“Everything was perfect,” reflected Da-som (다솜), a 6th grader at Haeseo elementary school. Ms. Loutsch’s Creative Writing class visited the neighboring campus at the end of January to gift stories – written, illustrated, and translated by the seniors – to the Haeseo English Club.

Laughter and conversation filled the hour-and-a-half-long visit, as DIS students shared their creations with the elementary students. The high quality of the writing, accompanied by decorative illustrations, caught the eye of each child. This reading experience also included a unique element: the stories were personalized and written for each student, incorporating their interests and hobbies. 

Each student from the Creative Writing class paired up with an elementary student. During their initial visit, the seniors asked questions such as, “What is your favorite animal?” or “What do you like to do in your free time?” to better understand their readers. Once they returned, the seniors write a captivating storyline capturing the distinctive preferences of each student. Until their next visit, Ms. Loutsch’s class was tasked with drawing illustrations, translating each sentence into one other’s language of choice, and laminating their finalized books.

The students’ hard work proved their worth. A Haeseo 6th grader, Jimin (지민), responded, “Replying to an interview to help someone create a book was exciting. The books were perfect.” Christie, one of the senior participants, commented, “The trip was very fun. We got to see our assigned kids again and we got to share our stories which we planned on our previous visit. They liked our stories! One kid that I worked with gave a big thumbs up so I’m assuming she really liked it.”

The Creative Writing class also interacted with the elementary kids on a deeper level. Instead of merely narrating their books, the high schoolers held meaningful conversations and shared life advice. Furthermore, the event provided a great opportunity for Haeseo Elementary to advance their English skills. Christie added, “As they read since we have translations, they learned how they can write sentences and how things are written in general, dialogues and everything.” With positive comments received from both sides, DIS plans to further interact with Haeseo to share intimacy and bring intellectual vitality to the local community.