Southwest Primary receives books from Catawba Valley Rotary Club
On Wednesday, February 28th, Catawba Valley Rotary presented a collection of books to Southwest Primary for their library. Rotarians Sylvia White and Wayne Swofford delivered 38 books to Principal Erin Sigmon, Librarian Lisa Doyle, and 1st graders in the DLI (Dual Language Immersion) 1st grade class taught by Ms. Beth McMahan (English) and Ms. Diana Chavez (Spanish). It so happened that the books arrived on Principal Sigmon’s birthday and that she had declared her birthday to be Pajama Day.
For several years Catawba Valley Rotary has worked with schools to buy books and donate to their libraries. When a school is selected, the librarian is consulted as to the books that they would like to add to their collection. The Rotary Club then purchases the books and through the club’s year has guest speakers sign the books prior to presentation. At the end of the year, the signed books are then presented to the school. The books are typically chosen to appeal to the younger children. Catawba Valley considers this a valuable service to the community because the earlier that children come to enjoy reading, the more likely they are to master reading, and mastery of reading is a critical step to success in both education and to life in our modern society.
The book program is financed through a district grant where half of the money comes from Catawba Valley Rotary and half from Rotary District 7670, which covers western North Carolina. It is a local extension of the activities of The Rotary Foundation.