Third Graders Recipients of the Dictionary Project

They call it a dictionary, but several flips through the pages of the lexicons third-graders in Henderson County are receiving these days, and you could say it`s much more than that.

Curious about the symbol for boron? Need to know the capital of Madagascar? Wanting to go to the source for a question about the Declaration of Independence?

Then you might want to borrow `A Student`s Dictionary,` which third-graders at Jefferson Elementary School received on Monday.

The Rotary Club is in its sixth year of The Dictionary Project, said Ron Faupel, who started the distribution program when he was the club`s president.

`For some of these kids, it may be one of the first books` they own, he said.

The Dictionary Project has distributed dictionaries to more than 12.5 million children across the United States since 1995.

Roughly 650 third-graders in the Henderson County school district and at Holy Name School will receive or have already received the dictionaries, which are theirs to keep.

And on Monday, Faupel distributed the dictionaries along with Rotary Club members Jon L. Sights and Tom Lett.

`It`s real cool,` said Jacob, 9. `Now I can just go to where my dictionary is and I don`t have to get my Mom`s big huge dictionary.`

Jaydan, an 8-year-old at Jefferson, said she was most excited about the part of the book that includes some sign language symbols.

`It was nice (to receive the dictionary) because … I always had to bring the dictionary in my backpack home from school, and it was really heavy,` she said.

For more information, visit www.dictionaryproject.org

Original Article available at :
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/oct/25/book-of-knowledge/