| Published October 10th, 2012 | Educational Magazines Donated to Moraga Elementary Schools | Submitted by Elaine and Gary Irwin | | Moraga school educators accept magazine donations from Moraga Rotarians, from left: Rotarians Barbara Bruner, President Frank May, Dick Vance; Principals Elaine Frank, Tom Rust, and Charles Miller; and Superintendent Bruce Burns. Photo Gary Irwin
| Thanks to a donation from the Rotary Club of Moraga, third through fifth graders at Moraga elementary schools, along with Canyon School and St. Anthony's in Oakland, will receive weekly editions of educational, non-fiction news magazines to enhance their learning experience. The grade-level appropriate magazines, which were chosen by the teachers at each school, include National Geographic Explorer, the Scholastic News/Weekly Reader, and TIME for Kids. Each magazine contains current, informative non-fiction "news" that can be read and discussed in the classroom, then taken home for students to share with their families.
The check for the program was recently given to Superintendent Bruce Burns, and Principals Elaine Frank (Rheem), Tom Rust (Camino Pablo), and Charles Miller (Los Perales) by Rotary President Frank May, Community Service Chair Barbara Bruner, and Dictionary Chairman Dick Vance.
Non-fiction news magazines provide students with current, relevant information about their world. Subject-specific articles include relevant information about science, health, current events and literature. The "interactive" magazine format, which often includes maps, graphs, and activities, awakens students' curiosity about the world around them and encourages a love of learning.
The benefits of the magazine subscription program this year will be evaluated compared to the long-time Moraga Rotary program in which each third grader in the Moraga schools, including Saklan and Canyon, was given their own dictionary. The Dictionary program had been a major Rotary community service project for more about 18 years. However, with advanced technology making on-line dictionary searches more accessible to students, Rotary questioned whether funding a weekly news magazine would be more helpful. Moraga Rotary will work with the schools to see that the most beneficial program is continued.
Rotary Club of Moraga meets at noon most Tuesdays at Saint Mary's College. For information, please call Frank Mayat (925) 376-8195.
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