NEW SHARON – An entire school is on board for a Friday supper to benefit a classmate undergoing treatment for a rare disease.

Cape Cod Hill students are helping the staff sponsor a spaghetti supper to be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday at the school, said school secretary Lisa Panori.

Fourth-grader Andrew Gifford, 9, has been suffering from Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis since the summer of 2007, said grandfather and guardian Cary Gifford.

“Andrew has too many white blood cells that are attacking his own body,” Cary Gifford said.

Normally, the white blood cells, called Langerhans cells, reside in the skin and help fight infections, but with the disease, they accumulate on bones and other parts of the body, particularly the head and neck, according to the Children’s Hospital Boston Web site.

At the end of the 2007 school year, Andrew came home with a bump on his head. An active 8-year-old, he didn’t think much about it but it didn’t go away, his grandfather said.

A red spot developed on the top of his head and his hair started to fall out. Diagnosed with LCH, Andrew underwent major surgery in July 2007 to repair lesion damage to his skull.

Tests came back benign and they thought it was over until March 2008 when Andrew complained that the side of his head hurt when he lay on his pillow, Gifford said.

Another lesion had formed on the side of his head, but this one was caught sooner and he went back for another surgery in April. A section of the skull was removed and replaced with a plate. Three weeks later he woke up with his back hurting and testing revealed problems with the spine, rib and shoulder blade.

The youngster was put on high doses of steroids before beginning chemotherapy treatments at the Children’s Cancer Center in Scarborough this past summer. He has several more months of the year-long treatment to undergo but will get testing Monday to find out how things are going, Gifford said.

Andrew, who enjoys four-wheeling and playing video games, tries to attend school as much as he can. The treatments cause fatigue and achy joints.

“He’s really smart and was never sick, but now he’s had two lousy summers,” Cary Gifford said.

A salesman working for Tuttle’s Auto in New Sharon, Gifford has been unable to work most of the summer while caring for his grandson. The bills haven’t stopped, he said, while expressing his appreciation for the efforts the students and staff are undertaking with the supper.

Each grade has been designated to bring an item for the meal that will include spaghetti, salads, juices, desserts, bread and rolls, Panori said. Maple Hill Farm and Douin’s Market have donated hamburger for the meat sauce, although there will also be meatless sauce, she said.

The meal will cost $5 per person or $20 per family.

The school, housing grades K-6 with 199 students, will also accept donations for the Giffords. Donations may be mailed to Cape Cod Hill School, 516 Cape Cod Hill Road, New Sharon, ME 04955.