Dictionary giveaway spreads the word about learning

Fourth-grade students at Prairie Park School couldn’t say the longest word in the English language, but they got a good look at it Thursday morning.

The word is printed on the last page of the dictionaries the 66 students received courtesy of the Lawrence Breakfast Optimist Club and the school’s business partner, Capitol Federal Savings.

Prairie Park fourth-grader T.J. McDowell accepts a dictionary from Deborah Johnston, vice president and branch manager of Capitol Federal Savings. Johnston teamed up with the Lawrence Breakfast Optimist Club on Thursday to deliver the dictionaries to students at the school.

“If you need to know a definition or any information, you’ll have your very own dictionaries to look it up in,” Prairie Park principal David Williams said while speaking to the fourth-graders.

As students received dictionaries with their names written in them, they flipped through the books, looking up words and pointing out special features like a sign language chart.

Samantha Gantz, 9, worked to form the letters in sign language.

“This is really cool for me because I know someone who knows sign language, and now I can learn,” she said. “This also will be good to look up words and stuff.”

It was the third year the Breakfast Optimists have been involved with the project, said club member Dick Holzmeister. In the first year, the club distributed dictionaries to third-graders at now-closed East Heights School.

“Last year, we distributed almost 900 dictionaries in Lawrence and Eudora,” Holzmeister said. “And we’re doing the same again this year.”

In addition to Prairie Park, the club’s members have distributed dictionaries at Wakarusa Valley, New York, Pinckney and Eudora elementary schools.

video 6News video: Optimists’ club donates dictionaries to schoolsphoto Audio: Dick Holzmeister wih the Lawrence Optimist Breakfast club, part 1photo Audio: Dick Holzmeister wih the Lawrence Optimist Breakfast Club, part 2photo Audio: David Williams, principal of Prairie Park Elementary School

The reference books come from the Dictionary Project, a nonprofit organization based in Charleston, S.C., that works to improve reading ability and comprehension for all children. Since 1999, the Dictionary Project has distributed about 1.3 million dictionaries nationwide. Last year, 12,123 dictionaries were distributed in Kansas through the program.

Holzmeister said the dictionaries given to students were purchased for about $1.45 each. The total cost is about $1,300.

Call it the ultimate tongue twister. The longest word in the English language is the technical, scientific name for tryptophan synthetase, a protein enzyme made up of 267 amino acids. The word has 1,913 letters depending on the reference.Here’s the word:methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylgluta-minylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylproly-lphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamyl-glutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylala-nylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylpheny-lalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglut-aminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalan-ylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamyl-methionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreo-nylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylaspara-ginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamyl-phenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspar-tylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylala-nylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylaspar-aginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylasp-artylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalany-lseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginyl-alanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanyl-leucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyl-tyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalan-ylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisol-eucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylal-anylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginy-lisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysyl-valylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylar-ginylserine