Defining Moment

The Morris Rotary Club donated almost 300 dictionaries to the city’s third-graders as part of its ongoing program to promote literacy.

Every year in October and November, the Morris Rotary purchases new dictionaries and distributes the books to all of Morris’ elementary schools for their third-grade classes.

“We’ve been doing this the last three years, and if every kid has kept their dictionary, it has gone with them to sixth grade by now,” said Rotary President Rich Mitchell.

A company produces the dictionaries at a lower cost for Rotary clubs to do the program, he said.

“We really enjoy doing it,” Mitchell said. “The kids get really excited when they receive them.”

Saratoga School Principal Liz Peterson said they especially appreciate the dictionaries during a time when people tend to make the Internet their first resource for information.

“These are extremely valuable for the kids,” she said. “They learn how to use them and use them regularly because they don’t have computers at their desks and some don’t have computers at home.”

Anything to expose the children to increased information on vocabulary and spelling is welcome at the school and much appreciated, she said.

Rotary also donated dictionaries to White Oak Elementary School and Nettle Creek Elementary School.
Nettle Creek Superintendent Dr. Pete Pasteris said the school’s third-grade teacher does a whole unit on dictionary use every year, and the teacher is extremely grateful for the dictionaries.

The Morris Rotary Club was founded in 1915 and currently has about 25 members.

Rotary clubs are volunteer service organizations dedicated to giving back to their communities and other communities around the world by volunteering their time and fundraising.