By Mary O’KEEFE

Third graders from Valley View Elementary had a busy morning on Sept. 10.

The students in the classes of Lisa Jenks and Christine Aroyan started their morning with a trip to the cafeteria where they were presented with a free dictionary by members of the Elks Lodge in Glendale as part of the Elks Dictionary Project. The organization donates hundreds of dictionaries to local third graders throughout the Glendale Unified School District each year. Members donated 38 to the Valley View third graders.

Elk members Frank Virgallito and Tommy Eneberg handed the dictionaries out and took the opportunity to talk to the kids about making good choices.

The kids were excited as they looked through the dictionaries discovering new words.

Then Glendale Police Officers Joe Allen and Sue Shine walked into the cafeteria; actually Allen rarely enters a room quietly. At one point it was difficult to tell who was more excited – the kids or Allen.

Allen and Shine were visiting the class as part of a 9/11 presentation. Each year on or near Sept. 11 Allen visits classrooms to read a book the students had chosen. This year they chose two books, one for Allen to read and one for Shine.

“Not all super heroes wear capes,” Allen began.

“Spiderman …The Hulk … Captain America …” the kids yelled out.

“And what about Daredevil?” Allen asked.

The kids agreed.

Allen then read “Police Officers on Patrol.”

The outreach was a way to get kids comfortable with police officers. Both Allen and Shine shared stories of what they do when they are on patrol and how they work as an officer. They answered questions about their uniforms and the tools they use.

The kids presented the pair with a handmade poster depicting drawings of each child and thanking the officers for what they do to keep them safe.

Shine then backed the patrol vehicle into the school’s parking lot and the kids got to crawl in and all around.

  Mary Okeefe