Kindergarten books donated by Kottich Memorial Fund
By Caitlin Cooper
For the second year in a row, every kindergarten student in Falls City, NE (both at Sacred Heart and public school) received a brand new book from the Scholastic Spring Book Fair. These books were donated as a gift in memory of Diana Kottich, who passed away in December 2014 after losing a battle with ovarian cancer.
Diana was a teacher with the public school system for several years and taught at a variety of levels from sixth grade down to kindergarten. She spent the last part of her career teaching kindergarten, and the young students held a special place in her heart. Diana had a passion for reading and felt it was important to pass it on to her students.
“We are very fortunate that Steve Kottich continues to keep Diana’s love of reading alive through the young students at both Sacred Heart and Falls City Public,” Sacred Heart librarian Angela Simon said. Each child gets to choose a book from a selection that students are able to read and comprehend at the kindergarten level. Libraries at both locations benefit from funds provided by the program based on the profit of the sales.
On Thursday, April 7, 2016 Simon, along with Steve Kottich (husband of the late Diana and an alum of Sacred Heart), SH Language Arts instructor Erin Waller (Diana’s daughter), preschooler Stella Waller (Diana’s granddaughter) and SH kindergarten teacher Linda Barnhill distributed the books to the students.
“My favorite part about receiving a book was taking a picture with my class and Mr. Kottich,” kindergarten student Adrian Coetzee said. “I picked the Nic Bishop book about spiders. I love the book and like that I can read it myself.”
This year a total of 63 books were donated to Falls City students on behalf of the Diana Kottich Memorial Fund.
