Students at Three Rivers School in Pembroke had their revenge on Principal Deb Bulkley when they taped her to the wall and left her there for more than an hour.

The “prank,” which Bulkley agreed to, was part of a Hugs Across America community service project.

By the time all of the students in the school had taken their lunches on Friday, Nov. 30, Bulkley was completely suspended from the wall with hundreds of pieces of duct tape.

It’s a good thing she wore long sleeves, she said, so the tape wouldn’t hurt coming off.

The taping was an effort to raise money for a few boxes of bears from Hugs Across America, which sends teddy bears to children in hospitals across the country.

The stunt was the result of a student council vote. Pembroke Hill School did the same thing last year and decided to help out Three Rivers by donating the remainder of the money they made toward the teddy bears.

Students paid a dollar for a yard of tape or $2 for 3 yards. Since the sixth grade raised the most food for the school’s Thanksgiving food drive, each of them got a free piece of tape with which to bind Bulkley.

During the taping, it was unclear whether the amount of tape applied would suspend Bulkley. “I used to be a science teacher and I’m interested to see if this will hold me here,” she said.

As the seventh-graders applied their tape during the last lunch of the day, Bulkley said she felt pretty secure and was confident that the tape would hold her.

She was right.

A round of applause and cheers from seventh-graders erupted in the Three Rivers’ cafetorium as Bulkley hung from the wall, laughing and getting a little red in the face.

She had been standing on a chair with her back to the wall for more than an hour through every single lunch.

The kids were excited to see their principal detained.

“I’ve been waiting the entire year for an opportunity like this,” said seventh-grader Thomas Dodd, 12, as he securely applied his yard across Bulkley’s midsection.

The fundraiser made about $200, said organizer and Three Rivers teacher Deirdre Martin, enough for one box of teddy bears. The bears will go to the pediatrics ward at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua.