Penny Wars at school

Penny Wars is a fundraiser that has been going on at the Haakon School District for several years. This year it is during Homecoming week – Sept. 17 through Sept. 21.

This is a community service project put on by Morgan Cantrell and Samantha Fillingim. The previous years the money has been donated to various ends, such as Red Cross relief funds and local families’ medical bills. This year the project will again help someone locally, and be donated to the Pedro Dennis Memorial Foundation. Participating in the penny wars competition is a way of supporting the Dennis family.

The rules of penny wars are that each kindergarten through 12th grade class and the school staff have separate jars that they will put pennies into. Pennies are positive points to their class.

If anyone’s class jar receives nickels, dimes, quarters or dollar bills, that amount is negative points and deducted from the class’s positive points. For example, say you had 10 pennies in your jar and then someone put a dime in your jar, your class points would be at zero.

At the end of the homecoming week which will be Friday, Sept. 21, Cantrell and Fillingim will collect the jars in the mid-morning from both offices to be counted and declare the winner of the high school and elementary and staff. The winner from each section will get to choose what the planner covers look like for the next school year for their section.

The community is encouraged to join in on the fundraiser. If anyone wants to donate pennies, or any other type of money, whether they have a student in school or not, they may bring their donation to the school offices to be put into the jar of the grade of their choice.