Lynn third-graders receive free dictionaries

LYNN – Thanks to the generosity of the Lynn Rotary Club and corporate sponsor Equitable Bank, every third-grader in Lynn brought home a new dictionary this week.On Wednesday, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Catherine Latham joined Lynn Rotary Club President Wendy Silva and Equitable Bank CEO Don Smith at Hood Elementary School to distribute dictionaries. Since 2008, the Rotary Club of Lynn has presented nearly 1,300 dictionaries to Lynn Public Schools students, with the cost of each dictionary underwritten by Equitable Bank.”Teaching young children to read has become a major part of the Rotary’s literacy goals, and we want Lynn students to succeed,” said Silva.The dictionaries the students received also included information on U.S. states, foreign countries, the solar system and sign language. They were asked to write their names inside, claiming them as their own personal property.”It’s a treat for our third-graders to have their own individual dictionaries, and it’s a tool that will serve them well in the future,” Latham said. “We are grateful to the Rotary Club and Equitable Bank for their generosity.”In addition to the event at Hood, 15 Lynn Rotarians participated in the distribution of the dictionaries at Aborn, Brickett, Callahan, Cobbett, Connery, Drewicz, Fallon, Ford, Harrington, Ingalls, Lincoln-Thomson, Lynn Woods, Sewell-Anderson, Sisson, Shoemaker, Tracy and Washington elementary schools. Those volunteers included Obie Barker, Ray Bastarache, Rich Cuffe, Joyce Elliott, Jim Harris, Mark Kennard, Bob Kennedy, Elaine Kurkul, Barbara Maitland, Marika Payton, Jan Reardon, Ralph Reid, Dave Richardson and Rev. Bill Simpson.