Third Graders Receive Annual Gift from North Haven Rotary Club

In their eighth year of promoting literacy in the community by sponsoring their Dictionary Project, the North Haven Rotary Club recently distributed hundreds of Webster paperback dictionaries to public school children in the third grade at the four elementary schools. At the Clintonville School, Rotarian and Chairwoman of the Board of Education, Anita Anderson, attended the event and expressed her gratitude on behalf of the Board, as did the building principal at each of the schools.

Serving as the popular event’s chairman for eight years, Brian Coughlin described the global scope of Rotary International, as well as the North Haven club’s focus on service to others. He was followed by Michael Hallahan, the club’s president, who challenged each class to locate words and use them in sentences. Last year’s president (and proud new grandparent) , Gaetano Casella, explained that the club raises the money for the dictionaries through activities such as the upcoming Fourth Annual Pancake Breakfast which is slated to be held at the Middle School on Sunday November 11th from 8:00 – 1:00. (Since it is Veterans Day, veterans eat free.) Nearly a dozen Rotarians participated in the actual distribution of the dictionaries held on October 23-24, with some members explaining the origins and use of the text, as well as its lasting value, despite today’s focus on technology.