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By: Peter Bodley Coon Rapids Herald
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Donor: Anoka, Blaine-Ham Lake, Coon Rapids and Ramsey Rotary Clubs |
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Dictionaries are being given to all third-graders in schools - both public and private - in Anoka-Hennepin School District 11.
This is the third year of a project by four area Rotary clubs - Anoka, Blaine-Ham Lake, Coon Rapids and Ramsey.
In all, 3,000 dictionaries are being distributed to third-graders.
Each club is contributing $500 to the cost with matching funds from Connexus Energy and the Anoka-Hennepin Educational Foundation.
According to Scott Schulte, Coon Rapids Rotary Club member, the first portion of the dictionary is a list of words, their definitions, how to pronounce them and how to use them.
But the balance of the dictionary is more like an encyclopedia, Schulte said.
It contains information about all the presidents in the history of the United States, all the states in the country and their capitals as well as details about all the countries in the world, he said.
In addition, there is a braille chart and information on how to use sign language, Schulte said.
And on the last page of the dictionary, there is the longest word known in the English language - 1,109 letters, he said.
The dictionary is for the personal use of the third-graders, according to Steve Rice, Coon Rapids Rotary Club members.
`It`s yours to keep forever,` Rice said.
The dictionary also has a spot on the inside of the front cover where the third-graders can write in their names, he said.
The mission of the Rotary Club is to help people through various projects, not only in Coon Rapids and Anoka County, but in the state, country and the world as well, Rice told Shelly Paige`s third-grade class at Epiphany Catholic School, Coon Rapids, Nov. 21.
It was one of three third-grade classes totaling 74 students to which dictionaries were presented by Rotarians Rice, Schulte, and John Piper.
The Rotary Club`s dictionary project takes place through the National Dictionary Project of Charleston, N.C., a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing dictionaries to students not only in the United States, but also in other countries.
The Coon Rapids Rotary Club is part of Rotary International, a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world.
There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belonging to some 33,000 clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas.
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Original Article available at :
http://abcnewspapers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5021&Itemid=28 |
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Photos
| Photo | Caption | |
| John Piper, Coon Rapids Rotary Club, gives a dictionary to Epiphany third-grader Brianna. | View Photo |
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| We request that any clubs that have implemented the
project send copies of the newspaper coverage or pictures that they want to
share to: The Dictionary Project, Post Office Box 1845, Charleston, SC 29402 .
Articles and photos will be added to the website to share with other clubs.
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