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For the past seven years, the students at C .J. Hooker Middle School have participated in the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Math-a-thon.

During the first five years, only eighth grade students participated in this event. Two years ago, the entire school got involved in order to increase the amount of money raised. This year, students raised more $15,000, bringing the grand total over the past seven years to well over $50,000.

In order to raise money, students solicited pledges to work on age-appropriate math problems from a workbook that is specially designed by the people at St. Jude. Upon completion of the workbook, which contained more than 250 math problems, the students collect their pledge money.

Students who raised specific amounts of money received prizes, including a St. Jude T-shirt and backpack, a pass to Six Flags Great Adventure and assorted electronic devices, such as radios, stereo headphones, CD players and cordless phones. This year, the sixth grade raised $6,287.80, the seventh raised $4,251.68, and the eighth grade raised $4,630.70.

The sixth grade teachers involved in the Math-a-thon were Mr. Dornfest, Miss Scanlon, and Mrs. Mesic; seventh grade, Miss Bradshaw and Mrs. Hansen; and eighth grade, Mr. Guarneiri and Miss Rueckert.

With the help provided from the Math-a-thon, doctors and scientists at St. Jude Research Hospital will be able to create new treatments that may one day lead to a cure for many forms of cancer.