“Awesome,” “surprised,” “exciting,” and “wonderful,” are some of the words used by third graders at Cascade View Elementary to describe a special visit and gifts they received from Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Oct. 27.

Kiwanis representatives Carlos De Imus and Joe Larson visited the class to bring them gifts of new dictionaries, one for every third grader in the school and their teachers. Kiwanis donated dictionaries at all five elementary schools, as well as to the district’s Parent Partnership Program, for a total of 586 new dictionaries.

“This is so cool,” said one third grader, as students were instructed to put their names in their books. During the presentations, students were challenged to look up new facts and to share their favorite words. Mississippi was the favorite in three out of the four classes at Cascade View.

Teachers in third and fourth grades design lessons around the students using the dictionaries to hone their research skills.

The donation of dictionaries to all third graders in the district is a long-standing Kiwanis tradition that school children have cherished through the years.

“I remember when my kids got their dictionaries in third grade. They are in their 20s now, and they still have them!” said Cascade View Principal Ray Wilson, who helped pass out the dictionaries.