Leonardtown Rotarians donate dictionaries to students
In hopes of increasing third- and fourth-grade students’ reading and writing abilities, Leonardtown Rotarians donated and distributed 1,229 dictionaries throughout the month of February to the following elementary schools… Benjamin Banneker, Dynard, Leonardtown, Evergreen, Piney Point, Father Andrew White and St. John’s School. Leonardtown Rotarians paired together and made a presentation to the students that included an activity with the dictionary as well as information about the Leonardtown Rotary Club.
Leonardtown Rotary Club’s efforts have been made possible by a national program, known as "The Dictionary Project," which has resulted in over 17 million dictionaries being distributed to students across the country. The mission statement is, "The goal of this program is to assist all students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary. The dictionaries are a gift to each student to use at school and at home for years to come. Educators see third grade as the dividing line between learning to read and reading to learn, so we encourage our sponsors to give dictionaries each year to children in the third grade," says Glenn Frank, III, CPA, Leonardtown Rotary President and Partner at Askey, Askey & Associates, CPA, LLC.
As a service organization, Rotary encourages its members to adhere to Rotary’s Four-Way Test of the things they think, say or do, which can be found on a personalized label placed on each dictionary’s cover: "Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?"
"This is one of the many ways our Leonardtown club supports our community. Rotary is a wonderful way to give to your community and the world through grants and scholarships. The efforts of our club have a real impact," Glenn beams with pride.
"It appeared that all the students and teachers were very excited about the donation and eager to put their dictionary to good use," said Kelly Schroeder.
"Thank you for donating to our students. The children were so excited all afternoon about their new dictionaries. Some of them chose to take them home, while others wanted to keep them in their desks," added Cathy Novak, 3rd-grade teacher at Evergreen Elementary. "This truly made a difference for our students, and I commend the members of the Leonardtown Rotary Club for their dedication to the community."
