Saint Louis School has got the beat with viral COVID-19 video

A Saint Louis School video aimed at informing students about its COVID-19 prevention measures has provided some contagious fun as well.

The video features school staff rapping and dancing to lyrics that tell students to “wear your mask at all times, wash your hands til they shine, stay 3 to 6 feet away, check your temperature every day” and informs them of other virus prevention measures. The video, titled “The Risk Ain’t Worth It,” has received more than 6,000 hits on the school’s Facebook page.

The video is the brainchild of Saint Louis School President Glenn Medeiros, one of Hawaii’s most successful pop artists. Working with longtime collaborator Daniel Rose (known as Danny R), Medeiros sampled a section from his hit “She Ain’t Worth It,” which topped the Billboard 100 chart in 1990, and wrote new lyrics relating to the school’s COVID-19 guidelines.

”We had a lot of fun making it, that’s for sure,” said Medeiros, who’s been president of the school for six years and still writes a few songs every year. “Students, if you tell them things, they’ll remember a little bit of it, but if you can actually put visuals to it and then make it funny and entertaining and engaging, then they’re more likely to learn what they need to learn. … We also wanted them to see we’re really excited to have them coming back.”

Many viewers have observed vintage dance moves in today’s video, such as the Sprinkler and the Cabbage Patch, noting the similarities to the 1990 video of “She Ain’t Worth It.” Those moves, Medeiros said, made their way into the 1990s video as a result of him “joking around” with featured artist Bobby Brown “talking about all the funny moves we saw at proms and different things.” The film crew casually recorded them practicing some of those moves, which wound up in the video.

He said his staff joined in enthusiastically, with members of the business office even choreographing their own routine. “I was actually surprised when I saw them on the video breaking out those moves,” Medeiros said.

The video features Derrick Bulatao, the school’s media teacher and a local DJ known as Kutmaster Spaz, as the main performer. Principal Devin Oshiro, who opens with a seemingly yawn-inspiring introduction but winds up doing a cartwheel during the video, and Ray Abregano, dean of teachers and an English teacher, are also featured. The video was filmed and edited by Saint Louis School student Josiah Bulatao.

Saint Louis has recently opened classes for elementary school students, and is planning to open some middle school classes later in September, followed by the high school. Medeiros hopes the video will help get students ready for the school year, and is considering adapting it for further use in the broader community and beyond.

“We’re working on trying to get it out to as many as possible, because we think the actual lessons they learn on the video can be applicable to anyone at any school,” he said. “Hopefully we can get it out nationally and internationally too.”