One high school walked ‘up’ instead of ‘out’ on protest day — and their message of love went viral

A Michigan high school opted to do something quite different while many other schools across the U.S. staged walkouts to honor the 17 people that were murdered in Florida's mass killing and to protest gun violence: They spread a message of love instead of politics.

What are the details?

All 313 students at Arbor Preparatory High School in Ypsilanti were encouraged to stage a school "walk-up" by writing 17 sticky notes filled with encouraging, uplifting sentiments.

Fourteen of the notes were to be allocated to student peers, while three of the notes were for adult-aged school workers.

The 17 notes represented the 14 students and three adults killed in the mass murder on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Aquan Grant, the school's principal, told ABC News, "The idea for walk-ups was to encourage each other and we wanted everyone to be proactive, but take the opportunity to strengthen our educational community."

Grant and other school administrators brainstormed the idea and moved forward with their plan for Wednesday's tribute to the fallen students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

"We thought about doing 17 seconds of silence, but realized that’s not enough," Grant explained. "One of our math teachers suggested going around the school and leaving post-it notes with uplifting messages."

How did the event turn out?

Grant explained the "amazing day" would create "lasting impressions."

"All the students, teachers and parents loved it and our assistant principal Danielle Carlson was able to capture it in such an amazing way," Grant added.

The school's assistant principal, shared moving images and video on her Facebook page featuring the students engaging in doing good deeds for their peers.

In sharing the media, she wrote, "Today our students participated in a Walk Up instead of a Walk Out. They were each given 17 sticky notes to symbolize the 17 lives lost in Florida and encouraged to leave 14 notes for students and 3 for adults that would brighten their day."

"As I walked the halls I was overcome with pride for these kids," she added. "Not a single locker was untouched and they took special care to ensure that everyone from admin to the tech guy and custodian received some love."