The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs provided students in the seven public elementary schools a Dictionary for 3rd grade students, a Vocabulary Builder for 4th grade students, and a Thesaurus for 5th grade students. Principals and their designees were surveyed about our annual project and continuing to provide this resource to all third, fourth, and fifth graders was highly rated by all. The club has designed name plates that include a children’s version of the 4-way test that was inserted prior to distribution. Teams of Rotarians went to each school and into each classroom to distribute the books. Rotarians presented their Rotary story, shared about the mission of Rotary International and engaged the class in locating several words in the resource as a part of the presentation and activity. A letter from the club Youth Services Director and President in both English and Spanish was sent home with the students sharing the Rotary focus on literacy.
This is the first book many students have ever owned. Sharing the Rotary message in the classroom (in collaboration with the letter sent home to parents) enhances community awareness for the familiies and the school teachers of the Rotary focus on service about self. It provides an opportunity for parents to participate in their children's eductional progress.
The schools were provided input regarding what resources they believed would best assist their educational mission and helped us to coordinate distribution of the books to each school.
http://patch.com/georgia/sandysprings/new-books-way-sandy-springs-students