Cortlandt Rotary Donates Dictionaries, Thesauruses To Three Lakeland Elementary Schools

Three Lakeland Central School District elementary schools once again are the beneficiaries of a generous donation program by the Cortlandt Manor Rotary Club.

Third and Fifth Grade students at Lincoln-Titus, Van Cortlandtville and George Washington elementary schools received their dictionary and thesaurus, respectively, from representatives of the Rotary recently. The Rotary has been coming to the schools to distribute the two books for several years.

At Lincoln-Titus, this year’s distribution was made special for the Rotary members when a fifth grader in Mrs. Williams’ class pulled from his backpack a well-used copy of the dictionary he had received from the Rotary when he was a 3rd grader. The representatives from the Cortlandt Manor Rotary were able to see the fruit of their labor when they heard and witnessed the student’s use of the books.

Elizabeth McGowan, Lincoln-Titus’s principal, shared her pleasure in having the children see adults trying to give to the community. “This is a sentiment we attempt to instill in our students,” explained Mrs. McGowan.

“I am humbled by the fact these people have personally come to our school for the past several years and put these books in the hands of our 3rd and 5th graders. When electronic devices fail, books prevail. I found this to be true during my time spent in the Iraq. Often times batteries would die, or internet services would be restricted. It was during these times that I would reach on my shelf and utilize books (dictionaries, thesaurus, etc.) to function. Bottom line, books don’t need a battery or internet services, they only need a curious or sharp mind,” explained Tracy Norman, George Washington ES Principal.