Maricopa Rotary Club gives 600 dictionaries to MUSD third graders

The Rotary Club of Maricopa made a very special visit to all the third grade classes in the Maricopa Unified School District on Friday.

The club generated enough money so every third grade student in the district’s six elementary schools could have a dictionary to take home. The Rotarians handed out a total of 600 dictionaries to students.

Rotary Club President Sandy Hopkins told the students, “Every year millions of dictionaries are given out to third grade students. We give them in the third grade to help students do better in school. These are yours. Mark your name in them, take them home and use them for homework.”

She challenged the third graders to see who could find a word in the dictionary the fastest. The first word she gave them was ‘magnet.’ One student raised his hand quickly, told her what page the word was on and then read the definition.

Hopkins then challenged students to pick a word to see which adult in the room could find it the fastest. At that point the room was buzzing with chatter as students looked through their dictionaries to find a word.

At Butterfield Elementary School, Assistant Principal Danielle Record told the students, “I think we need to say something to the Rotary Club for their presentation and gift.” The students responded with a hearty “thank you.”

Hopkins said that it was good to see the students so excited about their dictionaries. She added, “It’s a really good project. We support it every year.”

Next up for the Rotarians will be giving a thesaurus to every seventh grade student in the district. Those presentations are expected to take place in December.

Photo by Carrie Vargas