Every year, special needs students at Cypress Woods Elementary in Palm Harbor become bracelet-making superstars.

“When you make them, they’re fun,” said 12-year-old Bryanna Keiderling. “And they’re cool.”

Bead by bead, they create Super Bowl arm jewelry with colors that showcase each team. Then the students sell the bracelets for a dollar a piece.

“Usually fifth graders will buy about 20 and put them all up their arm,” said teacher Tina Koufogazos. 

The money raised typically goes towards field trips. With COVID looming, the students are raising money for board games and other items in the classroom.

“This is the biggest  fundraiser of the year,” said teacher Tammy Scala.

But this year is different.

This year, the students are getting a big boost of Tampa Bay love. With the Buccaneers playing in the Super Bowl, pre-sales for their souvenirs are shattering the school’s scoreboard.

“We’re kind of shocked and blown away,” Scala said. “We haven’t even gotten to the Big Game week and here we are with over 400 sales, that’s $400.”

Needless to say, the students are very excited.

“We’ve been wearing Bucs gear all week,” Koufogazos laughed. “We talked about, we have to wash our clothes.”

Making the “Big Game” bracelets for their home-town team has been sweet and educational too.

“They’re learning math, supply demand, quality vs. quantity,” Koufogazos said.

And if their math holds true, the bracelets may be the winning combination for a Tampa Bay victory.

There are about a dozen students in the class. But the students are not the only ones working on bracelets.

Family, friends and even faculty have stepped in to help meet the overwhelming demand this year.

The students are also making bracelets for the Kansas City Chiefs fans, but not as many. For more information about the bracelets, click here.