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2^nd Annual Dictionary Day in Colchester

           Colchester residents Fred & Robin Brown have donated dictionaries to the entire third grade at Jack Jackter Elementary School, in Colchester.

           “It’s easy to say you want to do something to give back, but we wanted to do something that was, number one, needed and number two, appreciated. If you look at the pictures of these students, you can certainly see that the books are appreciated and research show that one book is shared by up to four people, encouraging kids to use more words.” say Fred Brown.

          The Brown’s started handing out dictionaries last year, distributing more than 230 books to the 3^rd graders after hearing about the project from Rotary International (www.rotary.org). Robin Brown states, “The thanks is from seeing the smiles from the kids as they receive their very own dictionary. Each one of them said “Thank You” as they took ownership of their book on the way out of a special assembly to celebrate Noah Websters birthday and the donation of the dictionaries.”

           Noah Webster was born on October 16^th, 1758 in W. Hartford Connecticut. He spent 27-years writing the first dictionary, called the “Blue-backed Speller”, due to the color of the cover. He finished writing the dictionary in 1828, at the age of 70, Noah's dictionary had 70,000 words in it. “We felt Webster’s birthday was a suitable day to present the books” say Fred Brown.

         Superintendent of Schools Karen A. Loiselle states "Because of Fred and Robin Brown's generosity, every third grader in Colchester now owns a tool that will help them become better readers, writers and speakers. We are so fortunate to have community partners who are committed to working with us to support student learning."

          “Giving back can take many forms. This just happens to be the means by which we want to do something for Colchester. Giving students the opportunity to become better students and better citizens.” Says Robin Brown.

          The Brown’s are asking each student to send in their favorite work using it in a sentence and why it’s their favorite word. They will randomly choose one entry on Friday, November 3^rd, 2006. One lucky student will receive a family 4-pack of tickets to the Gallery Cinemas. Send in your entries to Fred@Wyndhamprice.com or Fred Brown, P.O. Box 470, Colchester, CT 06415.

Email us to enter the contest!