Sixth-grade students at South Middle School engaged in a kind of “penny war” last month that raised $500 to help victims of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast.

Chris Cobb, a social studies and English teacher who helped coordinate the project, said the students divided into two teams, the Olympians and Titans, to see which group could raise the most money. Teams got a point for each penny donated and negative points for larger coins and dollar bills, so the team that ended with the largest negative score was declared the winner.

On Oct. 29, Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast, where it combined with a nor’easter, creating a so-called “superstorm” that ravaged the New Jersey shoreline and parts of New York City, causing an estimated $63 billion in damage and leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

Cobb said the school had hoped to present a check to the American Red Cross during an assembly Dec. 20, but classes were canceled that day because of snow in Lawrence. He said the school will send a check directly to the Red Cross.