'Don't forget the lyrics' to support a good cause

Date: 12/8/2008

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW The high school's National Honor Society has a motto -- "furthering education in our town, our city and our world." To achieve that goal, however, the group of young adults needs to raise funds.

That's why the National Honor Society (NHS) is hosting an evening of karaoke-style fun with their own version of "Don't Forget the Lyrics," based on a game show where contestants are asked to finish musical phrases.

One team from each grade will be taking part in the competition, as will a team of teachers. The winning team will receive gift certificates from Friendly's, and prizes will available to a few lucky attendees.

The event, taking place Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium, is open to the public. Tickets to "Don't Forget the Lyrics" are $4 each, and are available to students during lunch periods and to all others at the door the night of the competition.

Katie Hakanson-Stacy, president of NHS, said the majority of funds raised will be sent to the high school's sister school in Peru.

"It's a pretty poverty stricken area," she explained.

The funds sent to Peru take care of the world portion of the group's motto; as for town, some money will go toward a project in the school system, but nothing has been chosen yet.

At the city level, funds will be donated to an adopted classroom at the Alfred M. Glickman School at 120 Ashland Ave. in Springfield.

"The more money we raise, the more people we can benefit," Hakanson-Stacy said.

As for the competition itself, teams will be able to choose songs from a variety of decades and genres. For every missing word each team correctly identifies, the team will be awarded one point. At the end of the game, teams can wager points (like contestants do with their earnings on "Jeopardy!") on a final song. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.

"Nobody's ever done anything like this before [at the high school]," Hakanson-Stacy said. "It's gonna be fun."

In addition to the competition, a high school rock band is tentatively scheduled to open the show.