Greenwood School
Reading Project  

We have a long-standing partnership with Greenwood School. Once a month during the school year, we hold one of our regular weekly meetings at Greenwood, in its library. We have lunch, a short business meeting, and then we read to kindergarten and first grade ESL students.

These children typically are from homes where English is not spoken and consequently there's no one to read to them in English. So we do! We're not sure who gets more out of it - the readers or the kids!

Fifteen Kiwanians and four Kiwanians of the month participated in our Greenwood School Reading Project on January 14, 2004. After a great lunch and short business meeting led by President Dave Turnball, we welcomed over twenty kindergarten and first grade students into the school library for a half hour of reading.

These are youngsters that now can claim that English is their Second Language. From numerous countries around the globe, their families have immigrated to the U.S., and they are experiencing our school systems for the first time. One student had only been in school for two weeks, another just two days! Our reading to them helps them further understand the English language, keeping in mind that typically they have no one at home to read to them in English! What a great experience having those big eyes stare up at you and ask you to read another story. If you've not participated, please plan to do so! You will walk away wondering who got the most out of the experience—the reador or the readee!

Another highlight of the meeting was the presentation of our club book purchases to the teachers of Greenwood School. Remember “volunteering” to buy a book for a Greenwood teacher some weeks back? Well, we had enough “volunteers” that we were able to purchase 47 books for the teachers including three for the library. We learned that teachers on average spend around $1000 a year OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS on school supplies and books for their classrooms. So, you can imagine how appreciative they were. Many thanks to Paul Strayer for coordinating this special project.

	Click Santa to see special moments from his visit to our class during Christmas 2006.
Past President Dave Strief presents several of our book purchases to two of the Greenwood Elementary School teachers.
Downtown members and Kiwanians of the month look on as Greenwood teachers select their new books.
Greenwood reading students and their teacher.