In planning for this school year, the administration at Petal Primary School focused on the social and emotional development of the school’s staff and students.
Turns out they found the perfect way to do that – and allow anyone to become a “rock star” – with the new Petal Primary School rock. The rock is located on the school campus at the corner of Herrington Road and Stadium Drive, and for a small fee can be reserved for individualized messages for students, parents or anyone in particular.
“Through my professional network of other administrators and teachers across the state, we’ve been able to collaborate with lots of great leaders and educators and learn things we can all do together,” primary school principal Tessa Trimm said. “The rock is one of the ideas we learned about in our Professional Learning Network.
“We took what we learned from others and tweaked it a little bit to fit into the way we like to do things at Petal Primary School. (Our district motto) ‘Better Together’ goes beyond just within our school district; we are better together as educators across the entire state.”
The rock can be reserved online at https://bit.ly/2Ni9GWV, and can be painted with birthdays, accomplishments, celebrations, or to thank primary school teachers or staff members. Rentals are $15 each and last for a 24-hour period, and paint, labor and supplies are the responsibility of the individual renting the rock.
Individuals are given four hours – from 4-8 p.m. – to paint the rock, where it will be on display until someone else rents it the next day. All proceeds from reservations go to benefit the students of Petal Primary School.
“We wanted parents to be able to celebrate their children, sports teams to be able to show their team spirit, community members to support our school, and even our teachers and staff to celebrate one another,” Trimm said. “It’s a ton of fun and super easy to paint.
“The renters are responsible for the paint and materials to paint the rock, and we are all blessed with the artwork and positive message to view the next day. We hope families will enjoy this opportunity to do a fun and unique project together for parents and community members to surprise someone with a positive thought.”
The paintings are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so officials are encouraging early reservations to secure desired dates. Tarps, drop cloths or garbage bags must be used to protect the grass and area around the rock.
“We’ve positioned it strategically in front of our Better Together signs,” Trimm said. “It’s a reminder we are better together across the state to make all of our students successful together, and our families and schools are better together as well.”
