SULTAN – McKenzie Sumpter, 14, beat out her school librarian and 22 others in a contest to come up with lyrics for Sultan Middle School’s first school song.
But she’s not gloating.
“I didn’t think I was really going to win. Then when I found out I was in the top three, I kind of freaked out,” the eighth-grader said.
McKenzie won an iPod for her lyrics to the song, “Hail to the Skyhawks,” which classmates chose in a vote. The final three were McKenzie, the librarian and a sixth-grade boy.
The contest was the brainchild of classmate Ryan Fox, 14, who promised the song as part of his campaign for student body president.
“Back at Sultan Elementary School they had a song. My sister told me there was a song at Sultan High School. When I found out that Sultan Middle School didn’t have a song, I thought, ‘SMS needs a song,’ ” said Ryan, an eighth-grader.
Band students will unveil “Hail to the Skyhawks” at a pair of public concerts planned for 7 p.m. today and Thursday in the school gym, 301 High Ave.
Audience members will be given a copy of the lyrics to sing along. The concerts also feature about a half-dozen other crowd-pleasing tunes.
Both Ryan and McKenzie play in the eighth-grade band – Ryan plays percussion and McKenzie the clarinet – and will be part of Thursday’s concert.
The lyrics for the school song were to be set to the “Notre Dame Victory March.” Sultan Middle School band director David Pallo arranged the final piece.
Student leaders are now working on ideas for using the song to build school spirit.
Ideas include giving each student a copy and printing it in the yearbook, as well as playing it at assemblies, sports games and eighth-grade promotion ceremonies.
Besides the school song, Ryan also followed up on a campaign pledge to bring other music to the school day. Lunches in the cafeteria are now accompanied by recorded music.
“It’s nice to see that he hasn’t let those things go. He remembered what he promised to do,” said Scott Sifferman, the school’s ASB adviser. “It’s very refreshing.”
School librarian Sharon Chapman said writing song lyrics was a fun experience for staff and students.
“We turned it into a learning opportunity,” she said. “What do we want to say about ourselves in this process? … We want it to be more than a ‘rah rah’ thing at football games. We want it to encompass what we’re all about.”
McKenzie often writes her own songs, including lyrics, for the drums and keyboard she plays at home.
“You get to be really creative with” songwriting, McKenzie said. “You can put in any words you want and be as crazy as you want to.”
In this case, McKenzie said, she wanted the school song to reflect all Skyhawk victories, not just those of sports.
“Some people at our school, I don’t think they appreciate our school as much as they should. We have a lot of opportunities,” said McKenzie, who also is eighth-grade class president. “I hope that when they sing it, they think about how wonderful our school is and that we try our best, always succeed and work hard.”
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
