Author: Anna Soland

Mistral Elementary Read-a-thon: January 30–February 12

How to participate:

• Starting on Monday, January 30, begin tracking your reading on the provided tracking sheet. COPY OF TRACKING SHEET
• Return your tracking sheet to your teacher on Monday, February 13.
• Friday, February 3: Read-a-thon Spirit Day! Dress like a favorite character from a book!

Individual Prizes:

BRONZE PRIZE: Read 200 minutes total (100 Spanish + 100 English) à Treat at local store
SILVER PRIZE: Read 400 minutes total (200 Spanish + 200 English) àTreat at local store and a book

Class Prizes:

GOLD PRIZE: 70% of the class participates à Teacher choice
PLATINUM PRIZE: Top three classes with the highest participation à Ms. O class takeover

Commonly asked questions:

• Do I have to read in both English and Spanish? Yes. You should track reading in English and Spanish. You will need to read both to win the prizes.
• Can I count reading done through Learning A-Z or other online reading websites? Absolutely!
• Can I read instead of doing my homework? Nope, class assignments always come first. However, any time your teacher gives you for extra reading beyond your normal assignments will count.
• Do I have to do my reading all in one sitting? Nope! Please read throughout the day and track all your minutes. Then you can total all your minutes on your tracking sheet for the day.
• What if I struggle to read independently right now? For those who are able, reading independently is encouraged. However, for emerging readers, books read aloud and audio books can be counted, as well as sight-word practice and phonics practice. All kids learn differently, and parents are best able to determine how their child learns and comprehends reading right now.
• How do I find the right book? Your teacher can help but a good rule of thumb is to count unknown words on a random page. If there are only a few (less thane5) words that you don’t know then it’s a “just right” book! If there are more than 5 unknown words on the page, it’s a “not right now” book. You can also find book lists and recommendations at https://mistral-pta.org/how-to-find-the-right-book/
• Who can I reach out to with a question or for help? The Read-A-Thon is being organized by the Mistral Parent Teacher Association (PTA). If you have any questions, please contact mistralptaevents@gmail.com.
• How can I submit my minutes? Turn in the tracking sheet to your teacher on Monday, February 13. Please ensure names are legible.

Prepare for the Read-a-thon

Looking for ways you can encourage literacy in your home or help your child find that “just right” book? Check out these resources prepared by the Mistral PTA Literacy Enrichment Committee:
How to Find the Right Book
How to Promote Literacy in your Home
Guest Reader Videos from 2021

Bookmark design contest!

Congratulations to the winners of Mistral’s first bookmark competition! We had lots of excellent submissions and it was tough for our judges, Ms. O and Ms. Love, to make the final determination. The winning bookmarks will be distributed during the Mistral Readathon, January 30-February 12. Thanks for all the submissions and excitement for our school!

What is the Walkathon?

Mistral PTA Walkathon is our community’s biggest fundraising event of the year. All proceeds from this joint PTA-sponsored event go directly towards student field-trips, school library books, school gardens and other classroom enrichment programs for both of our schools. Individual student pledges will be allocated to each student. We hope this shared community fundraiser will be an opportunity for everyone to gather and enjoy the afternoon while supporting our school.

A little more about our Walkathon (WAT)… Students are encouraged to raise money by collecting pledges from friends and family for walking laps around the school field. Students can collect cash or check using our paper sponsor form or online by sharing their custom web page . More information on both options below.  At the Mistral WAT students are able to make a concrete contribution to the school while having fun by being active and building community.

• Event date: Friday, November 4, 2022 – 12:15pm
• We need the entire Mistral community to make it a success!
• Lots of ways to help: volunteering or donating.

To put on this wonderful community event, we need an army of volunteers. Here are the teams that come together: Food, Field Logistics, Volunteer Recruiting, Lap Prizes, T-shirts, Lap Monitors,etc. Details about how to help out are posted on Konstella.

Permissions

Sign your child’s permission form online – a must for your child to participate!  Walkathon – Permissions English

99Pledges

99Pledges is our online WAT pledge system, which will allow Mistral students to request and collect pledges from friends and family who would like to donate online with a credit card or PayPal.  Each student can create a custom web page to share with potential donors via email or social media.  Donors simply click the child’s unique web page and make a pledge in a few easy steps.  Parents and kids can monitor progress toward their fundraising goals and easily send thank-you emails from the site. Go to 99pledges now!

This is a free online platform that allows your family to take full advantage of web and social media to make our Mistral Walkathon fundraiser more successful. Allowing for online donations can greatly increase the range your student has to ask for and accept donations!

How to register on 99Pledges:

1. Go to this link – https://app.99pledges.com/fund/mistral2022/addme
2. Enter your child’s name, enter your email(s), and select child’s class 
3. Click “Add” > this will take you to your newly created pledge page. 
4. Share your personal fundraising page with friends and family! 

Donation process:

When your friends and family open the link to your student’s donation page they will be able to make a secure online donation in your student’s name using a credit card.  Your student will be given immediate email notification of the donation and credit for the donation.  You can even send a thank you email right from your 99pledges page! Donations may be collected all the way through December! No personal student information will be on the pledge pages.  No photos and no last names! Donation pages are only visible to whomever you send your Mistral Pledge link to.

Walkathon T-shirts 

Walkathon T-shirts will be distributed in the student’s  classroom the morning of the walkathon. Did you donate $10 for your child’s t-shirt? If not, do so now! $10 WAT T-shirt Donation

Green WAT sponsor forms:

Those students who wish to use the hard-copy green sponsor form may absolutely do so!  Students may also submit a combination of online donations with the green sponsor form (remember to include checks and cash) to the Mistral office.  Extra forms are in the Mistral office.

99pledges FAQ:

Do donors need to log into Google or have a 99pledges account?
No.  Donors simply click the link that you share with them to be guided through a few simple screens to make a payment.

We can’t find our 99pledges URL to share.  What do we do?
Simply log in to My 99pledges and click the Share button to see your URL again.

I think I’ve found a “technical bug” in Mistral 99pldge.  What should I do?
Please report it by clicking on the green Help button on the bottom-right side of any 99pledges page.

How do I delete my child’s page?
If donations have been made to your child’s page, then we cannot delete the page until all accounting for the Walkathon is complete.  After that time, our 99pledges administrators will delete the page.  If no donations have come in from that page when you request to delete it, the 99pledges administrator can delete the page immediately.  

When will my credit card be charged?
Donors will be charged right away.  Funds will be available to Mistral to use within 3 days of donating!

Where can I find the link to my child’s page?
You will receive an email with the information.  Another way is to copy the link in the address bar after you’ve added your child to 99Pledges and have been directed to their personal page. The link is also located under the social media logos. 

Do sponsors need to leave a tip when they make a pledge? 
NO. 99Pledges makes it look like you have to leave a tip. You DO NOT. When making a donation, please choose “Other” and manually enter .0 and no tip will be added.