Dear
Parent,
As
you will remember from our discussion during last months all-parents
meeting, our
school is again participate in the Great American
SpellCheck—and this year we need to make it a key
fundraising activity in the life of our St. John’s community. Students from First through Eighth Grades. Now that the children have had a month to collect pledges, each family should by now each have a long list. If you need additional pledge form a PDF is attached to this posting.
The
Great American SpellCheck is designed
to be a program that erases objections many parents have to traditional
fund-raisers. It makes sure 100% of the money raised benefits our
school,
involves no students knocking on the doors of strangers, and is rooted
in
academics. One PTA president whose school used spelling to raise $6,000
said it
“is now our No. 1 fund-raiser” (Wall Street Journal, March 29,
2007).
Here’s how it works: Your child studies 50
spelling words and collects pledges from family and friends for every
word that
he or she spells correctly on the Great
American SpellCheck 50-word test. Your child improves his or her
spelling
skills and our school enjoys the financial benefits!
Our
goal is to raise $10,000 - $20,000.00 for our school’s strategic plans
and
development.
Here is the Great American SpellCheck fund-raising
timeline:
• Friday, February 4th,
2011: Students
begin in earnest to study the words appearing on their Great
American
SpellCheck Study Words sheets. Also, students collect pledges from
family and
friends. We hope every student can
collect at least $200.00 worth of potential
pledges—but some families have
shown that far more is possible!
• Monday, February 28th,
2011: Students
must return pledge sheets to School Official/Teacher.
• Tuesday, March 1st,
2011: We
will conduct the Great American SpellCheck.
• Wednesday, March 2nd,
2011: Teachers
send home with each participating student the student’s graded test
and pledge
form.
• Friday, March 18th,
2011: This
is the deadline for supporters to return their pledged funds.
• Friday, March 25th,
2011: This
is the day when we plan to treat/activity/honor for the top
class/grade /scorers/fund-raisers.
We
ask that you:
• Help your child learn to spell correctly the 50 Great American
SpellCheck
study words.
• Indicate your level of
support on the Great American SpellCheck Pledge Form (attached). Also,
ask
family and friends to make pledges.
• Ensure that your child
returns the pledge form to their homeroom teacher by Monday, February 28th,
2011.
I
hope you share my excitement about your child’s participation
in the Great American SpellCheck. Together we can encourage strong
spelling
skills and help our school meet its fundraising needs.
Sincerely,
St. John’s Administration