Rosemary Clarke Middle School students learn about Constitution through Rotary program

Thanks to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Rotary Club of Pahrump, two students and two teachers at Rosemary Clarke Middle School recently earned themselves a healthy financial shot in the arm, after expressing their personal thoughts and feelings about the cherished document.

Last month, a few Rotarians visited the school to present two $100 checks and two $100 gift cards to the instructors and students as part of a project designed for middle school students to become more well versed with the U.S. Constitution, according to the Rotary’s Community Ambassador Dina Erdag.

“In mid-December, 2020, Pahrump Rotary delivered 800 pocket guides of the U.S. Constitution to the seventh and eighth grade students at Rosemary Clarke Middle School,” Erdag said. “As an incentive to use the guide and learn about the U.S. Constitution, Rotary offered the students an opportunity to win a $100 gift card by creating an essay or project that reflected what they had learned from reading the pocket guide.”

After reviewing the students’ assignments, Pahrump Rotary Club members convened, judged, and selected what they believed were the best submissions from each grade level.

As a result, seventh grader Haily Dobson and eighth grader Analise Veloz triumphed over their fellow classmates to earn their gift cards, while seventh grade teacher Sarah Barron and eighth grade teacher Lori Odegard were gifted with $100 checks for their instructional efforts related to the project.

Both students were also bestowed with certificates of recognition.

Erdag, meanwhile, noted that in 2004, a legislative bill was signed, which created a law to teach the U.S. Constitution in federally funded schools.

“Pahrump Rotary can help ensure our children know the principles of liberty and prosperity by providing that each seventh and eighth grade student at Rosemary Clarke Middle School has a personal copy of the U.S. Constitution Pocket Guide,” she said. “The U.S. Constitution is more than just a piece of paper, because along with the Declaration of Independence, it is the pillar of our nation and the true meaning of our rights, and the vital constitutional amendments that protect those rights.”

“Anytime you have an organization that comes to a school and wants to support and challenge the students to do community service, but also expand their education, you can’t beat that,” said Principal Tim Wombaker. “Anytime you can get the kids to start thinking about the U.S. Constitution, about history, and just giving them the opportunity to expand more on what they already know, is a good thing and we are very grateful to the Pahrump Rotary Club for initiating this project.”

Pahrump Rotary Club’s President-elect Eddie Williams spoke about how the project came into fruition.

“We believe that it’s very important for the students to understand the basis of our government,” Williams noted. “We gave them over 800 Pocket Constitution Guides about three months ago and we asked the principal and teachers to work with students about developing a project on understanding of the U.S. Constitution, and we felt that it was very, very important for them to understand that process. Our current president, Roy Mankins thought we should do something to help teach the students about the U.S. Constitution.

“Back in February, Pahrump Rotarians donated more than 2,500 books to all of the students in the Pahrump elementary school system as part of the organization’s “Together We Read” program, where a teacher and student received $100 and $50 respectively, after winning a book report assignment as part of the project.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes