Students in Miss Fischer's Advisory class with the many boxes of pennies to take to the bank.
For two weeks we held a Penny War here at Seward Middle School, all proceeds to go to Doctors Without Borders in Haiti (the students voted on this). Here is how the penny war worked: Each class had a container. You add pennies to your container and get 1 point per penny. Other classes add other coins, cash and even checks to your container to subtract points. Whoever is the least negative in the end wins.
The students were really into this cause. One student took it upon herself to go around to businesses and neighbors and in one night raised over $300. Fueled by her success, other students went out and got checks from businesses. Another student made a presentation at the Moose Pass Sportsmans Association and because of her they donated $200 to each of the three Seward school for the Haiti fund raising. People from the community came by the school and literally dropped off buckets of pennies. Allison Barnwell from the high school brought us some donations and we got a jar of change from Mrs. Carrs elementary school class. We also got Major Marine Tours to sponsor a free boat trip for the top two winning classes and we were able to get a matching donation for $300 from an anonymous donor.
The students have worked really hard counting and rolling the coins. All totaled we had 50 rolls of quarters, 90 rolls of dimes, 79 rolls of nickels, and an amazing (and very heavy) 1315 rolls of pennies. If anyone ever doubts that pennies do add up, we have the proof. With an average weekly income in Haiti of $2.00, or four rolls of pennies, handling all those rolls helped the students to see that they really can make a meaningful impact in someones life.
The final total is $3707 that we raised for Haiti relief. If you see a middle school student around, please congratulate them and let them know how proud you are of what they accomplished. And thank you once again to everyone who assisted us.
~Miss Fischer, SWMS
Pennies Really Do Add Up!!!
By: Ruth Powell and Hunter Broughton, students at Seward Middle School
As many of you know the country Haiti was hit with a brutal earthquake that destroyed homes and buildings and killed over 100,000 in 60 seconds. But most of all it left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless and in need. Miss. Fischer got the great idea of helping the people of Haiti and we decided to do a Penny War! Each Advisory brought in bucket loads of pennies and also brought in silver coins and dollars to put in other peoples advisory containers to bring their points down. There are six people named Marina, Kara, Victoria, Corianne, Jack & Hunter who did more than what was asked. Marina Carpenter in the eighth grade was the first to go door to door raising money for Haiti. In the end, she raised over three hundred dollars!!! Victoria DeGroot and Corianne Douglas worked as a team in hopes of beating Marinas three hundred dollar donation, but only made it to around two hundred, but nonetheless they raised a lot of money to help our cause. In addition to the money raised by students, Kara Knotek physically went to the Moose Pass Sportsman Association and received a six hundred dollar donation!!! Go Kara! Jack and Hunter hit up their relatives for donations of around $130.
The final scores for the six advisories are now revealed. Mr. Hersruds advisory and Mrs. Youngs advisory won the Penny War and will be going on a boat trip for their hard work. You guys did great, hope you have fun!
1) Young
2) Hersrud
3) Liljemark
4) Van Driessche/ Beck
5) Hammer
6) Fischer
The whole school raised a total of $3707 dollars so we could help the people of Haiti. We will be giving the money to a program called Doctors Without Borders. We got a total of $500 dollars in quarters, $450 dollars in dimes, $158 dollars in nickels and $657.50 in penniesthat is 1315 rolls of pennies, which is quite heavy!.
Mr. Hersruds advisory along with Mrs. Youngs advisory won because they got the least negative amount for money against them. Although Miss. Fischers advisory was the most negative in points, they did raise the most pennies (over 500 rolls) and more money then any other advisory. Great job everyone and thank you to all those in the community for their generosity and support.!!
