By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

CHELSEA – Forest Oaks Elementary School PTO hosted its first ever coin drive Aug. 29 through Sept. 2 to help raise money for playground improvements and additions, technology maintenance, smart boards and more Chromebooks for mobile classrooms.

Each day students dressed up in different outfits to match the theme that went along with that day’s money.

Monday was patriotic for pennies, Tuesday was nerdy for nickels, Wednesday was Disney for dimes, Thursday was quarterbacks for quarters and Friday was crazy for cash and checks.

They were asked to bring in as many coins as possible each day and were rewarded for their fundraising efforts.

Each day a kid participated they were entered into a drawing for a chance to win a Kindle Fire, McWane Adventure Hall tickets, zoo tickets, Vulcan park and museum passes, movie gift cards, Sweet Frog gift cards or a Vocelli’s family pizza night.

Overall classes were also rewarded for having the highest total money raised throughout the week.

The first place prize was a class slip n’ slide party, second place was a Vocelli’s pizza party, third place was a Chick-fil-A cookie party and fourth place was a McDonald’s ice cream party.

Mrs. Birdsong’s fifth grade class won the first place prize after bringing in the highest money total on nickels, dimes and quarters day.

At the beginning of the week, they had the goal of raising $15,000 and if they did then principal, Sasha Baker and assistant principal, Stevi Sims promised that they would kiss a pig.

The students cut it close, but impressively just exceeded that $15,000 mark by accumulating a weeklong total of $15,006.53.

The event concluded at an assembly on Friday, Sept. 2, with the two administrators puckering up and laying a big smooch on Matilda the pig.