Over 300 high school students and principals from throughout Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties put their moves to the test in the Talent Exhibition Principals Lip Sync contest on Saturday, hosted by Turlock’s Westside Ministries.
Turlock High School took first place, beating out the competition and claiming a $2,000 prize in scholarships by performing Jenni Rivera’s classic, “Cuando Muere una Dama,” and Don Omar’s dance hit single “Danza Kuduro.”
“I am very proud of our THS students and the hard work they put into practicing,” said Turlock High Interim Principal Marie Peterson. “I am glad I was able to learn the lyrics since I don’t speak any Spanish. My three girls all attend Osborn Two-Way Immersion Academy so they were a big help the past few weeks helping me learn the lyrics.”
Pitman High School was also recognized during the competition when the faux singing Pride placed second in the non-principal category, claiming a prize of $1,500 in scholarships.
“Each school that participated received $1,000 with the winning school taking an additional $1,000,” said Westside Ministries Executive Director JoLynn DiGrazia. “This year we divided the schools into two separate groups where the first group competed with an administrator other than the principal and the second group who competed with their principal.”
The event, which has provided thousands of dollars in scholarships for participating schools, was salvaged by Westside Ministries after El Concilio canceled the event for a second consecutive year. DiGrazia agreed to continue on with the tradition by handing out the same scholarship money to participating schools as El Concilio has in the past.
“Lip Sync provides so many opportunities for these kids that I wanted to continue on with the tradition, even if I have to pay money out of my own pocket to keep it alive,” said DiGrazia. “We were able to come up with the necessary funds through our Colin Kaepernick T-shirt sale earlier during the year. My goal for next year is to continue on with the Lip Sync tradition and have it exactly as it has been in previous years.”
DiGrazia hopes Lip Sync will gain in popularity and more schools will get involved from throughout the region.
“I will continue on with the tradition and get more sponsors for next year to make this event bigger and better,” said DiGrazia.
