- Olathe Public Schools
- 2024 News Articles
- 2016 News Articles
News & Information
Page Navigation
11-2-16 — Scarborough Rocks Extends Family Feeling Beyond School Walls
Nov. 2, 2016 ~ Students, parents and staff of Scarborough Elementary School began a treasure hunt this fall, and so far their efforts have turned up hundreds of painted, palm-sized rocks similar to ones featured in the children's book "Only One You."
Scarborough's back-to-school book by Linda Kranz is filled with positive messages and encourages children to be proud of their uniqueness while they find their way in the world. Another key message is for everyone to find beauty wherever they are. Pictures in the book included rocks the artist had painted to look like unique, brilliantly colored fish.
After sharing the book with students at the beginning of the year, staff painted their own rocks and added words of wisdom like "Happy," "Make a Difference," "Love," and "You Are Important." Their first batch of fishy rocks went into a display case in the school, but then they decided to paint a second rock to share with others.
"I read a newspaper article about residents in Bolivar, Mo., who hid painted rocks in their community," Principal Jami Veatch said. "So we hid our rocks in the nearby Southdowns Park and let our families know about it through a Facebook page."
Scarborough Rocks is the official name of this outreach project that has included dozens of families, children and adults, and hundreds of painted rocks.
"Eleena loves the rock project," said Scarborough mom Jing Chen. "We love hunting for rocks and we paint and hide as well."
Eleena is so proud of her school's project that she told relatives about it during a fall family vacation. She took some rocks to show her cousins and told them all about painting rocks and hiding them.
Her mom said Eleena's younger brother, a preschooler, also likes helping paint rocks. Chen provided three paint colors (red, blue and yellow), so when the children needed green, orange or purple, they learned to mix the colors until they had the right shade.
"I think two of the most important things we can teach our kids is to give back and to lift each other up," said computer learning associate and former Scarborough parent Heather Farha. "Our school community has bonded together more than ever this year with our Scarborough Rocks project. Witnessing our students screech with excitement when they find a painted rock uplifts everyone! There is nothing better than spending time outdoors with your family, hiding and searching for treasures!"
Kristine Berry's family is also involved in Scarborough Rocks. Her son, Timothy, attends Scarborough and brought the idea home to everyone, including his college-age sister.
"Our whole family really enjoyed the rock project," she said. "We hunted for rocks and we also painted some. We kept some rocks, added our own and also found a few and re-hid them for someone else to find."
Parents and staff agree that Scarborough Rocks has brought everyone closer, both as individual family members and as part of the larger Scarborough Elementary family.
"Our school made a Facebook page for people/families to post pictures of us painting and finding rocks," Berry said. "It was nice to see all of the other Scarborough families join in the fun and be creative!
"Scarborough Rocks brought the school family together in a fun and positive way."