NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA USA – It started on the playground as a group of North Attleboro fifth graders were tossing a football at recess. Their ball accidentally ended up on the street and got run over by a speeding car.

Their teacher at the Saint Mary-Sacred Heart School gave them a simple class assignment.

"Write a letter to someone in your local town about the need to make your school community safer, or your town safer," teacher Sarah Merigold said.

The kids knew just who to write to – the town's Department of Public Works.

"We need a school zone sign that says 20 miles per hour because it could've been one of us on the street," fifth grader Peyton Giallella said.

Months went by and the students forgot about the assignment until Wednesday.

The DPW surprised the class with a blinking solar-powered school zone sign – reminding drivers to slow down when approaching the school.

"They were screaming, yelling, the cheers, the arms," Merigold said of the unveiling.

"I thought it was just going to be a project," Giallella said. "But we actually got the sign so that's pretty amazing!"

The students even got a new football that they're putting to good use, along with a valuable lesson.

"We're still 10 and 11, but we can still make a difference," student Paige McMullen said.

"Age is just a number," Ferris added. "Young people can do things."