There are many ways the fourth-graders at the Pine Grove School raise funds for their weeklong trip next year to the environmental school in Maine. This month, the group is asking folks to fill their bellies with Texas toast and smokehouse sandwiches, all in the name of science and learning.

On Nov. 19 from 5 to 9 p.m., the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Danvers will be looking for patrons who carry in the special fundraising flier, which will secure a 10 percent donation to the Pine Grove School from their food purchases that evening. All proceeds will go toward the environmental camp trip. Contact Lisa Bettencourt at labettencourt@verizon.net for more information.

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Monday is the last day of the Scholastic Book Fair. Students will visit the fair during their regularly scheduled library times. Parents are welcome to join their children at that time.

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Congratulations to Pine Grove art teacher Jen Dubis, who was juried into the 65th Annual Members' Prize Show at Emerson College in October. The piece on display by Dubis, which was one of 50 chosen for this exhibition, was "Fearless Ignorance."

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There will be no school on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day.

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John Collyer's fifth-grade class of 20 students will take a walking field trip on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 9 a.m. to the Council on Aging to visit with their senior citizen pen pals. So far, the students have written an introductory letter about themselves to their pen pals, and they will correspond throughout the year with the seniors. The project culminates in the spring with a joint field trip.

According to Collyer, who has been coordinating this project for his classes for the last 17 years, this assignment¬ covers many of the state standards: parts of a friendly letter, making distinction in writing when writing for a different purpose and revising writing to improve level of detail, just to name a few.

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Thursday and Friday, Nov. 12 and 13, are school photo make-up or retake days. Sullivan Studios will be at the school from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on those days to take the photos.

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The third-graders in Alaina Lynch's classroom have been busy sharpening their math and letter skills by trying to find $100 words. Each letter in the alphabet is assigned an amount — A being $1, B being $2, all the way to Z, which is worth $26. The students think of words and spell them out and add up their "cost," trying for the ever-elusive $100 word. Pencilbox and pumpkin are some of the winning words so far.

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The school store will be open on Thursday and Friday mornings. Kindergartners through third-graders can attend on Thursday, and the store is open to fourth- through sixth-graders on Friday.

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The second annual Teamwork Trivia Night, hosted by the Rowley Public Education Fund, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Rowley VFW. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the trivia challenges begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. This popular event, which was sold out weeks ago, promises to raise thousands of dollars that will be put toward literary needs at the Pine Grove School.

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Michelle Pelletier Marshall covers Rowley and Merrimac elementary schools for The Daily News. She can be reached at marshallsinmass@comcast.net.