The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Green Valley Lodge #2592, is again sponsoring a Dictionary/Thesaurus project this year. Based on the latest enrollment numbers for 2010- 2011, all books have been ordered. A label will then be affixed to the inside cover of each book, showing the Elks logo with the message: ‘To help you do well in school.’
Dictionaries are awarded to area second graders at Sahuarita Primary School. This year, Exalted Ruler Jack Najar and project chair Tamara Kahrimanis will hand deliver 240 dictionaries to students in ten classes. At that time, the Exalted Ruler will briefly introduce students to the many youth projects sponsored by the Elks. Books are usually distributed in mid-September, to coincide with the time when teachers introduce the use of dictionaries to their classrooms.
Green Valley Elks Lodge #2592 also has a Thesaurus program for local fourth-graders at Continental School. This year, a thesaurus will be awarded to 60 students (three classes in all). Kahrimanis explains that when the thesaurus is used throughout the fourth-grade year to improve writing skills, students are more fully prepared at the start of fifth grade to enter the Elks national essay contest on ‘What Is An American.’ They also learn that U.S. Savings Bonds are awarded to the winners by the Grand Lodge of the B.P.O.E.
The Dictionary/ Thesaurus Project has been well received by both teachers and parents.
A former teacher herself, Kahrimanis has specifically designed this double-pronged approach so that it builds on the Dictionary Project. It establishes a continuous bridge between grade levels and provides students with a step-by-step, fuller preparation for the Elks national essay on Americanism.