Putnam County Rotary presents dictionaries to students

Putnam County Rotary presented each third grader with his and her own personal dictionary in a combination live and Zoom event held with Rotarians and students on Sept. 22.

The virtual presentation did not detract from the project’s goal of emphasizing the importance of using an actual dictionary, where you see words in context, and where you can browse reference materials from American history to weights and measures, to the galaxy and beyond.

Among the presenters were Club Literacy Chair Adriane Shore, Scott Shore, and in the classrooms were Rotarian Dan Ramirez and school Superintendent Dr. Clay Theisinger. Students were challenged with some fun trivia and word-find activities using their new dictionaries.

Rotarians also explained the bookplate on which each wrote his or her name, bearing the Rotary ”4-way test” which emphasizes the importance of being truthful, fair and friendly, while always acting in a manner that will be beneficial to all concerned. … and if students did not know the meaning of the word “beneficial,” now they can look it up.

PC Rotary, in partnership with the Putnam County Library, will also make dictionaries available to home-schooled students. Families may contact Rotarian Matt Miller at PC Library’s Hennepin headquarters, 815-925-7020.

This marks the project’s 15th year and 17th class of recipients. The Dictionary Project is part of Rotary’s world-wide support of literacy and learning. The project has delivered more than 250,000 dictionaries this fall, and more than 33 million dictionaries since the national project’s founding in 1995.

Volunteers are needed for additional literacy projects, including reading children’s books for the Club’s “Rotary Readers” project. To volunteer, email PutnamCountyRotary@gmail.com.