It's a high school senior prank for the ages, but not in the way you think.

Sherman Padgett, principal of Wichita North High School in Kansas, is now the victim of a senior prank you've probably never heard of.

It started when he was standing in the school's hallway last week. A student approached him with a paint bucket and said, "Hold the bucket."

Of course, he was worried and reluctant. Scared, even. But eventually he held the bucket, standing still in the hallway.

Soon a student passed by and dropped a note in the bucket. Then another did the same thing. And then another. And another.

“Thank you for making high school the best years of my life,” one note said.

Another note thanked Padgett for helping the student overcome an eating disorder and get counseling.

Senior Emily Jones had the idea for the "prank." She called Padgett "awesome," and wanted to do something nice for a man who had a profound impact on her life and the lives of her classmates.

And their message was heard loud and clear.

“Became a little emotional on some of them,” he said. “I kind of read them and thought, ‘Man, this is better than a paycheck. This is why I do the things that I do.'”

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