Students in a Charlottetown high school just completed an assignment that took them beyond the school grounds and into the community to encourage a positive outlook and body image.

Kate Flick, a Grade 12 family living teacher at Charlottetown Rural High School, is behind the assignment, called Operation Beautiful.

Some Charlottetown high school students took on an assignment that promoted positive self-image called Operation Beautiful. (CBC)

"I had my students create positive, encouraging notes and post them in random locations around the school and within the community," said Flick.

"The students had to take a picture of the note and upload it to a Facebook page created for the class — Ms. Flick's Operation Beautiful."

Flick's goal was to stop negative self-talk and to boost the self-esteem of others.

"I put a few around the school and also in the Charlottetown Mall, in a pay phone and a school mirror," said student Taylor Johnston.

Katie Foster, another one of Flick's students, said watching people from afar as they read the notes was the most rewarding part of the project.

"The smile on their face just kind of said it all."

Teacher Kate Flick got the idea for the project from a website by Caitlin Boyle.

Flick got the idea for the assignment from Caitlin Boyle of operationbeautiful.com, who wrote a note and put it on her own blog.

"I get the most incredible emails from people who say writing or finding a note has changed their life, stopped them from committing suicide, has encouraged them to get out of an abusive relationship," said Boyle.

She said more than 10,000 similar notes have been posted.

"Some people say to me 'it's just a piece of paper,' but I always say back, 'it's not the paper, it's the effort behind it that makes the difference.'"

Boyle said Operation Beautiful wouldn't exist without people like Flick and her students.

"I want to remind them they never know who will find their note and that they could have a tremendous impact on someone's life, and to keep up the good work, really."

The class hopes to put together a video documenting their project and to promote positive self-image.