At Ridgewood, good kids get sent to a Jets game

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Ridgewood Avenue School received 48 tickets at the beginning of the 2017 professional football season from the New York Jets. The tickets were for students who exhibited outstanding behavior.

The “Upstander of the Week Program” is in its second year for the Jets. It is an effort to recognize schools that combat bullying. This past fall season was the first time the Glen Ridge school participated in the program. The Jets played 16 regular-season games; eight are at home at MetLife Stadium, in the Meadowlands.

The Ridgewood “Upstander” program was coordinated by Assistant Principal Jon Heitmann who said that 16 students each received three tickets to various Jet games. This included the 14-7 Christmas Eve loss against the Los Angeles Chargers when daytime temperatures reached a high of 16 degrees.

Teachers would nominate an “Upstander” with the winners being determined by Heitmann, Principal Michael Donovan, and other educators at the school. The winning students were: third-graders Alex Brott, Lila Breslin and Dixon Atkinson; fourth-graders Annabel Koss-Frank, Alex Bowman, Amelia Geraci, Jace Loeb and Sean O’Connor; fifth-graders John McCarren, Kate Duffus and Jayden Teyan; and sixth-graders Laura Preston, Henry Rudman, Dylan Gaul and Emmet Bushue. Heitmann said students were not told who was nominated.

At the school recently, six winners explained what they did to merit “Upstanding” glory.
Emmet Bushue said he noticed that a saxophone and a flute were left behind in a classroom. He handed one instrument over to the main office and gave the other to a friend to deliver to its owner.

“I was in Illinois when I found out I won,” Emmet said. “I was surprised.”
Because he was away and unable to attend the game, he gave his tickets to a neighbor. Heitmann said he will ask the Jets for extra tickets next season so that Emmet can see a game.

Amelia Geraci said she was nominated by her teacher because she always listens in class and does what she is suppose to do. She attended the game with her father and a friend. The Jets won the game.

John McCarren said what he did to earn his tickets happened on a school field trip to Fort Lee.
A fake cannon was to be fired but one of John’s classmates, who was tired and hot, wanted to sit down. John roused the boy from his lethargy, encouraged him to participate and he did. John attended the game with his father and brother. It was against the Falcons and pouring rain.

Jayden Teyan said he helped friends with a social studies assignment. He could not attend the game and gave the tickets to an uncle who is a huge Jets fan.

Kate Duffus said what she did to earn recognition happened at the end of the day.
She was walking down the hallway, coming back from language arts and saw a teacher arranging chairs in a classroom. She asked if she could help. The teacher said no but evidently remember the offer. Kate saw the Jets lose to the Panthers with her father and friend Camille.

Here is what Lila Breslin did. She heard in class that someone was afraid to cross Bloomfield Avenue and offered to cross with them. Lila attended the Christmas Eve game against the San Diego Chargers. Temperatures were in the teens and the Jets lost, 14-7.

“The sun was shining and then it stopped,” she said. “Then it was shining, stopped, and then it stopped.”
The Jets finished the season with a 5-11 record.