How many dollars are in more than 140 pounds of donated change? 💰💰 Thanks to our amazing St. Anne’s-Belfield School LS math team, we came together as a community as a community to find out!

We’ve spent weeks fundraising for Bennett’s Village, and the big moment is finally here! As a grand finale, fourth graders lead first grade buddies in sorting, counting, rolling change, and adding totals for what may have been the coolest math day ever.

The two grades came together in their classrooms to take containers of change and separate them into pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters (plus a separate pile for half-dollar, dollar, and other foreign coins). Next, students took their coins out to the commons, where another team was counting and rolling coins. After each roll was counted and double checked, they were carried to another location for their tally to be added to the grand total (scroll down to see that final number)!

It was amazing to watch the fourth graders step up as leaders and share their math skills with their younger buddies. There was so much excitement and math talk in the air, students could barely contain themselves. I loved watching the team celebrate their growing total, hearing all that mental math, and seeing their fine motor skills at work.

And the BEST part? Knowing that every penny we collected as a community goes to Bennett’s Village to create a play where everyone can play together! We are proud and grateful to be a part of Bennett’s Village.