Members of the Highland Rotary Club have once again made good on their commitment to community service, this time by donating hundreds of brand-new books to Highland Central School District students in Grades 4 and 7.

A group of Rotarians visited Highland Elementary School (HES) on January 21 to drop off several titles, including The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The books were selected by the Grade 4 teachers, who chose works that not only built upon the students’ prior reading experience, but were also closely aligned with the curriculum.    

“We are so grateful for the Rotary Club’s continued support of our students and our literacy initiatives,” said Jill Berger, a Grade 4 teacher at HES. “Providing students with their own books helps foster a love of reading while also reinforcing important classroom learning.”

Several of the donated books will also be stocked in the Elementary School’s Book Vending Machine, giving students access to high-quality literature in a fun and engaging way.

Later that day, the same group of Rotarians stopped by Highland Middle School (HMS) to deliver books for the library, along with copies of Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book was selected jointly by Grade 7 English teacher Sean Donoghue and Grade 7 Social Studies teacher Elise DeGiacomo in the hopes of developing a cross-curricular unit. The novel is the first title in the Seeds of America trilogy, a historical fiction series set during the Revolutionary War that follows Isabel, a teenage enslaved girl in New York City, as she fights for freedom for herself and her sister.

“This novel will allow students to explore a pivotal period in American history through a powerful and personal story,” Donoghue said. “Having a copy of the book to call their own will help students engage more deeply with the text and the themes we discuss in class.”

According to Steve Laubach, a Highland Rotary Club member and former Club president, the annual Book Project has been a tradition for many years.

"At its core, this project is about investing in our students and our community,” Laubach said. “We’re proud to support literacy and learning in the Highland Central School District, and we look forward to continuing this tradition for years to come.”