Youth Service projects for 2009-2010 year

Dictionary Project at St. Raphael's and Glenwood Elementary Schools

Goals of the the project:

• Assist with District efforts to provide dictionaries to every Third Grade student
• Community Outreach to school teachers and interaction with youth

The positive results of this project are:

• Educated students on what Rotary is all about
• Provided teachers with resources to increase fun and learning in the classroom
• The kids were very excited to discuss the special day at school with their parents and tell them how Rotary raised money to buy the dictionaries. We continue to receive many positive comments from adults in the community who are now more aware of the value of Rotary.
• Rotarians had a lot of fun with the students and the teachers who were all very enthusiastic and grateful to receive the excellent dictionaries.

• The members of our club made a formal presentation to five third grade classes at two schools.
• We introduced ourselves as Rotarians, parents, and members of the community that cared about them and wanted to help them succeed in school by providing each of them with their own dictionary to keep.
• We asked them to write their name on the inside cover under the Rotary symbol inside the cover of their own dictionary.
• We discussed the object of Rotary and went over the four way test with each class.
• We taught the children how to use the dictionary by looking up a word and chose a student to read aloud the definition.

Davidson Middle School and Golden Gate Opera Company (GGO)

• Provide in-school educational enrichment and performance for class groups with teachers by sponsoring a mini version of a full opera production.
• Give middle school children the opportunity to experience this beautiful art form.

• 6th, 7th & 8th graders enjoyed a live performance of the opera Don Giovanni sung in English and the students were surprisingly attentive and intrigued by the presentation.
• First exposure for most of the students to Opera as a type of music and performing art. GGO’s opera stars came in costume and performed with acting, singing and dancing.
• Offered career inspiration for students who are members of the school’s choruses and bands.
• The outreach effort included Teachers’ Study Guides containing suggestions for teachers to prepare their students to enjoy the opera, and CDs for listening to the main scenes in advance of the performance.

This project was unique, innovative, imaginative for our club and others to replicate: This project supported two worthy organizations in our community, Golden Gate Opera and Davidson Middle School. The outreach effort is a unique opportunity to increase exposure to the arts for children and provide funding for opera performers.