Student 'elves' answer letters

By Jennifer Grybowski
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE -Santa’s elves spread their holiday cheer locally when students at Tantasqua Regional Junior High School (TRJHS) - acting as elves - answered Santa letters written by children in the community.
TRJHS Reading Teacher Bobbie Helbig began the program about three years ago, corresponding with first graders in friend Linda Aucoin’s classroom at Warren Community Elementary School.
This year, in addition to responding to letters from the first graders, the junior high elves also responded to letters collected at the post office in Sturbridge. Students in the TRJHS Art Club created and decorated a box to put in the post office.
Fourteen elves wrote letters during class time and six volunteered to write during one afterschool day. They received nearly 30 letters from children that had to be answered.
“We worked on their letter writing skills,” Helbig said. “You’d be surprised how many kids don’t know how to properly write a letter because the computer does it all for them.”
The elves didn’t promise any particular gifts, but instead commented on the letters they had received and talked about the importance of being good throughout the year. Helpfully, each letter from the students in West Warren was also returned with a short questionnaire the children filled out – including things such as names of their pets, names of their friends, what sports they like – so the elves had something to mention in their letters back.
Also, each letter written by the elves was enclosed with a sack of magic food for the reindeer (made of oats and red sprinkles) that the children were to spread on their lawn on Christmas Eve.
Analeace Cotter said she liked to read about what the children wanted for Christmas.
“It was up to us to make them still believe and have the experience to write back to them,” she said.
Brett Beaucage said he took it upon himself to write letters back to his little sisters and got to see their reaction when they got them.
“They went nuts,” he said.
And, as to not disrupt the rouse, Helbig wrote a letter to Brett, so that his sisters wouldn’t wonder why he hadn’t gotten one also.
The project was made possible through a Community Service Learning grant, which funded stationary, pens and postage.
Helbing is committed to this project. In fact, with last year’s ice storm cancelling out the days of school she had planned to answer the letters, she spent much of her vacation, with the help of her mother, answering all the letters herself. Helbig said she will absolutely continue the Santa letters program as long as she can.