Students at Sunset Ridge Intermediate School and View Ridge Middle School participated in Penny Wars
RIDGEFIELD — All the students at two Ridgefield schools came together for a common cause: to Silly String some teachers. Students at Sunset Ridge Intermediate School and View Ridge Middle School participated in Penny Wars, a fundraiser that pits grade against grade, school against school. Top donors got to select a teacher to cover using two entire cans of Silly String. And to say the students were excited is putting it mildly.
The entire View Ridge gym was packed wall to wall with students. Fifth and sixth graders sat on the gym floor; seventh and eighth graders filled the bleachers. They couldn’t wait to hear the results of their fundraiser — and find out which teachers were going to get Silly Stringed.
The Ridge, a parent organization for both schools, created Penny Wars as a fun way to raise money for the schools. Each grade tries to raise the most money in pennies — but other grades can sabotage them by adding silver coins to their total, which takes away an equal number of pennies. In total, students raised $673.61 to provide resources for students, families, and staff at both schools.
This year, the seventh-grade class from View Ridge won — which meant the principal of View Ridge, Tony Smith, got to Silly String Todd Graves, the principal of Sunset Ridge. The students cheered. With a loud countdown — 3, 2, 1! — Smith let the Silly String fly, covering Graves from head to toe. The whole gym erupted in laughter and applause.
Next came the students who donated $25 or more for the privilege of covering a teacher in Silly String. View Ridge teachers David Jacobson and Jerry DeShazer, Sunset Ridge teachers Rachelle Radzi and James Stevens, and School Resource Officer Paige McBee all took turns getting covered in Silly String, much to the delight of the audience. They were all good sports, smiling as they picked the Silly String off their clothes and hair.
Finally, there was a preview for the first annual Color Run, another Ridge fundraiser. Associated Student Body (ASB) and Leadership class students staged a pretend run to show how the real Color Run would work. Students ran around the perimeter of the gym, then came back to the center of the gym, where other students showered them in brightly colored powder and even more Silly String. One student even dressed as a T.Rex and jogged through the colored clouds.
The students had a great time celebrating another year of success with Penny Wars. And the hundreds of dollars they raised will be helping Sunset Ridge and View Ridge students for months to come.
Color Run Registration: The two-mile Color Run will be held on Sat., March 7 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 at Davis Park in downtown Ridgefield. It will help kick off Ridgefield’s Youth Arts Month. To register for the fun run/walk, go to ssl.charityweb.net/theridgeassoc/event/colorrun2020.htm
Information provided by Ridgefield School District.
