Ottawa Teachers Made A ‘Friends’ Parody For Their Students & It’s Just Perfect

No-one told us life was gonna be this way right now. Going to school doesn’t look the same as it did a few weeks ago, but one Ottawa high school is trying to stay connected in the most heart-warming way. Nepean High School filmed its very own Friends tribute video to send a message to students, and the results are seriously sweet. 

The video was posted to YouTube on Tuesday, April 14 and has created a stir in the community over the last couple of days.

Narcity spoke with teachers Melissa Pregent and Anne-Marie Théorêt to see what kind of impact the project has had.*

Pregent tells Narcity that this kind of initiative is nothing new for the NHS staff. 

“Our staff has been known for doing this kind of project for our students in the past. So when a friend got wind of teachers in Halifax creating a video for their students using a Backstreet Boys song, he said ‘this has you written all over it.’”

Not only did the video bring joy to the students, which is undoubtedly a central perk of the job, but Pregent adds it also sparked feelings of togetherness for the staff as well. 

“During this pandemic, it gave us something to look forward to. This video allowed us to reunite as a staff from the safety of our homes and deliver a message to our students.”

The message, as Théorêt explains is simple: We'll be there for you!

“We miss them, we miss being in the classroom and that regardless of the circumstances, we are still here to support them,” she said.

The video, which took about two weeks to fully complete, has been shared by various media outlets and currently has around 7,000 views via the YouTube link.

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As Théorêt explains, the video became so much more than a simple message.

“Our goal was to reach out to students and their family to let them know that we are there for them, and that we will get through this together,” the Communications Technology teacher tells Narcity.

Pregent added that former students have also reached out.

“But we have since learned that it goes beyond that, we now have former students reaching out to us and reconnecting with their former teachers and classmates," Pregent concluded. "And other teachers from different schools sending us emails.

"It's simply amazing how this all unfolded.”

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It seems isolation has got plenty of Canadians feeling creative. Just last week, an Ontario author and his family created a perfect homage to The Simpsons' intro.

And, honestly, this latest content is almost as sweet as Rachel's (in)famous trifle, which you can totally make at home, by the way. 

So if you’ve already binged every season of the classic sitcom in quarantine, why not take a break and enjoy this adorable NHS tribute video instead?

*This story has been updated.