More Inspiration from the Lip Sync Contest

More Inspiration from the Lip Sync Contest

In our quest to have our school as the center of the community, we have quite a few events to bring out the “People.” A few weeks after the Lip Sync Contest we had our annual Renaissance Ice Cream Social. It’s a night when students and their families can make their own ice cream sundaes, socialize, and enjoy light entertainment.

Each year we mix the entertainment up a bit. This year we asked some lip sync acts to perform then we planned a dance party with some classic favorites. We had several groups volunteer to perform. Unfortunately, one of our performers was ill all week and could not be there. This is significant because he was part on the winning lip sync act.

In a previous post, I went into detail about a performance that won the Lip Sync Contest. The act included an autistic student and his eighth grade sister. The brother was sick but the sister asked if she could speak to the crowd at the ice cream social to explain the importance of their act from few weeks earlier. The song they performed was the Glee version of Born Like Me.

As adults, some people find it difficult to speak in front of a crowd. Her request took a lot of courage. She spoke in a most magnificent fashion as she explained autism. It was enlightening because most people do not understand autism. A common mistake is that it it’s the same for everyone.

This articulate eighth grader spoke about the variety of symptoms and the stereotypical errors people make. She told of her brother’s barriers to loud noises, interactions with peers, and awkward behaviors. Her words came from the heart. This speech was illuminating to me as an educated adult, so I’m sure it was informational to the many students in attendance.

As she spoke about the love, admiration, and positive abilities of her brother, you could see, hear, and feel her pride and affection. It was a proud moment for me as her principal to see her growth over the last four years and her fearless delivery. One part of her speech will forever be engraved in my memory.

She said, “If God asked me to make a wish to change my brother, I would say give the wish to someone else. I love my brother just the way he is.”

And, oh yes, the performance and dance party were fun, too!!