Students “write” in for socks

GWINN — Even with these warmer temperatures, toes can still get a little chilly. But, all you need to stay toasty is a nice pair of warm socks.

Teachers at Gwinn High School had the same idea. This morning, Debbie Clark distributed three hundred twenty–eight pairs of Heat Holder socks…one for every student and staff member.
In total, they cost about sixty–five hundred dollars. The socks are triple thick, with a soft fleece lining to keep feet warm and dry.

“Many of my students complain about not wanting to go outside when it’s been so cold this winter and I thought maybe by giving socks, warm socks, that they would go outside and enjoy the winter weather more,” said Clark, who teaches Special Education at Gwinn High School.

“Considering that it’s been negative thirty most of the year, negative twenty five. Your feet get really cold, and that’s not even counting wind chill. I mean, it’s going to be really helpful, people can stay outside longer,” added Autumn Hedlund, a senior.

But where do the socks come from? They’re part of a letter writing project called Outrageous Requests. Students write letters to businesses asking for all kinds of goodies.

“Persuasive writing is always on the curriculum, and so I think it gives a really creative approach to persuasive writing. It gives the students a real life audience and usually its a piece of writing that they’re passionate about,” said Amy Laitinen who teaches English. Students have received everything from gift cards to WWE wrestling tickets.