ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ - What does a crazy Giants fan and principal of a small Catholic school do during Super Bowl Week?  First, you celebrate Catholic Schools Week and are happy that the Giants don’t have a game you have to miss during Open House.  Then since you can’t miss work, you send your husband to cheer the Giants on as they leave for Indianapolis with instructions to get pictures.  Next you host the Souper Bowl of Caring, a donation drive for items where students can predict the winner of the Super Bowl for each item they bring in for a chance to win a prize.  Then you give your students a Super Bowl Fun Sheet to complete and earn a free homework pass. 

The Giants mania started after the Giants beat the Cowboys in December.  At the Christmas concert, principal Mrs. Melissa Whelan Wisk serenaded the crowd with her “Giants song” and gave the students January 2^nd off.  That Monday morning, each student received a piece of candy.  Since that Monday, the students have received candy when the Giants won.  They got candy even when the Giants lost to the Redskins, since Mrs. Wisk was at the game, was given field passes and received autographs.  She has even been tweeted by some of the current players! The first playoff game coincided with the Polar Plunge on January 8^th. After plunging into the Atlantic Ocean with students and parents, the crowd rushed inside to watch the game.  As on the road to the Super Bowl in 2007, this year the team had to go through Green Bay.  Mrs. Wisk promised sno-cones to the school just as she did back then if the Giants won. Many of the students were definitely cheering for the Giants that weekend.  Students were thrilled to get their “Giant” sno-cone with red and blue flavoring.

After the NFC Victory, the school had a dress down day where the required ‘uniform’ was blue, red or white and/or a Giants jersey- no other team’s insignia allowed.  Students have been giving donations to the Souper Bowl of Caring since then and the goal is 1,000 items for the charities that the school supports.  Students made Flat Stanley characters decked out in Giants gear for Mrs. Wisk to take to Indianapolis.  She has given the students a Super Bowl Fun Sheet to complete in order to earn a free homework pass and be entered into a raffle for a “Giant” prize. The fun sheet asks questions such as how many gallons of gas will Mrs. Wisk use to get back and forth to Indianapolis? If Jason Pierre Paul had 16.5 sacks in the regular season and he continues with that average, how many sacks should he have in the post season? What teams have the Giants defeated in the post season to get to Super Bowl XLVI? The questions require the students to use internet research skills, math skills, and language arts skills. The final question encourages students to write a persuasive letter to the Giants why a player should come visit the school.

On Monday this week students were treated to candy since Mrs. Wisk attended an event where members of the 1986 Giants were present.  She was got Phil Simms’ autograph and met Lawrence Taylor and 25 other members of the team. To see how deep our fan-base is, simply go our website www.mtregional.com and see the many videos of students singing and cheering “go Big Blue”.  The MTRS students are going to wish Mrs. Wisk bon voyage this Friday as she is driving to Indianapolis Saturday, ticketless, to cheer on the Giants.  We are anxious for a superbowl win, who knows what gift Mrs. Wisk will give the student body then!  GO GIANT S!