LA HABRA : Students Discover a Horn of Plenty

In an effort to raise money for new athletic equipment, Walnut Elementary School students gathered pennies for three weeks.

They had hoped to collect about $100. But much to the surprise of everyone, they ended up with 10 times as much.

The Student Council on Tuesday bundled the coins to exchange them for dollars. With big grins on their faces, they discussed what to do with the $1,127.21.

“I think we should buy some snacks like Gummy Bears for the snack shack,” said Robby Hall, 9.

Andrew Dominguez, 11, said the money should be spent on crayons and markers so that students could make art projects. Tommy Allen, 9, suggested that the money be used for a field trip to the zoo, while Andrea Ledesma, 11, said it should go toward new books or computers.

“We should buy more computer disks,” said Jason Robinson, 9. “We only have five disks for each class right now. I want one for each student.”

The Student Council agreed that some money will be used to get new athletic equipment such as soccer balls. But council members will take a vote next week to decide what the rest of the money will be used for.

Teachers and administrators expressed amazement at their students’ fund-raising success. They said that when parents are asked to donate money for school supplies, few do.

“This is just a shock,” said fifth-grade teacher Mike Klewer, a student government adviser.

“We really, in our wildest dreams, didn’t expect to collect so much,” Principal Pat Miller said.

Andrea said it was simple. “Everyone has pennies lying around,” she said. “We asked our relatives to give, and now we can buy lots of things for the school with all these pennies. And, if it’s not enough, we’ll just have another penny drive.”

Another student government adviser, fourth-grade teacher Patsy Kuromoto, said the students loved watching the donations multiply. “They know it’s going to help our school, and it’s 100% pure profit,” she said.