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Pearl Harbor Rotarians spell it out for Hickam, Mokulele 3rd graders

  • Published
  • By Jeff Nicolay
  • 15 AW/PA
Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii --  The personal libraries of several hundred Hickam and Mokulele elementary students got one volume thicker this week, thanks to the Rotary Club of Pearl Harbor.   As part of what is an annual state-wide effort, Connie Kraus and fellow Rotarians stopped by both schools on Tuesday to hand out copies of 'A Student's Dictionary' to 3rd graders in both schools.  

"What we're doing is a literacy program with Rotary International," said Kraus, who serves as the club's public relations director. "Copies of the dictionary are being handed out to schools nationwide. Today we handed out 106 to Hickam and 75 to Mokulele-- all of them to 3rd graders. 

Kraus explained the rationale behind the Rotary program's target audience. "The key is to catch these children early to help them learn to read and write, and improve their literacy," she said. "Third grade is a good time -- it's critical they should be reading well about this time." 

Kraus noted that the program is a group effort involving all Rotarians.
"Each Rotary member donates $150 each year to buy dictionaries," she said. "That's enough money for 100 dictionaries."  It is an effort Kraus hopes will reap long-term rewards.  

"The dictionary is not strictly 3rd-grade level," she said. "But it's written so that 3rd graders can read and comprehend it and use it to look up all kinds of information, and a dictionary helps young students develop what we hope will be a life-long interest in reading." 

Photo by Jeff Nicolay