Rotary Club distributes atlases
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ELKINS -- The Rotary Club of Elkins has, once again, distributed Webster's International Atlases to all 5th grade students in Randolph County. The atlases contain basic information (maps, population, area, monetary units, etc.) about each of the 195 countries of the world, the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the five territories of the United States. It has been completely revised and updated by the editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica to incorporate the most current information available.
The project began in 2004 at the urging of Rotarian Pat Schoonover. Schoonover chaired the project until her passing at which time Elkins Rotarian Judie Smith assumed leadership of the project. Funding for the project is provided by Elkins Rotary Club fundraisers and by a grant from Rotary District 7535.
In its first year, the club provided dictionaries to approximately 340 third-grade students in Randolph County Schools. In 2010, it was decided that an atlas would be more beneficial to students. Since its inception, approximately 5,000 dictionaries/atlases have been distributed to Randolph County students.
"Initially, the Rotary Club of Elkins began this project by giving every 5th grader in Randolph County a paperback dictionary. As access to computers, tablets and smartphones increased, we switched to atlases. Many Americans, adults as well as children have little background or learning of traditional map reading or visual geography. The atlases not only provide pertinent information about a state or country but afford students a physical visualization of that state or country and the proximity and distance from West Virginia. Any of our members who have delivered the atlases have met with enthusiasm. Rotary is a global organization and helping students understand better our world is most gratifying," said Smith.
Each year, club members work together to place a bookplate in the front of each atlas letting the students know the book is a gift from the Rotary Club of Elkins. This year's bookplate carried a special message noting that the atlas is a gift in memory of Pat Schoonover. Once the atlases are prepared, members of the club visit the various elementary schools and present the books to the fifth-grade students.
Club President-Elect Tammie Rizzio distributed atlases to Ms. Taylor's and Ms. Alexander's fifth-grade classes at Beverly Elementary School. "The Beverly Principal, Mr. Zickefoose was ecstatic to receive the annual donation on behalf of the students. Having a 5th grade student at Beverly this school year and spending time with some of the students off and on throughout the year, I can personally attest to the importance of this project in broadening some of the student's scope of the world we live in and the possibilities of where they can go in it!" said Rizzio.
Elkins Rotary Club President Kenny George presented atlases to students at Coalton Elementary School. "I met with the principal, Melissa Walters, and it was perfect timing as the 5th grade class was about to have their graduation. I also met with a few of the students and even some parents outside the gymnasium prior to the ceremony; I enjoyed discussing Rotary and what we do in the community," said George.
Rotarians Dick Harvey and Doug Weese delivered atlases to both fifth grade classes at George Ward Elementary School. "Providing atlases to the fifth-grade students is always a pleasure. The students are always very attentive, polite and appreciative. We hope that these atlases will serve as a helpful tool in contributing to their education and expanding their knowledge of world geography," commented Weese.
Rotarian Mike Ellis, club program chair, distributed atlases to Patty Teter's fifth grade students at Harman School. "I told them I had a handheld for them but that it was an atlas. The students really appreciated receiving the books," said Ellis. "The principal at Harman, Martin Knicely, had been a student of Pat Schoonover when he was working on a career change; it truly is a small world."
The fifth-grade students at Jennings Randolph Elementary School, North Elementary School and Third Ward Elementary School were presented their atlases by Rotarian Jim Schoonover. "A few weeks before the summer vacation I visited Jennings Randolph Elementary School. While waiting to be admitted into the school I noticed a poster relating reading time to scores on standardized tests in the vestibule. Students who read 20 minutes every day performed much better than those that read less. Before I began distributing the atlases, I asked how many students in the two combined fifth grade classes read for 20 minutes a day and only 3 out of approximately 40 students raised their hands. I explained the information on the poster and that it was posted at the entrance of their school. We discussed their reading habits and what kind of book the atlas was and the information which it contained. I directed them to the page for West Virginia and asked them to find Elkins and we had several student comments about our state and where they had traveled to other states. I told the children I was a Rotarian and that I was there because our club believed it was a good project for us to make a gift to each of the students. It was a wonderful half an hour with the students and their teachers," said Schoonover. "The following week I visited North Elementary School and repeated the same agenda that I had used before. The response to the question of how many minutes the students read daily was nearly identical to the week before. Again, it was a very enjoyable half an hour with the students and their teacher."
Chuck Preusch, a long-time member of the Elkins Rotary club presented atlases to the fifth-grade classes at Midland Elementary School. "The students didn't know what the atlas was but were excited to receive them. I think it's a very good project, especially since it goes to the entire county," commented Preusch.
The fifth-grade class at Pickens School received their atlases from Rotarian Chris Lee. "After presenting atlases to the 5th graders in the class, we played a game to see who could find out the populations of a couple different countries by using their newly acquired resources. Then I challenged them to see who could find the capital of Iceland first. We all got a laugh out of trying to pronounce Reykjavik correctly. It was awesome to see that the students already had a good understanding of what an atlas was and how to use it to find information about different parts of the world. They were excited to be given one of their own," said Lee.
The club works with The Dictionary Project of Charleston, South Carolina to complete this effort each year. The goal of The Dictionary Project is to assist students in becoming good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary or atlas. It is hoped that students will use the reference materials at school and home for many years to come. More information about The Dictionary Project can be found at its website, www.dictionaryproject.org.
Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change -- across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club's Facebook page -- Rotary Club of Elkins -- or contact club president Tammie Rizzio at tammierizzio@gmail.com for more