Arlington HS seniors pull balloon prank

ARLINGTON, Mass. (WHDH) -- Arlington High School seniors pulled a colorful prank at school, filling a staircase with thousands of balloons.

Senior pranks are a time-honored tradition at many schools, but they're not always welcomed by school administrators. But this time no one took the air out of the students’ fun.

In the past, Arlington High has seen a pig and even chickens released in its halls. The one last Friday was a little tamer, but still very colorful.

Seniors filled the staircase at the school with more than 3000 balloons.

“It took them maybe five or six hours for them to blow them up. There were 3300 balloons all together,” said Principal Mary Villano, Arlington High School.

The work of four to ten Arlington high seniors, the display was a parting gift from the class of 2012. Unlike other senior pranks, however, this one did not leave school administrators full of hot air.

“I told him that we love the prank, that it was well thought out. It was not disruptive to the school day, it didn't hurt anybody. It didn't cause extra work for anyone. It was a really good prank,” said Villano.

Students filled the staircase with the balloons, posting a sign saying, "no entry, wild balloon habitat."

Taking heed of those warnings, administrators let the balloons stay there for an hour so other students could enjoy the sight. Then, it was time to pop all 3300 of them for safety reasons.

“Some of the teachers and students got pins and they all started together and it sounded like fireworks going off for a while. But they had a good time doing that,” Villano said.

Nobody got in trouble for the prank. The students even left a note telling custodians not to clean it up because they wanted to do it themselves.