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Affirmation Stones at Meeker Elementary
September 25, 2018

Affirmation Stones at Meeker Elementary

Students and families at Meeker Elementary recently had an opportunity to write empowering words on pre-painted rocks during their open house event. In total, about 150 affirmation stones were created that students could either take home as a personal reminder, or hide them around Ames. “I was looking to increase interaction with students and their families during Open House -- meet more parents, introduce myself and put faces to names, initiate positive relationships,” said Meeker Elementary School Counselor Kari Deal. Anyone who found a stone around Ames was encouraged to post a photo to Meeker’s Facebook page. Deal felt like this activity would also encourage interaction on our social media space.

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Amazing Grace Lemonade Race
September 21, 2018

Amazing Grace Lemonade Race

This story was originally published in Volume 4 of Amazing Magazine that you can download here. When Grace McCunn was 10 years old, she passed out at school for the first time, seemingly for no reason. It’s a phone call that no parent ever wants to receive. Her mother, Mary Jane, raced to the school where she found Grace conscious and alert, and brought her to McFarland Clinic for evaluations. She said, “That night, they admitted her because they didn’t know what was happening. She was having chest pains at the time, so they kept her over night, but they just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.” The McCunn’s, who have some experience spending time in a hospital with their older daughter Sarah, reached out to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines and the neurologist who treated her with migraines. Grace got admitted and the doctors at Blank immediately diagnosed her with Chronic Daily Migraines, the same as her sister. What they determined that worked for Sarah, did not for Grace. Mary Jane said, “With Grace, they gave her this new medicine and within 30 minutes she felt great. What it did was put Grace to sleep immediately. When she woke up, she was a new person.”

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