Greendale Principal Braves Cold After Penny Wars Milestone

GREENDALE, WI — Greendale Middle School Principal John Weiss made good on his promise to students, and braved freezing-cold temperatures following a strong showing by students during the Penny Wars competition.

For its 2020 Penny Wars for the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, Weiss added a new incentive to the competition to raise funds.

If the students, parents, and community members raised $2,000, he committed to spending the night of Friday, February 14, on the roof of Greendale Middle School. If the effort raised $3,000, he would sleep on the roof AND run the 10 miles from GMS to the Zoo on February 15 for the event.

The students and community have raised $3,508.64 through the 2020 Penny Wars for this challenge and Weiss headed for the GMS roof Friday.

The school hosted a Penny Wars competition the week of Feb. 10 to help raise money for the nearly 9,000 Special Olympics Wisconsin athletes. During the GMS Penny Wars, classrooms competed against each other and students donated pennies and dollar bills to earn positive points for their home base.

Silver coins donated were deductions toward a home base’s point total and students could deposit those coins into a competing home base’s Penny Wars jar. In addition to the principal’s incentive, the winning home base of each grade level earns an ice cream party.

Community members were also invited to bring donations to the school office or online through the Greendale Schools 8-03 team page on the official Special Olympics Polar Plunge website.

In 2019, GMS students, staff and families donated more than $1,600 in our Penny Wars competition. Unofficially, the Greendale Schools 8-03 team raised over $5,500 for the 2020 Polar Plunge fundraiser.