Students at St. Joseph School in Cuyahoga Falls raised more than $1,300 for Open Arms Adoption through the third annual Penny War fundraiser.
Each year, a friendly competition takes place among the grades to raise money for a local nonprofit organization. During the first week of the Penny War, students add pennies to their grade’s plastic bank. The goal is to collect the most pennies. However, during the second week, students from opposing grades can add silver coins and bills to any of the banks, which are then deducted from their penny count. The grade with the most pennies after the silver and bills are deducted is the winner.
This year’s $1,300 tally made it the school’s largest Penny War. For the second consecutive year, the seventh grade had the most pennies, but the third grade bank collected the most money.
St. Joseph School offers preschool through eighth grade.
It has been named both a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence for its academics and a Purple Star School for its dedication to families in the military. In addition to traditional subjects, the school offers art, music, band, physical education, Spanish and technology. The curriculum includes X-STREAM learning which like STEM, integrates content subject areas into cohesive learning projects based on real-world applications.
St. Joseph also collaborates with neighbors including Kent State University, University Hospitals, Millapore Sigma, University of Akron and Snapology to provide hands-on discovery across all grade levels.
Father Jared Orndorff is pastor and Carrie DePasquale is the school principal.