Dcitionary Project: March 2012 Newsletter

 

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online. Share This:     Welcome to our March 2012 Newsletter     Third graders inspired to look to the future   Last fall, when Sunil Sethi, of Sunil Sethi Real Estate, distributed dictionaries and thesauri to third graders in the New Haven Unified School District in Union City, CA, he announced an essay contest. The students were encouraged to write about what they hoped to be doing in the year 2021, the year they will graduate from high school. "Our hope is that the students start associating the purpose of school with helping them achieve their future career goals, and not just a place to hang out until they graduate," stated Steven Fong, a fellow Realtor as well as a former teacher.   The children's essays were compiled into a book, and each child who completed an essay received a pen inscribed with, "I know what I want to be when I grow up." The students wrote about a wide variety of careers, including nursing, construction, sports, the army, and even President of the United States. The essay book can be downloaded at the Sunil Sethi Real Estate website.     "You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child." Read Across America Day, March 2   The National Education Association is building a nation of readers through its signature program, NEA’s Read Across America. Now in its thirteenth year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.   Read Across America Day, NEA’s national reading celebration, takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participate by bringing together kids, teens, and books, and you can too!   Visit the NEA website to read more.   Consider students' privacy when taking photographs Do you know your local schools' policies about photographing children? It is important to check with the school administration and be sure that you have permission to take pictures in the classroom. At the Dictionary Project, we make it a policy not to print children's last names anywhere on our website in order to protect their privacy. All schools must allow parents to prevent their children's photos from being taken if they wish. Please check to make sure that there are no concerns about this before you take pictures at school. This does not have to mean that you cannot document your project, however. There are many ways to record a dictionary event while respecting individuals' privacy. Walter Boomsma, of Valley Grange in Guilford, ME, sent several suggestions for dealing sensitively with this issue. Click here for his advice to the Maine Granges.   This photo shows a student engaged with the dictionary but does not show her face.   Arno French, 1950-2012   Remembering Arno French The Dictionary Project lost a friend and champion when the President of our Board of Directors, Arno French, died of cancer February 15. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all who sent messages of support and concern to Arno and his family during his illness. The work of the Dictionary Project was very important to Arno. Thank you to all of our friends and sponsors who continue to work for literacy every day. Arno's obituary is available on our website. We would like to invite everyone to join us at Arno's memorial service, which will be on March 12 in Minneapolis. Details are in the obituary.    Thank you for reading our March newsletter.   We invite you to share this newsletter and content from our website by clicking on the e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter buttons you find. By doing so, you may inspire someone you know to join the effort to promote literacy!   If you have suggestions for stories and topics you would like to see covered in an upcoming issue, send them to newsletter@dictionaryproject.org. Thank you!   Read our Letters from Parents page for more of the letters our sponsors receive from parents whose children have been given dictionaries. They show what an impact your projects have on children and their families.   Some of our sponsors have suggested that first grade is a better time to provide dictionaries to the children, so that they more time to develop their vocabularies. What do you think? Please share your opinions and experiences by responding to this newsletter.   We are always adding dictionary-related stories to the News & Events page of our website. Stop by for some good ideas.   Did you know that you can donate more than 20 different reference books through the Dictionary Project? Visit our Bookshelf to see what is available.   Follow the Dictionary Project on  Twitter and visit our  Facebook page to keep up with our latest news and projects. The Dictionary Project is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Our goal is to assist all students to become good writers, active readers and creative thinkers by providing students a gift of their own personal dictionary.

The Dictionary Project | PO BOX 1845 | Charleston, SC 29402 843-856-2706 | 843-388-8375 newsletter@dictionaryproject.org | www.dictionaryproject.org