Before the Patriots and Eagles headed to the Super Bowl, Potter Elementary School students organized an early celebration of their own.

The February 2 assembly was two-fold, serving as a rally for the Patriots’ upcoming Super Bowl appearance, and it marked the end of Potter’s month-long “Soup-er Bowl” canned good collection drive.

Last year, students collected 2,310 canned items. This year, students shattered that record, bringing in a total of 3,283 items.

The soup-er bowl collection challenge is an annual tradition at Potter, held each year with the final tallies unveiled on the Friday before the big game. Students were encouraged to come dressed for the event, regardless of which team they supported.

Since the Patriots are in the Super Bowl this year, it helps with morale and promoting the event, explained Principal Heidi Silva Brooks.

“The years that the Patriots haven’t been in the Super Bowl we do see a dip,” Brooks said.

But since the Patriots have appeared in many recent super bowls, donations have benefited.

All of the donated food will be sent to the Dartmouth Council on Aging to stock its food pantry. The pantry helps seniors in town who are in need.

“As a Dartmouth school we wanted to keep that Dartmouth connection, and we knew the Council on Aging has the food pantry,” said Brooks said.

The class that raised the most canned goods takes home a handmade trophy to keep in their classroom for the entire year. This year, that honor went to Cathy Claassen’s fifth grade class. Her students raised three cans more than their nearest competitor, Erica Davignon's fourth grade class.