Penny Wars
March 10, 2017
Students sitting with the class jars on the last day of Penny Wars. From left to right: Nathan Buckley ’17. Chris Aulbach ’17, Caitlin Ross ’17, Audra Paradie ’17, and Abby Lewis ’17.
An annual tradition during the second half of the HB school year is the rounding up of loose change (especially pennies) by students in order to donate to a charity during Spirit Week. When asked how long “Penny Wars” has been going on, Scott VanCoughnett, ‘18, said: “For as long as I can remember.” “Penny Wars” is considered a tradition in the halls of Hollis Brookline High School. Year after year, the Penny Wars Challenge benefits the classes competing in HB’s Spirit Week. It almost always takes place during Spirit Week, but this year was different.
The money was collected during the week prior to the actual Spirit Week this time around. This broke the normal tradition. As a result, many students were unaware that Penny War was happening. Maryanne Rotelli, a class advisor and science teacher at HB, said, “I believe it could have been marketed a lot more.” From 93 interviews of students in the halls of HB, only 59 knew Penny Wars had happened. Even more shocking, only 23 people donated.
If Penny Wars is continued next year, it would be at the benefit of the students looking to win Spirit Week, as well as the charity the money goes to, for Student Council to get the message out.