Officials in Jersey City will honor a city school today for winning a national award.

Soaring Heights Charter was chosen out of 100 schools to win the National Elementary and Secondary School Association Award.

The school is the first charter school in New Jersey to win.

At Franklin Elementary School in Rahway, students kicked off their annual Pennies for Patients Fundraiser.

Students are encouraged this month to bring in loose change to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Last year, the school raised $2,000, and their goal this year is to raise $2,500.

Student project leaders, Casey Lord and Jensen Nguyen, are members of the Blue and Gold Club, which is a volunteer-based community service club. 

At the same time, Blue and Gold club members at Franklin Elementary also have been hard at work putting together some "Mugs of Love."

The mugs are filled with goodies, such as coffee, tea, soup, cookies, oatmeal, hot cocoas.

Once completed, the mugs will be donated to the Food for Friends Soup Kitchen in Rahway and the pediatric unit at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital to comfort parents who have a child in the hospital.