On December 22, 2015, Alec Freeman and his family visited Yokneam. Alec, a 6 year old who lives in Atlanta, attends Jewish Kids Groups, an afterschool program that is exchanging letters this year with pen pals in Yokneam. Alec and his family were in Israel to visit his grandparents, and they all came to Yokneam for a morning so that he could meet his pen pal, Shay, and see the school that Shay attends. Shay and his friend Daniel (another student at the school who speaks excellent English) gave Alec and his family a tour of the school. In their classroom, Alec answered questions from the class about what his school was like in Atlanta. At the afterschool program, Alec met the other students who had pen pals at Jewish Kids Groups in Atlanta. He gave all the students friendship bracelets that their pen pals in Atlanta had made. In January, back in Atlanta at Jewish Kids Groups, Alec shared photos of the visit with the other kids and answered questions about what the school in Yokneam was like — just as a new set of letters had arrived from their pen pals in Yokneam! The pen pal program has been an incredible way for students in Atlanta to connect with kids their own age in Yokneam, and Alec and Shay really enjoyed the chance to meet each other in person!
Contributed by: JKG Parent Jason Freeman
Contributed by: JKG Parent Jason Freeman