Rotary Club distributes atlases | News, Sports, Jobs

Submitted photo: Kenny George, president of the Rotary Club of Elkins, presented atlases to Coalton fifth-graders on their graduation day.

ELKINS — The Rotary Club of Elkins has again distributed Webster’s International Atlases to all fifth-graders in Randolph County. The atlases contain basic information (maps, population, area, currency units, etc.) on each of the world’s 195 countries, the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the five territories of the United States. They have been completely revised and updated by the editors of Encyclopaedia Brittanica to include the most current information available.

The project began in 2004 at the instigation of Rotarian Pat Schoonover. Schoonover led the project until her death, after which Elkins Rotarian Judie Smith took over the project leadership. The project is funded through fundraising efforts by the Elkins Rotary Club and a grant from Rotary District 7535.

In its first year, the club provided dictionaries to approximately 340 third-graders in Randolph County schools. In 2010, it was decided that an atlas would be more useful to the 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 fifth-grader in Randolph County a paperback dictionary. As access to computers, tablets and smartphones increased, we moved to atlases. Many Americans, adults and children alike, have little experience with traditional map reading or visual geography. The atlases not only provide relevant information about a state or country, but also provide students with a physical visualization of that state or country and the proximity and distance to West Virginia. All of our members who have distributed the atlases have been met with enthusiasm. Rotary is a global organization and it is extremely gratifying to help students better understand our world,” said Smith.

Each year, club members work together to place a bookplate in front of each atlas, letting students know that the book is a gift from the Rotary Club of Elkins. This year’s bookplate included a special message indicating that the atlas is a gift in memory of Pat Schoonover. Once the atlases are completed, club members visit the various elementary schools and present the books to the fifth-grade students.

Club President-elect Tammie Rizzio distributed atlases to Ms. Taylor and Ms. Alexander’s fifth grade classes at Beverly Elementary School. “Beverly’s principal, Mr. Zickefoose, was thrilled to accept the annual donation on behalf of the students. As I have a fifth grader at Beverly this school year and spend time with some of the students throughout the year, I can personally attest to how important this project is in giving students a greater insight into the world we live in and their opportunities for where they can grow within it!” said Rizzio.

Kenny George, president of the Elkins Rotary Club, presented atlases to students at Coalton Elementary School. “I met with the principal Melissa Walters and the timing was perfect as the fifth grade graduation ceremony was coming up. Before the ceremony, I also met with some students and even some parents outside the gym. I enjoyed talking about Rotary and our work in the community,” said George.

Rotarians Dick Harvey and Doug Weese presented atlases to the two fifth grade classes at George Ward Elementary School. “It is always a pleasure to provide atlases to fifth grade students. The students are always very attentive, polite and grateful. We hope that these atlases will serve as a helpful tool to contribute to their education and expand their knowledge of world geography,” commented Weese.

Rotarian Mike Ellis, club program chairman, distributed atlases to Patty Teter’s fifth-graders at Harman School. “I told them that I had a handheld for them, but that it was an atlas. The students were very happy about the books,” said Ellis. “Harman’s principal, Martin Knicely, was a student of Pat Schoonover when he was working on a career change; it really is a small world.”

Fifth graders at Jennings Randolph Elementary School, North Elementary School and Third Ward Elementary School were presented with their atlases by Rotarian Jim Schoonover. “A few weeks before summer vacation, I visited Jennings Randolph Elementary School. While waiting to be admitted to the school, I noticed a poster in the lobby that linked reading time to scores on standardized tests. Students who read 20 minutes a day performed much better than those who read less. Before I began handing out the atlases, I asked how many students in the two combined fifth grade classes read 20 minutes a day, and only 3 out of about 40 students raised their hands. I explained the information on the poster and that it was posted at the entrance to their school. We talked about their reading habits and what kind of book the atlas was and what information it contained. I directed them to the page for West Virginia and asked them to find Elkins, and we received several comments from students about our state and where they had traveled in other states. I told the children that I was a Rotarian and that I was there because our club thought it would be a good project for us to give each of the students a gift. It was a wonderful half hour with the students and their teachers.” said Schoonover. “The following week I visited North Elementary School and repeated the same plan I had used before. The response to the question of how many minutes the students read each day was almost identical to the week before. Again, it was a very enjoyable half hour with the students and their teacher.”

Chuck Preusch, a longtime 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 it. I think it’s a very good project, especially because it benefits the entire district,” commented Preusch.

The fifth grade of Pickens School received their atlases from Rotarian Chris Lee. “After presenting atlases to the fifth graders, we played a game to see who could find the population numbers of different countries using the newly acquired resources. I then challenged them to see who could find the capital of Iceland first. We all had a laugh as we tried to pronounce Reykjavik correctly. It was great to see that the students already had a good understanding of what an atlas is and how to use it to find information about different parts of the world. They were excited when they got one themselves,” said Lee.

The club partners with the Dictionary Project of Charleston, South Carolina, each year to complete this project. The goal of the Dictionary Project is to help students become good writers, active readers, creative thinkers, and resourceful learners by providing them with their own personal dictionary or atlas. We hope that students will continue to use the reference books at school and at home for many years to come. For more information about the Dictionary Project, visit its website at www.dictionaryproject.org.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem solvers who envision a world where people come together and take action to create lasting change – around the world, 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 [email protected] for more information.