First graders reporting to class next week at the Jane E. Tuitt and Evelyn Marcelli Schools will find packages full of practical presents awaiting them, along with a message to their parents or guardians about the importance of reading.
As a community service project, Rotary Club St. Thomas East decided to purchase the school supplies required for first graders, put them in gift packages and deliver them in person to the classrooms on the first day of school, Aug. 25.
The Rotarians are assembling more than a hundred of the packages, club president Loesje Sonnemans said. "The first day of school should be a happy and positive experience," she said, "and Rotarians would like to help celebrate this special day."
Rotary East, she said, "hopes to make a positive contribution towards developing a strong sense of self-esteem among the students." She credited Rotary East program director Sherrill Bennett and community service chair Dave Sheahan with getting the project off the ground.
Each package will contain pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, a glue stick, crayons, a paint box, scissors, a ruler, a bookmarker and a notebook, along with a reading book inscribed with a special message from a Rotarian. The accompanying letter to the pupil's family, Sonnemans said, will stress "the importance of school in general and the joy of literacy in particular" and encourage the adults to read to their children.
The value of each package is about $20, she said, and contributions came from other Rotary clubs, local businesses and individuals in the community, as well as from Rotary East. The club hopes to make the project an annual event, she said.
