LEWISTON — Students in Katrina Denis’s fourth grade class at Montello Elementary talked with Mayor Laurent F. Gilbert Sr., on Sept. 29 about the importance of being “Dollar Wi$e.”

The United States Conference of Mayors National Dollar Wi$e Campaign recently declared Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 as Dollar Wi$e Week with a theme of “Preparing Youth for a Dollar Wi$e Future.” As such, mayors across the nation were encouraged to interact with students in local schools to emphasize the importance of instilling healthy attitudes and skills relating to wise personal financial management.

Denis’s class was selected due to the fact that she facilitates a “classroom economy” with her students, whereby students earn credits, known as Eagle Bucks, for their weekly jobs or good deeds, and are debited if they don’t, for example, stack their chairs or need to buy a pencil or folder.

Every other Friday is “payday,” and the students may purchase something from the classroom store with their Eagle Bucks, save what they’ve earned or give some of their Eagle Bucks to an ongoing actual donation to the SPCA by Denis.

During his visit, Gilbert talked with students about the choices they can make with money earned and played an interactive game with them demonstrating how to earn money, what happens if the money is spent and what happens if it is saved.

Upon completion of his visit, Gilbert presented each of the students with donated Dollar Wi$e items from the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., including backpacks and lunch bags, as well as other donated items.