What an exciting day!
I had the privilege last week of visiting East Derry Elementary school to give dictionaries to third grade pupils. For more than 10 years, the Lewistown Rotary Club has conducted an annual drive to fund these dictionaries. I was not sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed the pupils and teachers.
We had the opportunity to interact with the students. One young man told me that he would read his book every night before he goes to bed. Another boy told me that he was going to use his dictionary "right now!" All of the pupils and teachers thanked us for the dictionaries - one teacher even told us that the pupils were going to use the books right away to do some social studies work.
In an age of such extreme technology, I guess I did not expect this level of excitement and gratitude for a book. The pupils greeted us with smiles and enthusiasm. They asked questions. They answered questions. They were truly amazing. Thanks to the students and teachers of East Derry Elementary school for making my day. If these students are any indication of the future of our area, I would say our future is very bright indeed.
Ruth Eddy is the publisher for The Sentinel.
