Kyle Wenzel’s past teachers beam whenever the 22-year-old former student visits Rossman Elementary School.

Wenzel at age 5 was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, shortly after beginning kindergarten. His teachers watched, often in agony, as the polite little boy battled the disease the entire time he was a student there.

"Everybody’s very aware that we have cancer survivors here," said Rossman Principal, Pam Pyzyk, who taught him in first grade. "Teachers, students, parents and former students. Kyle has always been near and dear to our hearts. He’s near and dear to everybody."

Wenzel’s disorder is the most common form of leuke-mia in children younger than 15, according to the Leu-kemia and Lymphoma Socie-ty. He received a bone marrow transplant in 1995 and is now healthy and completing school to become an EMT.

"You get a real bond with the family when you know their child is battling cancer," Pyzyk said. "And I think Kyle has really been embraced by the whole community, because he’s such a fighter. Everyone was pulling for him, and he never gave up. So it’s a thrill for us to have him here."

Wenzel, who appears to shy away from the praise that surrounds his visits, nonetheless said he appreciates the well wishes of his former teachers, many of whom are still at the school.

"I’m happy it’s inspiring to them," he said.

On Friday, he visited to help the staff collect money collected this week in the "Sock It to Cancer Quarter War," in which competing classrooms try to collect more quarters than their peers to benefit the local Relay for Life chapter.

Rossman and Lincoln elementary students combined for a whopping $2,229.38 collected, Pyzyk said. Students collected $1,700 last year.

"We were expecting maybe $300 or $400," said fifth-grade teacher Pat Borlen, who is also a cancer survivor.

The coins were stuffed into a separate socks in each home room from Tuesday through Friday. Top performing classes could win a root beer float party to be held before summer vacation.

Wenzel then delivered the cash to First National Bank of Hartford, where it was counted. Some staff and parents also threw in checks and cash.

The idea originated years ago and returned last year at Rossman Elementary. Lin-coln Elementary, which shares the Hartford Elemen-tary Education Association’s Hartford/Slinger Relay for Life team with Rossman, also collected quarters this year.

"We first held the Quarter War for Kyle when he was in fifth grade," Borlen said.

Borlen co-chairs the HEEA team with Lincoln Elementary faculty member Linda Miller. Money was also collected earlier this spring in a can drive that has been ongoing for 14 years.