Press Release: 03-09-2012

Students at Oakdale Elementary School had quite the incentive to brush up on their arithmetic skills during a recent Math-A-Thon at the school. In addition to working to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, students also had the goal of seeing their principal receive a less-than-glamorous makeover.

As part of the annual Math-A-Thon, Oakdale Principal, Mr. John Samuelian, promised students he would dye his hair green if they raised $4,000 to benefit the hospital. The incentive was enough to get students to sharpen their pencils and get to work securing pledges, as they completed thousands of math problems.

In the end, they fell short of the goal, raising slightly more than $3,300, but Mr. Samuelian didn’t disappoint. His makeover came during a recent assembly, where students who raised the most money had a chance to personally dye the principal’s hair.

“Based on their efforts, and the fact that this was such a great cause, I decided to let them dye my hair anyway,” said Mr. Samuelian. “Students really loved it, and they knew they were helping boys and girls at the hospital through their work.”

St. Jude Math-A-Thon is a fundraising program that supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The program includes a math supplement for grades K-8 that students complete while raising funds for St. Jude. Oakdale students have participated in the Math-A-Thon since 1987, raising more than $35,000 through the years.

Email Contact: nalajakis@wps60.org

Ms. Samuelian