Battle of the Brains!

Harrison Avenue Elementary School students participated in a PTA fundraiser "Jeopardy Night" this week to help boost school spirit during a particularly difficult year.

Earlier this year, the school lost a kindergartener to a terminal illness, a grandparent of a student and, just last week, a student's father passed away.

"It's been a really hard time for us, so this activity night was planned to put smiles back on students' faces." said PTA co-president Kate Gompert.

Because last years "Jeopardy Night" was such a success, the PTA chose to revive the event, in which third through fifth-graders were challenged to answer math problems and general trivia questions.

To foster friendly competition, teams of three girls went head-to-head against teams of all boys.

"It's just a real, all-around family night that pays for itself," Gompert said. "The kids get so excited. And the questions are tailored toward the school and age group, so it's also educational."

Hollyrock Entertainment in Syosset provided the props, which were paid for by a five-dollar entrance fee required to participate and by money collected from raffles ticket purchases. Any leftover funds went back into the PTA kitty.

Fifth-grader Julia Dinota chose to participate for the first time because everyone at school told her how much fun it would be.

"I'm hoping they will ask me math or social studies questions; I'm really excited to play," she said, just before the games were scheduled to begin.

Another fifth-grader, Rafi Piliero, loves trivia questions but didn't get the opportunity to be a contestant last year.

"I really enjoy doing these types of events," Piliero said. "They always make me want to participate in more trivia games."