In an age dominated by screens and online communication, a group of Mosston School pupils is putting pen to paper.
The Year 3 and 4 students in Room 4 at Mosston School are taking part in Get New Zealand Writing - a collaboration between Warehouse Stationery, SchoolKit and schools, which aims to build connections through handwriting.
Room 4 teacher Diane Alexander said she read about the programme online and decided to sign her classroom up for it.
She was sent a kit that included stationery, postcards and a poster that the students could fill out.
"The kids have had a lot of fun filling out the poster," Mr Alexander said.
They've taken photos of themselves and their school, written facts about Whanganui, drawn a map of their classroom, chosen favourite words and even written the longest word they know - ankylosaurus. The poster has been decorated to provide a colourful snapshot of Room 4.
Part of the project included studying the poetry of New Zealand poet Ian Sharp; in particular his "The Ian Sharp Poem" in which the poet describes himself in vivid metaphors.
"The children then had a go at writing their own Ian Sharp poems and they chose their favourite line to put on the back of a postcard," Mrs Alexander said.
"It was a lot of work - definitely not something you could do in five minutes - but the kids took to it really well."
The pre-printed front of the postcards can be laid together to reveal a message, which Mrs Alexander said the class won't do until the last minute. Then the students will send off their poster and postcards to the school they've been paired with - Mangawhai School in Wellsford, north of Auckland.
Mrs Alexander said she thought the project had been enjoyable for the students, as well as a learning experience.
"At Mosston School, we believe in balancing technology with writing. Yes, we do use a lot of technology but we also use pen and paper.
"I think this project taught them that writing wasn't just something you do to please the teacher. Writing has a purpose - you can express yourself and you can give someone a message."
Mrs Alexander said the kids were excitedly looking forward to receiving a return parcel from Mangawhai School, which should arrive some time this week.
During March, more than 90,000 kids from 3,000 New Zealand classrooms are taking part in the Get New Zealand Writing programme.