Teachers at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall received a heartfelt surprise this holiday season, as community members delivered an unexpected personal message about the impact these teachers have made on their lives.

The emotional messages were played for the unsuspecting teachers while they were called into what they thought was a meeting with the Head of School, and their emotional reactions were captured on video.

The Inspiration Surprise videos are a holiday tradition at CH-CH, which seeks to make teachers aware of the impact they are making on their students' lives.

"All I’ve wanted to do as a teacher is make a difference in the lives of students," said History Teacher Kasey American Horse. "It's wonderful to hear from their perspective that I have been able to make a positive change because all my students mean so much to me and this school provides an opportunity and platform to teach in an authentic way, building the next generation of leaders."

Theatre Program Director, Bekah LaCoste, expressed "It's reaffirming and rejuvenating to see what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis is having a major impact on these young adults," after hearing the uplifting message from two performing arts students. "What I get to do, particularly in the theatre program, is show students why I think they are awesome and it was a wonderful surprise to be on the receiving end of such motivation."

To learn more about this project, including videos from previous years, visit chch.org/inspiration.

Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall is a coeducational day and boarding school located in Waltham, MA. With 190 years of history, the schools remains dedicated to teaching the way students learn. Learn more.