Oak Grove Elementary School students have been completing math equations in their Funbooks (“like a comic book with math problems,” according to Oak Grove math teacher Kim Sharp) and collecting donations from family, friends and neighbors over winter break to turn in when they return to school on Monday, Jan. 2, 20121.

Donations can be made in connection with an Oak Grove student, or general donations can be made to the school, by dropping them off at Oak Grove between Monday, Jan. 2 and Thursday, Jan. 12 or online on the Oak Grove page at mathathon.org, according to Sharp.

The Math-a-Thon helps to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. From the Math-a-Thon website:

For more than 30 years, Math-A-Thon has been America’s largest education-based fundraiser. Math-A-Thon is a free, education-based fundraising program for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The program includes a free math curriculum supplement for grades K-8 that students complete after obtaining sponsorships from family and friends. The funds raised by the students benefit St. Jude, where doctors and scientists work to eradicate childhood cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.

St. Jude designed Math-A-Thon to supplement a teacher’s existing curriculum, while also teaching students the importance of helping others. To participate, students ask family and friends for pledges to solve math problems in the Math-A-Thon Funbook.

The Funbook contains a curriculum developed by Scholastic, the world’s leader in educational technology and children’s media. Each Funbook level meets national standard requirements that will help your students practice and prepare for standardized testing.