By Ana Karen Perez Guzman

Reporter

The third-grade class at Shadow Lake Elementary were surprised by the Maple Valley Rotary Club on Dec. 16.

For the sixth year in a row, the club handed out dictionaries to all of the third-grade classes in the Tahoma school district. The members try to do it in October, National Dictionary Day is on Oct. 16 (Noah Webster’s birthday), but it is a busy time for the club.

Barbara Horn has been a part of the Rotary club for 10 years and sees the importance of handing out dictionaries.

“People don’t realize how important these dictionaries are for the kids,” Horn said. “This is the age they start using them and it is a helpful tool.”

The dictionaries are not just helpful for the students. Horn has heard from many students and parents that some parents use the dictionaries just as much as the students.

“Many parents who do not speak english refer to the dictionaries for help,” Horn said.

The students were given a tour of the dictionary before they were handed out, to help them understand how to find items in the dictionary more easily. After they were handed out, members of the Rotary club asked the students to find certain words, again, to help them learn how to use the dictionaries.

Last year, Horn spotted a third-grade boy crying after they handed out the dictionaries. She found out he had tripped and fallen and had ripped his dictionary. She could not believe how sad this young boy was, and really saw how grateful the kids were for their dictionaries. She had extra dictionaries and gave him a new one.

The club is a supporter of the Tahoma School District and apart from handing out dictionaries, it gives out between $25,000 and $30,000 a year in scholarships. Unfortunately, this might be the last year for the dictionary handout. The club’s funding has decreased and as far as the members know, the dictionary program will not be funded for next year. The members are hopeful they will find funding somehow to keep the program going.