'Penny Wars' raises $380 for charity

St. Mary's School began a weeklong "Penny Wars," sponsored by the PTO recently.

The Penny Wars were held between grade levels preschool through 8th grade. Each grade level had their own container displayed in the school library. Students were encouraged in bring in pennies and dollars each day to help their class raise the most points.

Penny Wars has a catch to it, though. While the pennies and cash were worth positive points, any silver change in their containers would take away from the total amount. Students brought pennies and cash for their own jars while bringing in silver coins to place in the jars of other classes.

At the end of the week, the 8th Grade was announced as the winning class with over 10,000 points. The 7th Grade class came in second and the 3rd grade class came in third. As the winners of Penny Wars, the 8th Grade class won a pizza and ice cream party during the last week of school, as well as the honor of choosing a charity to which 50 percent of the profits would be donated.

As a result of the Penny Wars, $380 will be donated by St. Mary's PTO to the James Brockmeyer Memorial Foundation in honor of the St. Mary's 8th Grade.