At my last school, it was a very big deal to get to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. During morning announcements the principal introduces the student says why he/she won (AR goal met, etc.) then hands the phone over to the student to say the pledge.

Insider Tips: Print out the pledge in a very large font and tape it on the wall next to the phone/microphone. It's surprising how easy it is to forget when you're nervous! Also, since several students may win the prize at the same time, the school secretary keeps a calendar on her desk with students' names on the date they're scheduled to lead.

[ 09-12-2006, 08:57 AM: Message edited by: CrewChief ]

Hello,
I don't know how much time you're working with but oriental trading has some nice items at low prices. You can view their catolog and place your order over the internet. The web address is www.orientaltrading.com. I purchase a lot of stuff for myself and the organizations I work with.

cost-less prizes:

homework pass
principal for an hour
extra recess time
free student store coupon
first in line in cafeteria for a week
etc

We have a "toy drive" and ask for "gently used" toys then use them for prizes.

Check w/local businesses. We had a local bowling alley give us a big stack of free passes, a local movie theatre gave us a stack of movie passes- you could check w/ skating rinks, ice cream parlors, movie/game rental places, museums, arcades, etc. Middle school kids can be kinda hard to please as far as prizes go. They seem to like those bracelets w/sayings on them, like the "Live Strong" types. Oriental Trading has those w/lots of different sayings... things that glow in the dark..?
I really like the book table idea... we might steal that for our literacy month... not to get distracted, but does anyone celebrate Dr. Suess's birthday? (Literacy Month is Sept. & I missed it, but I was thinking about March for it b/c of Dr.S's bday)

Ok we have got the lower grades figured out for the prizes, now need some ideas for the upper elementary kids Let me know