Penny wars
May 20, 2023
On the final day of Penny Wars, an undercover sophomore sneaks in to a classroom with just enough silver coins to knock the teacher off the top spot.
Penny Wars were hosted by the National Honor Society (NHS). The event tallied just short of $700 for Riley Children’s Hospital, and Mrs. Stephanie Senac’s class finished in 4th with $33.84. On the Podium, Mrs. Suni Gullery’s class had $37.35, Ms. Angela Aragon’s class with $42.07, and with the win, Mr. Jacob Rockey’s class finished with $87.67, an amount that doubled the second place finisher.
“This is the first year the NHS hosted Penny Wars. It is a pretty easy thing to handle, and other than the tallying totals, it is very low maintenance,” sophomore Isaac Apgar, NHS member, said.
Penny Wars is nearly an annual event in Greenwood schools. Elementary to high school, it is a fun way to raise money for a good cause. Dollar bills and pennies counted positively; however, silver coins count as negative points. All bills and coins were worth their face value. Dollar bills were +100, pennies were +1, quarters were -25, and so on. Students brought in dollars and pennies for their first period classes, and silver coins to sabotage other classes.
The event sparked rivalry.
“Two years in a row, Mr. Appelbaum has foiled my chances at triumph in Penny Wars. Every year, I start off in the lead until the Science Department brings in a bag of silver coins to ruin my chances,” Mr. Andy Bass, math teacher, said.
Mr. Daniel Appelbuam, science teacher, had a similar story.
“Last year, Mr. Leinwebber and I took out Mr. Bass from the top spot,m and now I think we will have to do it every year,” Mr. Appelbaum said.
Mrs. Melinda Ward, world languages teacher, saw success from the beginning.
“My bucket was avoiding the silver coins pretty much all week until one day students I had never even seen before began to drop in negative coins. My first period did good, and I am still well positive, but it was beginning to get concerning,” Mrs. Ward said.
