Rotary Dictionary Project is a Hit at Maui Prep

Maui Prep third grade class with Lahaina Sunset Rotary volunteers (from left) Melissa Crawley, Nancy Montoya, Jim Fahnestock and teacher Nikki Meenzhuber. Photo provided by Lahaina Sunset Rotary.

Each child received his or her own student dictionary to use at home and at school as part of Rotary’s commitment to promote literacy and learning.

At Thursday’s presentation, the students were asked to look up three words: active, bold and respect. Whoever found each word the fastest read its definition to the class and earned a prize.

The prizes were a hit, but the real reward was exercising a skill rarely used in the digital age.

“It’s good for them to learn the skills of how to use a dictionary, since they are more likely to do everything online,” said their teacher, Nikki Meenzhuber. “It’s a dying tool.” 

“Some may view it as being ‘old school,’ but in an age of overstimulation of our kids due to excessive screen time, it is nice to have a solution beyond telling students ‘go look it up online’ or ‘use spell-check’,” added Principal Ryan Kirkham. “The dictionaries are a welcome resource in our third grade.” 

It didn’t take long for the students to have fun using their new dictionaries in a friendly competition.

“It was great to see that moment of happy discovery on the kids’ faces when they found the word we asked them to look up,” said Nancy Montoya, Lahaina Sunset Rotary director of Youth Services. “By the end of the activity, they were racing each other to be the first one to put their hand up and read the meaning of the word.” 

Educators see third grade as the point where learning to read becomes reading to learn. Lahaina Sunset Rotary’s participation in the dictionary donation program reflects the club’s commitment to support the local learning community by encouraging children at this level to be active readers, creative thinkers and resourceful learners. 

All 11 Maui County Rotary clubs participate in the annual program, donating dictionaries to nearly all third grade students in Maui County.