Ah, the senior prank. It is something that students often look forward to for years, and kids can come up with some crazy things. While they don't always go off without a hitch, a group of students in Delaware gave their head of school the surprise of her life when she woke up one morning in May.
Joy McGrath is a much-loved educator at St. Andrew's School in Middletown. Her students wanted to end their high school career in a big way, which meant an epic prank on McGrath. The entire senior class snuck into her house in the middle of the night for a huge slumber party. The best part? She didn't hear a thing. Her reaction to the whole class seeing her in her bathrobe is priceless.
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The teens hatched the plan on prom night.
McGrath and a couple of students spoke with Today about her surprise guests. KaiChun "Austin" Chuang, the cameraman, told the outlet he and some classmates devised the plan on prom night. McGrath lovingly invited her students to her house for breakfast after the dance.
"Someone joked that they wouldn't mind going to bed right there in the living room. Then a couple of us glanced at each other like, 'hmmmm,'" he said.
With the help of McGrath's husband, Ty Jones, 80 seniors packed into her home around 1 a.m., and settled in for the night.
McGrath didn't have a clue.
The groggy head of school opened the door to her kitchen, saw some students, and immediately closed it. She was clearly startled, but soon we see she was also amused. Clad in a bathrobe and some bright yellow Crocs, McGrath takes a few seconds to compose herself and opens the door again.
She cheerfully says, "Good morning, little bunnies!" and the entire class busts out laughing. It is such a fun moment, and totally apparent that McGrath loves her students as much as they love her.
She told Today, "I can sleep through anything." Clearly, this was the perfect prank for her students to pull off. She said it took a minute to realize it was a senior prank. "I was in shock. They were in every possible corner, like sardines," she told Today.
How in the world did they pull this off?
The viral video has more than 60 million views on Instagram, so we went to the comments looking for a few answers about how this worked out so well. Evidently, St. Andrew's is a boarding school, and as the head of school, McGrath's home is on campus. That made it relatively easy for the kids to get there.
Their co-conspirator was her husband, who she points to in the video and jokes, "You're in the most trouble." The students stayed with the couple for breakfast and then returned to their dorms.
It was all in good fun.
McGrath's students love her, and wanted to do something memorable for her. "Mrs. McGrath takes such good care of us," Chuang said. "Whenever people have a problem, they feel comfortable talking to her. She works hard to build trust."
McGrath's dad, Michael McGrath, shared the video of his daughter on Facebook and he's clearly a proud pop.
"For those few who may not have seen it – the viral (over 60M views!) video of our daughter, Joy, pranked by the senior class at St. Andrew's School in Middletown (she is Head of School). Lots of mutual love," he wrote.
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People are here for this wholesome group.
We see so much ugliness in the world that it's nice to have a bit of levity once in a while. The kids at St. Andrew's definitely gave us that. Fans on social media love McGrath and the students.
"This is what you call a teacher that is making an impact and doing something right with our youth!!" a comment reads.
"Clearly the kids are welcome anytime – the amount of coffee mugs and coffee supplies on the table are a dead giveaway!" another Instagrammer agreed. "This would be amazing to be a part of! She's a lucky lady and these students are equally as lucky!"
"This would be all I needed to validate the reason I was on this earth," someone else wrote. "You can see the love instantly. WELL DONE❤️ ."
Educators are often unsung heroes. McGrath has made an impact, and it shows. We love this and hope it is a day that none of them ever forget. But boy, her husband better sleep with one eye open. Maybe both.
