One would not normally equate socks with self-expression. But students at Gwinn High School recently learned the two can be linked.

And 328 pairs of socks prove that.

As Journal Staff Writer Mary Wardell detailed in a story that appeared in Wednesday’s paper, each student and staff member at GHS received Heat Holders socks as the result of a letter written by special education teacher Debbie Clark.

GHS teacher Amy Laitinen has made it a tradition for her ninth-grade students to write an “outrageous request” letter to a company, a team or some other organization. It’s an effort to help the young people develop persuasive writing skills and through the years has yielded a variety of response, including gift certificates and various memorabilia.

Clark decided to try her hand at such a letter, hoping to secure some warm socks for everyone at the school.

Clark’s letter did just that and the response from the students has been wonderful, she said.

Gwinn High School received socks and in return, the company used Gwinn’s story as part of an advertising campaign. As Wardell explained in her story, the company told the students to follow Heat Holders on Twitter @HeatHoldersSocks and to post pictures with their new socks using the hashtag #WarmingGwinn. These posts then entered students into a drawing to win a family hamper of Heat Holder products.

Clark drew from her own experience wearing Heat Holder thermal socks and the company, which is based in England, responded with socks for the entire Gwinn High crew.

The company’s blog posted that since their motto is “making life warmer,” Heat Holders “couldn’t resist a good deed!”

“Gwinn in Michigan has been experiencing (negative) 26 degree weather,” the post said. “How could we say no to school children that find it too cold to get out in the freezing weather?!”

Besides having cozy warm toes this winter, students at Gwinn High School learned that a well-written letter can be persuasive indeed. It’s wonderful when a classroom idea proves to be “real world” applicable.

Congrats to Clark, Laitinen and the rest of the Gwinn High School students and staff.