April 11, 2008

Dear Linden Community School Staff members,

On behalf of the Linden Community Educational Foundation, we would like to provide you with a brief status on some of our current and upcoming activities.

On March 19 the Foundation sponsored the First Annual Battle of the Books Championship for the Linden School district. Battle of the Books is a national reading incentive program that encourages students to discover the joy of reading by introducing books in a wide variety of reading levels and genres. Readers from Central Elementary, Linden Elementary and Hyatt Elementary participated in three rounds of competition. Students prepared for weeks by reading 30 books from an assigned reading list. During the competition teams were asked questions regarding the books and awarded points for naming the correct title and author. Each student received an individual medal and Marsha Strobel accepted the championship trophy on behalf of the Lightning Readers from Hyatt Elementary. Silver and bronze medals were awarded to the Bookaneers of Linden Elementary and the Rockin’ Readers from Central Elementary respectively. The program was well received by the students, parents, coaches and many others who contributed to the event.

The Foundation also awarded over $2,500 of mini-grants in the November and February timeframe and will award two $500 scholarships to class of 2008 graduating seniors.

Plans for our annual Silent Auction & Dinner are currently underway. The committee is planning on a February 2009 date for the event. Additional details will be shared in the near future. Anyone interested in volunteering to work on the auction should contact Kristen Bond at (810) 692-9513 or Molly Kuhl at (586) 995-1845.

Sincerely,

Klari Frederick – Chairperson

Nancy Smitz – Vice Chairperson

Kristen Bond – Treasurer

Debbie Brindle – Member

Lynda Droulard – Member

Sheri Bloomfield – Member

Elaine Porter – Member (Board of Education President)

Dr. Elizabeth Leonard – Member (Superintendent of Linden Schools)