We can’t believe the Read-a-Thon is ending this Friday.  More than $7,500 has been raised from our first annual Read-a-Thon!!! Thank you, families, for your support of our children, our school, and thank you for your time participating in this. Be sure to log your children’s reading minutes on the Read-a-thon website. We will keep the site open until the end of June so families and friends who haven’t gotten the chance to donate will have time to do so. As a reminder, all the money we raise from this Read-a-Thon will go toward enrichments  for our children next year. Thanks again!

Check your email to see the latest prize winners! We will be in contact shortly with your prize. Congratulations!!!

Who’s in the lead?

Haven’t joined or donated? There’s still time!
Families, if you haven’t gotten the chance to register your readers or donate to this cause, it’s not too late. The competition for Read-a-Thon ends this Friday, but reading goes on!  You also have the chance to make donations until the end of June. 
How’s how to sign up:
1. Go to http://pledgestar.com/inquiry
2. Click “Not Registered For This Event”
3. Enter your name, email and password, then click “Submit”
4. Follow the instructions to register your child5. If you have any problems or questions, email fundraising.vp@bsipto.org

F.A.Q.
Q1: What is Read-A-Thon?
A1: Read-A-Thon is a school fundraising event. It promotes reading, literacy and instills good reading habits for children. Everyone benefits. 🙂

Q2: How does it work?
A2: Kids read anything parents approve of, anything associated with reading counts!:) Parents use this platform (http://pledgestar.com/inquiry) to record the minutes kids read and donate the money to BSI. School will tally up the minutes of each student and each class as we go. Each week there will be 3 individual winners who will be receiving prizes. At the end, there will be a grand prize given to the winning class. Parents, grandparents or any other sponsors can donate money to this event on this platform.

Q3: How can I encourage my kids to read more?
A3: There is a reward for reading!! 3 winners each week, chosen from the top 2 readers of each grade, and 1 lucky reader from all the readers for week 2 and week 3 are selected via Raffle. There will be a grand final prize for the winning grade. The winning grade with the highest average reading minutes during the entire 3 weeks of Read-A-Thon, will win an outdoor socially distanced pizza party!!

Q4: How do I donate and who can sponsor?
A4: There will be a “Donate Now” button on the Pledgestar website. Anyone can sponsor this. It can be parents, grandparents, other relatives or anyone who wants to sponsor your child with this event.

Our annual BSI chess competition is taking place on March 21st, get your tickets today!

Don’t miss the virtual January PTO meeting on Monday January 25th at 7 p.m. View the agenda here and find the Zoom information in your email.

– The BSI PTO

Don’t miss the virtual December PTO meeting on December 10th at 7 p.m. View the agenda here and find the Zoom information in your email.

We deeply regret that the meeting occurs on the first night of Hannukah due to a communications error and will provide a recording of the meeting to those who are unable to attend.

– The BSI PTO

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!! 

After all the deals and specials of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, comes the importance of giving on Giving Tuesday. Starting at 8 a.m. EST  on Tuesday morning, December 1, Facebook is giving out $7 million in matching funds. 

Last year $7 million dollars was gone in the first 16 seconds! The money will go fast this year too, so please:

• set an alarm for 7:55 a.m. Tuesday  
• have your donation amount and payment info entered and
• click donate the moment the clock turns to 8 a.m.

Please donate right at 8 a.m. if you are able.

Together we can make a big difference in our children’s education. We are launching this year’s fundraising campaign, which raises money for the 2021-22 school year.  We hope to all be back in person in Bensonhurst, and we will want to fully fund our specialty teachers, teaching assistants and enrichment programs. Click here to go to our Facebook campaign and donate what you can to secure the matching dollars they are offering.

For the month of December, starting on Tuesday we are launching our 100% participation campaign. We are asking the entire community to come together and support our school at whatever level you are able, whether you can give $20.21 or $202.10 or $2021. We know many families have been impacted economically by the pandemic, so we just ask that you give as you are able. 

Of course, even if you are not on Facebook, Giving Tuesday is still a wonderful time to support the school. Remember, if you know what you are planning to give for the year, a very effective way to give is to set up a recurring donation on a schedule you choose. 

Lastly, don’t forget: if your company has a matching gift program, please submit your donation to be matched. You can double and sometimes even triple the amount of your gift to the school. 

Thank you for your generosity this Giving Tuesday!!