Stories of family members and photos or drawings of family pets. Favorite characters from Japanese anime shows. Familiarity with sushi and ramen.

Those are some of the themes running through the first set of letters heading from Springfield Public School middle schoolers to Isesaki, Japan, junior high students participating in a new penpal project.

Yes, penpals – a nostalgic throwback to earlier times, even though these letters are typed in a mutually agreed font (Comic Sans) for easier understanding by English-language learners.

The project is the brainchild of Lorena Costa Pinheiro, an assistant language teacher at Isesaki Uehasu Junior High School, and her supervising English teacher. They wanted new ways to enhance English language grammar and textbook lessons. Lorena reached out to SSCA Executive Director Lisa Bakerink, who connected her with SSCA board member Rachel Love-Jones, SPS Opportunity & Access Curriculum Coordinator.

Rachel and SPS Gifted Education Director Lenae Lazzelle decided to take the opportunity to Central High School’s Scholars program for gifted students in grades 5-7 and the WINGS gifted program. Based on the school-year schedules in Springfield and Isesaki, all the teachers decided that Springfield students would write the first group of

letters, with Isesaki students responding in early fall and another exchange in late fall and spring 2026.

All told, Springfield students wrote 153 letters to Isesaki, where students will work on their English skills by reading and responding to the letters. “The letters are very sweet,” Rachel says. “They include things like ‘I can’t believe I’m writing to someone in another country.’ A lot of the students were excited to share what they know about Japanese culture.”

Lorena says learning English can be exhausting at times for Isesaki students. “I hope they have fun and enjoy communicating in English. I want to make sure that talking or writing in English and being interested in life abroad ceases to be a foreign concept and becomes a new acquired interest.

“I want to make sure they stay true to their genuine curiosity,” she added. “They are very enthusiastic children, so I am sure they have a lot of interesting questions.”

Both teachers say they appreciate how the nearly 40-year-old sister cities connection made a smooth runway to launch the project. They each cited the assistance of Yudai Sanada, an Isesaki resident who came to Springfield to study at Missouri State University and works with SSCA to support the relationship with Isesaki.

“I do hope it brings greater cross-cultural understanding,” Rachel says. “I hope it builds a bridge and creates interest when students are directly involved in the exchange, not just watching it. I love the idea of a pipeline.”