At
a recent reception at Harvard to honor Cambridge School Volunteers,
Peabody School sixth grader Jonathan Herrera delivered a speech about
his year in the NetPals program. Organized by CSV, NetPals matches all
sixth graders with adult mentors at a local company, then establishes a
year-long email correspondence. ELA teacher Dan Tobin has focused this
year largely on the format of letter-writing, email etiquette, and the
speed of digital communication.
Speaking before an audience that included Mayor Henrietta Davis,
Superintendent Jeffrey Young, and Massachusetts Secretary of Education
Paul Reville, Jonathan stole the show with his poise, delivery, and
speech-writing skills. While the reception always features a student
speaker, this was the first year a sixth grader was selected to deliver
the address. Jonathan spoke of his relationship with Brad Wright,
president of local transportation company Cambridge Systematics.
“Every
week, we email a letter to our NetPal and they respond to us,” said
Jonathan in his speech. “We usually write about things we did over the
weekend or how our week has been going. I email my NetPal a lot about
his sons wanting to have a Mohawk. I tell him that it’s a lot of work to
have a Mohawk.”
Jonathan also described meeting his NetPal in person and spoke highly
of the skills developed throughout the year. “I really appreciate this
program a lot because it’s cool to learn about new people and it
prepares you for when you really have an email online,” he told the
adoring crowd. “NetPals is a lot of fun, and I strongly recommend for
the coodinators to