Maggie has such a positive attitude that she refuses to allow her Down syndrome to impact her quality of life. Her greatest challenge is her ability to speak and communicate clearly. Maggie’s mom understands, that “Maggie is gradually recognizing more and more that she is not like her peers.” As Cannon Schools 1st year participating in our Jr Dream Team campaign, the students, faculty, and administration have eagerly selected Maggie as their Jr Dream Kid. Maggie is the perfect Jr. Dream Kid because she represents the true family feeling of Cannon School. Everyone at Cannon School knows Maggie through her father, who is a teacher and head of the math department at Cannon School and through her mother, who works as an assistant to the Head Master, and her older brother and sister, Jackson and Sydney, who are students at Cannon School. Her family feels honored that Maggie was selected to represent Cannon School.
A natural performer, Maggie likes to be the center of attention. She also has lots of love and support to share with others. In particular, she names her brother Jackson, who plays football, and her sister Sydney, who is a cheerleader as her “favorite athletes.” Sydney says that what she loves most about Maggie is “her tremendous energy. It takes her a few minutes to wake up in the morning, but after that, she is full-energy Maggie until her head hits the pillow at night.”
The Cannon Jr. Dream Team is led by faculty advisor Sue Ramsey and made up of students in the upper school who were chosen because of their outstanding character and leadership abilities. Visit our Jr. Dream Team page to learn more about these amazing students who are devoted to making Maggie’s dream come true. In their first actual meeting with Maggie, the Jr Dream Team Members realized that the expression “never met a stranger” was written for Maggie. From the start, she asked each student, “What’s your name?” and her amazing memory for detail made sure she remembered them throughout the meeting, always calling each one by name. While she was a little shy about approaching this group at the beginning of the meeting, by the end, she was playing duck-duck-goose, doing cheer jumps with Sane, and cheesing in a big, bold, Maggie-way for the camera. Those Disney Princesses, like Sophia the First, that Maggie loves so much, have nothing on Maggie when it comes to charm and charisma. With her charming smile and her generous hugs, it’s impossible for everyone in the room not to fall in love with Maggie. After all, don’t we all want and need a cheerleader like Maggie??
