Roseville Middle School staff members recently presented handwritten thank-you notes to students who inspire them. The beautiful moment was captured on video. Before watching the video, you may need to grab a box of tissues. “In January, staff at Roseville Middle School presented handwritten notes to students who inspired them to come to school each day… #rosevillepride,” the video caption reads.
The video was posted on the middle school’s Facebook page on February 15 and has since gained over 430,000 views. “The Roseville Middle School: Be The Reason” video also caught the attention of NBC Nightly News’ Kate Snow.
The ‘Be The Reason’ video was in the works for two years before the full launch, said coach and reading teacher Stasi Earl. She said she approached the school administration with the idea and wanted to build upon relationships students have with teachers with handwritten letters to students. The letters would include why the students inspire the teachers. This would give students something meaningful, impactful, and tangible.
Roseville Middle School has over 700 students. To guarantee that a majority of students receive a card, Earl asked teachers, secretaries, custodians, and cooks to participate in the project. “It takes everybody in the school for it to function,” Earl told us.
Earl has been teaching for over 20 years and wanted to give students something to remember for the rest of their lives. She didn’t anticipate the video having such an impact outside of the community.
The video was not only for students but staff as well. Many teachers faced a lot of challenges during the past two years. One of those challenges teaching hybrid classes during the pandemic. “It was a tough year for teachers losing purpose,” Earl told us. ‘Be The Reason’ was also a reminder for staff to answer the question, ‘Why do we do what we do?”
“You inspire Ms. Moore and I to come to work every day,” said Earl told a student. “You light up our classroom with your kindness and you’re going to make the world a better place,” Christine Beckner, a teacher read.
After the video was filmed, it was well over 8 minutes long, Earl said. The editor of the video, Joe Genest managed to get it around 4 minutes. “The 4-minute video you see doesn’t have all of the students. It didn’t bother the students who aren’t in the video because they still received a letter with encouragement that they show off,” said Earl. The project was such a success that the school plan’s to present handwritten uplifting notes again for the students.
Below you can view the 4-minute video with lots of smiles, hugs, and tears.