Third graders at Vine Street Elementary school discovered the delight of looking up words in the brand new dictionaries donated and delivered to their school Wednesday morning by members of the Wilshire Rotary.
The students eagerly searched for words like ‘community’, ‘liberty’ and ‘ghost,’ employing ‘index or guide’ words as instructed by Wilshire Rotarian Joyce Kleifield, who explained how looking for those words at the bottom of each page would allow them to speed through the dictionary until they found their words. Kleifield, a veteran of the Wilshire Rotary Dictionary Distribution program, encouraged the students to use the dictionaries to help build their vocabulary. She challenged them to learn a new word every week, and to share it with their friends and family.
“We love our partnership with the Wilshire Rotary Club!” said Harold Galvez. TSP Coordinator/CPA at Vine St. Elementary. “I always enjoy seeing the excitement in our kids’ eyes when they find out that the dictionaries are theirs to keep.”
The Dictionary Distribution Program has been a signature effort of the Wilshire Rotary for over 20 years, explained former Rotary president Pam Rudy, who also attended yesterday’s event. Rudy, a former elementary school teacher, said it’s one of her favorite programs because it allows the club to connect with children in the community.
“We started giving away dictionaries to five local schools, now we are serving nine schools,” said Rudy. “They are wonderful, color-printed, state-of-the-art dictionaries that each child can take home and keep forever.”
This year the Wilshire Rotary donated dictionaries to 624 students over four weeks, Wilshire Rotary President Ron Reyes told the Buzz. This year donations were made to the following schools:
Wilshire Park Elementary
Cahuenga Elementary School
Frank Del Olmo Elementary School
Queen Anne Place Elementary School
Harvard Elementary School
Alexandria Elementary School
Vine Street Elementary
Wilshire Crest Elementary School
Wilton Place Elementary School
