Math-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude

— Northside Elementary School students kicked off the annual Math-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

St. Jude is the largest children’s cancer research center in the world. The daily operating costs for St. Jude are nearly $1.4 million, which is primarily covered by public contributions, according the organization. No family is ever turnedaway because of a family’s inability to pay.

The Math-A-Thon allows students to improve their math skills while helping others. Students participating in the Math-A-Thon will ask family and friends to sponsor them by pledging a donation amount.

They will complete an age-appropriate book of math problems or they can work math problems online. After completing the math problems, students will collect the donations from their sponsors.

The school has set a goalto earn $1,000 to $1,200 for St. Jude.

“That’s a lot of money for little kids to earn, but you can do it,” third grade teacher Bobbi Watcher told the students.

Students earning more than $25 will get prizes, and the school will hold a special pizza party for all students who participate in the Math-A-Thon.

Parents are asked to watch for consent forms to come home in their children’s backpacks, and community members can help by sponsoring a child.

School News, Pages 10 on 02/10/2010