LESLIE COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) – Grandparents Day events take place in schools across the region, but one Leslie County Elementary School’s day was extra special this year.
Stinnett Elementary holds a program for grandparents every year. Mark Collett, principal of Stinnett Elementary, says this year nearly 300 grandparents showed up.
“We try to make a big deal. Grandparents play a lot of different roles in our kids’ lives,” Collett said. “There’s different skits that we do. We had songs and we had poems read and those kinds of things.”
Abigail Muncy, a 4th grader at the school, was determined to make this year special for her family.
Muncy’s grandmother, Patty Lucas, is deaf. Abigail wanted to make sure her grandmother knew what was going on, so she took it upon herself to use sign language throughout the program.
“I wanted to do it because I wanted my mamaw to know what I was doing,” said Abigail. “I told my teacher I was doing it when we were practicing and she said that would be awesome.” Abigail’s goal was to make it a surprise and her grandmother said she succeeded.
“Didn’t think anything was special. She sat down and she thought it was going to be the normal stuff. Her teacher moves her to the front,” said Lucas. “Last year there was no interpreter, there was nothing. I feel like I’m looking around. Like you are trying to catch on to what people are saying and it is hard for me, but not this year. I was shocked.” Lucas says her granddaughter’s actions left her in tears.
“I felt so special, so good. I did cry,” said Lucas. “I feel good, special, spiritual, wonderful. It made me feel close to my granddaughter.”
Abigail came up with this idea on her own and, after taking the idea to her teachers, taught herself the sign language needed for the program.