News
The champions of Bottineau
Scott Wagar
04/23/2013
Bottineau’s third grade class can be proud. The students participated in St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital’s Math-a-Thon and raised so much money they broke an all time record for third graders in the Bottineau School District.
“The class of 2022 is the highest raising 3rd grade class for St. Jude’s fundraiser. They raised $3,295 this school year,” said Angie Radtke, third grade teacher in Bottineau’s school district and director of Bottineau’s St. Jude’s Math-a-Thon. “Kaleb Wintermute raised a total of $500. He said his goal was to raise $500 dollars for the children of St. Jude Hospital. Kaleb worked very hard to accomplish this goal.”
The class which held the record was last year’s third graders, the class of 2021, which raised $2,675 last school year. Overall, Bottineau Elementary School has raised a total of $15,973 since 1993.
The money will now be donated to St. Jude’s, a health and research facility that cares for children with cancer and other life threatening diseases regardless of their families’ ability to pay.
The St. Jude’s Math-a-Thon event was started by Mavis Hagen, a teacher in the Bottineau school system who lost her life to cancer. Each spring, the third grade teachers (Radtke, Karen Brandvold and Heather Kersten) participate in the Math-a-Thon with their students in honor of Hagen; and, in hopes of raising enough money to assist in finding a cure for cancer.
During a number of weeks in March, Bottineau’s third graders went through the community of Bottineau to raise money for the Math-a-Thon with a goal of raising $1,000. However, the kids more than tripled their goal.
The Math-a-Thon, which is celebrating a special anniversary year in 2013, includes a math syllabus free of charge that assists students in grades K through eight throughout the nation in their math skills. Prior to the students completing the St. Judes’ Math-a-Thon Funbook, they had to go out and obtain sponsorships from family, friends and the community.
“This year, Math-a-Thon will be celebrating 30 years of helping children in the fight against cancer and in helping students conquer math. More than 12,000 schools across the country will give their students that extra chance to learn by participating in the program,” stated St. Jude’s webpage on the Math-a-Thon. “The funds raised by the students benefit St. Jude, where doctors and scientists work to eradicate childhood cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases.”
Radtke is very excited for the tremendous job the third grade class did in raising money for St. Jude’s, and, to be continuing Hagen’s work with St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital.
“We are so proud to continue this giving tradition for such a good cause,” Radtke said.