"Thank you." It's a simple expression of gratitude, and Wareham Middle School students don't feel it's said often enough.

"We thought that the students always get a lot out of the faculty and half of them don't say 'thank you,'" said Joe Nash, an 8th grader and vice president of the school's Student Council.

So the student council decided they were going to say thank you -- in a big way -- "for all that they sacrifice so our lives can be great," said 8th grader Serena Iacovelli, who serves as Student Council president.

They've been planning how to do it since the beginning of the school year, and on February 13 and continuing for the entire the week before the students' winter vacation, the students said "thank you" to the entire school.

The surprise event began with teachers and staff members. Students presented them with handmade thank-you cards and sticky-note holders. (Teachers use a lot of those!)

In order to let their fellow students in on the secret -- but not the intended recipients -- the Student Council members took drastic measures.

"I locked three of [my teachers] out" of their classrooms, explained Nash.

They weren't mad, though, once they found out the reason for the student take-over.

"[They] said it was worth it," Nash said with a smile.

The thank-yous continued with the custodians, school administrators in Town Hall and district buildings, then to cafeteria workers, and finally to bus drivers.

The reaction was overwhelming.

"Some [recipients] wrote letters that said, in all their years here, no one has ever said 'thank you,'" said Nash.

Denise Davidson, who works in the school's front office, was one of those recipients.

"That's the best thing I've had in all the years that I've worked here," Davidson said, showing off her card and sticky notes. "It was from the heart, not because a teacher made them do it."

Iacovelli and Nash said they hope the middle school students will continue to spread the "thanks" in years to come.

After all, as Nash says: "Everyone deserves a 'thanks.'"