Poland is commemorating and celebrating the 200th anniversary of the death their war hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the man for whom the city of Kosciusko, is named.
That celebration led students at a junior high school in Powdiz, Poland, to send a letter to Mayor Jimmy Cockroft, seeking a chance to connect with local students.
The letter, in part, said, “Undoubtedly, it is a big honour that your city is named after the Polish soldier. We would like to start the cooperation and get in touch with you and the students of your local school. We would be extremely grateful if you give us the chance to improve not only our language skills, but also to increase our knowledge about the USA, its history and traditions.”
Cockroft forwarded it to the Quest class at Kosciusko Junior High School and the two groups have since become pen pals.
Teacher Darcy Bingham asked her students to write letters about school, customs, sports, food or anything about their 
town and school they would like to share with the Polish students.
In return, the Polish students replied with letters about their school and country.
“They drink tea for lunch; it is very cold there; the school is located by a lake and soccer is the major sport,” students learned about Poland.
The class recently received several handcrafted Christmas cards from their Polish friends and they are on display in the classroom.
ingham said the exchange with the Polish students has increased their knowledge of Poland and the deep regard the country holds for our namesake.
