Here's an unlikely grouping for you: this holiday season, you can buy a raffle ticket to win an iPad at a gathering based around Christmas trees—all to potentially fund Nintendo Wiis for Reading Public Schools students.

Well, the money won't necessarily be used to fund Wii systems, but the Reading Technology in Education Foundation will use the funds to pay for technology in the classroom not normally covered by the district's budget.

In the past, that has included Wii systems to combat childhood obesity in middle school students, but it has also paid for digital recorders for a high school journalism program and architectural design software .

"Last year, we raised $10,000, far short of the $52,000 that the teachers requested," said Debbie Boschetti, the organization's president.

In an effort to better fund those requests, the foundation has stepped up its fundraising. Each year for the past nine years, the foundation has hosted the Festival of Trees. The event, held on the first weekend in December (the 4th and 5th this year), features a large collection of artificial Christmas trees, decorated and donated by local families and businesses. Participants in the event purchase raffle tickets for the tree or trees they would like to take home, and, at the end of the day, the organization picks a winner of each tree.

This year, however, the Festival of Tress will also feature a raffle drawing to win an Apple iPad. Tickets are on sale at The Hitching Post, Olde Redding Butcher Shoppe, P&S Convenience Store and Elite Fitness Center. Tickets cost $10 for one or $20 for three.

The winning raffle ticket will be drawn at the 9th annual Festival of Trees at 5 pm, December 5th at Parker Middle School.

Boschetti said the group also has another fundraiser this year: it's selling bricks. Each brick, which costs $99, will be engraved with text chosen by the purchaser and be installed in Reading Memorial High School's Memorial Hall.

She said the group has sold 100 of the bricks so far, and aims to sell a total of 1,000.

Grants the group funded last year:

Reading Memorial High School

• 30 Digital Voice Recorders for "This Reading Life" Project
• Smart Camera
• CAD Technology to create architectural and civil engineering design models
• Smart Document Camera

Coolidge Middle School

• 15 iPod Nanos with docking/charging station
• Netbook MSI Computer, with the Windows Pro 7 upgrade

Parker Middle School

• Two Smart Document Cameras
• Averpen Starter Pack
• Creative Live web cam, microphones, flip cameras, battery pack
• Three Wii Sports Bundles

Wood End School

• Two Graphic Tablets

Killam Elementary School

• 33 MP3 Players

Total funded - $16,551