Nick Cannon, 'America's Got Talent' host, plays Long Island principal

Nick Cannon, host of “America’s Got Talent,” took over Setauket Elementary School as principal for the day on Friday -- after students proved they had the talent to collect more food donations than any other school in Suffolk County.

Cheers erupted and students jumped and squealed with excitement as Cannon arrived at the school to step into principal Nathalie Lilavoius’ shoes and handle the day-to-day operations, including announcements over the school’s public address system.

“I really hope he is up to the challenge. We have over 700 kids that all have different needs,” said Lilavoius, joking that the day will prove to be especially demanding since he will be taking over before a holiday break.

But it didn’t take long before Cannon had the students in check — especially after he took countless “selfies” with them, “followed” a few on Instagram, signed iPads and T-shirts and then told them that they don’t have to do homework for three months.

“I’m the principal now,” Cannon said as he took to the stage in the auditorium where he entertained the students as their personal DJ. “You don’t have to sit in your seats. Let’s get this party started.”

To win Cannon as their principal for the day, fourth-grade students from Lisa Wall’s class, along with student council members and a group of fifth- and sixth-graders spent three weeks in March asking for non-perishable food donations from family, friends and fellow students, along with collecting outside area supermarkets.

“Everyone volunteered and now we have Nick Cannon,” said Hannah Forcone, a sixth-grade student at the school. “We all had a lot of fun volunteering and we got a great reward.”

SEE PHOTOSTV shows that made an impact

The school collected 26,782 pounds of food for the nonprofit Long Island Cares - Harry Chapin Food Bank, which sponsored the Nick Cannon Principal for a Day contest along with Ronkonkoma-based JVC Broadcasting, which owns stations including Party 105.3.

Setauket Elementary School competed against 46 other Suffolk County schools; together 139,158 pounds of food was collected for Long Island Cares.

“It was the largest single food drive contest that we have ever done,” said Elana Sissons, food drive coordinator for Long Island Cares.

All of the food collected during the drive was boxed and sorted earlier this week with the help of Suffolk students, including 50 from Setauket Elementary School. It will be distributed to 590 nonprofit agencies across Nassau and Suffolk, which will provide the food to those in need.

SEE PHOTOSBest TV shows now on Netflix, Amazon and more

“The students got to see the fruits of their labor and the good that they are doing in the world,” Lilavoius said.