the school’s relationship with the College’s Office of Civic and Social Engagement (OCSE). The award celebrates partnerships between ICC member institutions and community organizations. OCSE nominated Warren for the award.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. The College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the nation's top liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 annual survey. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.
