The stars will shine tonight — Friday — on Lindbergh High School’s new all-inclusive dance team when it performs during the Homecoming football game, one of the biggest events of the school calendar.

The Shining Stars team includes students in Special School District programs and members of the Flyerettes dance team. The team will perform during pregame festivities at 6:30 p.m., and again with the entire Flyerettes dance team during halftime at the high school, 5000 S. Lindbergh Blvd.

The Shining Stars was started this year by Maddie Lake, who is a member of the Flyerettes and a senior class officer. After she and her teammates watched an all-inclusive team from Fort Zumwalt High School perform during a competition last year, she took the idea to Principal Eric Cochran and asked him if LHS could start a team of its own.

Five students enrolled at LHS through the Special School District are currently participating in Shining Stars. They pair up with 10 Flyerettes buddies and practice once a week to learn dance routines. During one of their first performances at a back-to-school pep assembly, the LHS student body gave the team a standing ovation.

“It was amazing to see all of the students standing up and cheering along to the Fight Song,” Maddie stated in a news release. “When we are not performing, we sit in the stands and have fun cheering together.”

Lindbergh’s group is registered with The Sparkle Effect, a national foundation that supports all-inclusive dance teams and provides suggestions and guidelines for starting a local team. Maddie said she has been encouraged by the enthusiasm of her new teammates and the camaraderie that has been fostered among the buddies in just a few short weeks since school began.

“The Shining Stars are always so excited to come to practice and they love dancing,” she stated. “They love the music and our uniforms, which are a black skirt and matching T-shirts.”

Watch a video of the Shining Stars’ pep rally performance below: