Dogwood kindergartener Scarlett Arnold saved the day when she and her class went on a treasure hunt during recess on March 6.
First grade teacher Sabrina Mink went with her husband and daughter to the park behind Dogwood Elementary School on March 4 around 4:00. It was a sunny day, so she decided to put sunscreen on her daughter. She took off her wedding rings and put them in her husband’s t-shirt pocket to avoid getting them messy. Then the fun began, and she forgot all about the rings. She remembered them again about 7:15 that night when she was starting the bedtime routine for her daughter. When her husband reached into his pocket, he discovered a big hole.
“We panicked,” Mink said. “There were five of us that went back to the park that night with flashlights.”
They immediately found the wedding band in the parking lot. It had fallen straight through the hole, but they looked for the engagement ring for two more hours without luck. Sunday morning they went back out to look. She posted on the Facebook Germantown Bulletin Board and emailed staff at Dogwood Elementary.
“I assumed we would have found it,” Mink said. “There were so many people looking. I had not fully given up hope, but almost.”
Monday morning, there were more search efforts. Teachers were scouring the ground as they walked to class. Another first grade teacher was out looking with a metal detector.
Ann Wallace, kindergarten teacher, took her class out to recess and told them to go on a treasure hunt. Scarlett asked what they were looking for.
“When Ms. Wallace said we were looking for a ring, I knew where it was,” Scarlett said.
She immediately told Wallace.
“I didn’t believe her at first,” Wallace said, “but she brought it back. I was ecstatic for my friend.”
Scarlett had been at the park that Saturday too. She saw the ring, and she knew it was important. “I saw it shining in the rocks, so I buried it like treasure,” she said.
She was happy to know she could help Mrs. Mink.
“It was so sweet that everyone was trying to help,” Mink said. “The events that led me to lose it were so silly, and the events that led to finding it…you can’t make them up.”
Some teachers had not even mentioned the lost ring. The child who found the ring and buried it just happened to be in the class that initiated the treasure hunt. The serendipitous circumstances led to one happy, relieved teacher and a student who will enjoy some Skittles for her responsible thinking.