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Seniors 'Prank' Students At New Prague H.S. With Kind Messages

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A senior prank at a Minnesota high school is getting a lot of attention. But not for the reason you may think.

WCCO's Kate Raddatz shows us how one senior turned her opportunity to prank into a message of positivity.

When students arrived at New Prague High School Thursday morning, there was something different.

"I was a little confused," one student said.

Hundreds of colorful post-it notes lined the lockers. One for each of the school's 1,300 students.

"I was thinking about what a senior prank is and how it's the legacy you want to leave behind," senior Josephine Hyde said.

Hyde came up with the idea with the hopes just a few small words could make a big impact on her classmates.

New Prague Senior Prank Notes
(credit: New Prague High School)

"I think there is a competition of popularity or just wanting to feel better than other people," Hyde said.

Josephine spent hours writing each note by hand. With messages like "Just smile!," "You look extraordinary." And, "Stay positive even when it feels your whole world is falling apart."

"Mine says 'Good morning, have a great day,'" one student said.

"It's kind of cool it put a smile on a lot of people's faces and stuff," another student said.

Josephine stuck the notes on the lockers before school. They ended with the hashtags #givealittlelove and #mykindofseniorprank.

"To see somebody say 'I'm getting the message, I want to do this,' it makes everybody here proud," Principal Lonnie Seifert said.

So even though they are just notes Josephine hopes the message will stick long after they're gone.

"Even if they don't need the message today, they might need it tomorrow. We should just come together with our differences instead of tearing each other apart," Hyde said.

Josephine will be going to St, Cloud State University in the fall. She wants to study education to become a teacher.

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