Second graders get new dictionaries from Rotary

David Castles, a member of the Kilgore Rotary Club and the chairman of the Second Grade Dictionary Project this year, hands out a dictionary to a second grader at Chandler Elementary School on Friday. Kilgore Rotary Club members took dictionaries to Chandler Elementary School Friday and distributed them to each second grade student and teacher on the campus.

David Castles chaired the Dictionary Project, which has now occurred for four or five years in a row. Other Rotarians who accompanied Castles were Sammy D. York, president of the Kilgore Rotary Club, and K Castles, Claud Wallace, Debbie Dudley, Jerry Camp and Greg Collins.

Rotarians handed out 300 dictionaries to students and teachers, along with a pen from Citizens Bank. Students used the pens to write their names in their dictionaries, and each teacher has planned a dictionary usage unit so that the children can be instructed on how to use the books.

Rotarians use thousands of dollars each year to aid people of all ages, cultures and socioeconomic classes, and one of the programs that has been a mainstay over the years has been the dictionary program for second graders.

"We want our students to get off on the right foot," Castles commented. "So, when we started the program we looked for the age of student who was old enough to understand what a dictionary was for and also at the educational level where a dictionary could help them in their studies. We have done this project four or five years now, and we feel it has been very successful and is something we will continue into the future."

The dictionaries contain not only words and definitions but interesting material on the United States, the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, data on each state and important information on each of the presidents of our country.

Chandler Elementary officials are very thankful to the Rotary Club for their yearly donation.

"We feel the Rotary Club makes an outstanding contribution in many areas - the flag program being a major one - but we are very appreciative of them for coming to our campus every year and giving our second grade class a brand new dictionary," school leaders commented. "This is a very nice gesture, and the children use those dictionaries, not only for the remainder of their second grade year but each year after as well."

The Kilgore Rotary Club is best known these days for the flag program. Just over 1,300 flags are put out around the community on six flag holidays during the year, and the money generated from those flags allows the club to sponsor 11 scholarships to Kilgore College for area students and international students, to give the dictionaries to the second graders, to sponsor charitable projects in and around Kilgore and to take part in charitable projects around the world.