News from the Mahopac Central School District

February 11, 2023

The Great MMS

Penny Wars of 2023

The great Mahopac Middle School Penny Wars of the 2022-23 school year have concluded, and tens of thousands of pennies (and other denominations of currency) have been collected by students in the name of charity.

Sponsored by the Positive Action club, this year’s Penny Wars pit 10 teams against one another in a race to gain points and sabotage the competition, all by contributing money that will be donated to the JennaJackPack Project later this year.

“It was so fun to watch kids come every day and donate, and it was exciting knowing all of the money was going to a good cause,” said Positive Action club member and sixth grade student Ava Guzzo.

Each team of around 100 students was assigned an empty water jug at the start of the two-week event. Students were encouraged to put pennies and paper money in their team’s jug for positive points and to place “silver” coins, nickels, dimes, and quarters, into other teams’ jugs to apply negative points to their score.

Teams were relentless and, at the end of the first week, almost every team had a negative score due to silver coin sabotage, but at the end of two weeks, a winning team was crowned with a score of +24,000 points, team 7A.

In total, students contributed $332.64 in pennies alone during the event. Counting is still in progress for all other denominations, and all of the proceeds will be donated to the JennaJackPack Project later this year.

The JennaPackPack Project aims to provide an effective and tangible way to comfort children coping with the loss of a parent or sibling, according to the charity’s website.

The money raised during this year’s Penny Wars will go to creating backpacks full of supplies, snacks, and activities for children who have lost a sibling or parent.

While the Penny Wars make for a fun school-wide game, students were also aware of the importance of the purpose of the money being donated.

“The winning team gets an ice cream party at the end of the competition, but that isn’t even something that the students are concerned about,” Christine McNeill, who facilitated the event, said. “It’s a chance for all of the students to get together and make a difference. Anyone can participate, and they all understand where the money is going and are excited for a chance to contribute to the JennaJackPack Project.”

This Week in Mahopac

BOCES Animals and Wildlife Workshop Comes to Lakeview Elementary

The PNW BOCES Center for Environmental Education has come to Lakeview Elementary. Students learned all about how different animals survive in the wild and even got to meet Reddy the Red-Footed Tortoise.

Learning About the First World War at

Mahopac Middle School

Learning about the dark moments of human history is a critical part of creating a brighter future. As a part of Mahopac's mission to provide students with a well rounded and deep social studies curriculum, teachers David Gordon and Michael Woodrow brought their students together to simulate many elements of the Great War.

MMS Musicians Impress at the

PCMEA All-County Festival

Mahopac Middle School musicians performed this past weekend at Junior High PCMEA All-County Festival, showing their skills on stage in full concert dress.

Mahopac's staff and faculty are dedicated to their students and often go above and beyond to help them grow and learn. Principal Gary Chadwick of Fulmar Road Elementary came to the cafeteria on Thursday during indoor recess to spend time with students.

Choral Festival

Mahopac Middle and High School's best took to the stage on Thursday February 9th for the choral festival, singing for an audience of students, staff, faculty and parents. Mahopac's young singers have been worked hard for months to prepare for the event and they thoroughly impressed.

MHS Artists Display Work at

Katonah Museum of Art

Mahopac High School's artists had their amazing work put on display at the Katonah Museum of Art this month. Students displayed a wide variety of works, including clay sculptures, paintings, and even animation. Check out the link below to one of the videos.

ENL Family Night

The Mahopac Central School District would like to extend its thanks to all of the families that made it out to last week's ENL Family Night. With over 50 families in attendance, everyone helps the MCSD to build partnerships to better support and serve our students.

Super Bowl Snacks at the MHS Cafeteria

In preparation for Super Bowl Sunday this weekend, students were treated to many Superbowl classics for lunch and some football appropriate decor. Superintendent Christine Tona even visited to announce the winner of the lunch raffle.