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Des Moines - 2010
 Distinguished Club Award
2008 - 2009
Distinguished Club Award
2007 - 2008
2008 Award Recipient
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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.
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Click Santa to see special moments from his visit
to our class during Christmas 2006. |
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Past
President Dave Strief presents several of our book purchases
to two of the Greenwood Elementary School teachers. |
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Downtown
members and Kiwanians of the month look on as
Greenwood teachers select their new books. |
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Greenwood
reading students and their teacher. |
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