RMMS Participates in Webcast with Taylor Swift
Thanks to 6th grade teacher Mrs. Kerri Nocella, sixth graders at Robert Moses Middle School were fortunate to take part in a live webcast featuring Taylor Swift which was sponsored by Scholastic Books. The live event took place in NYC at the Scholastic Worldwide Center in front of a live studio audience comprised of NYC public school students. Robert Moses students were able to view the entire studio event from their very own RMMS auditorium.
The literacy event was a kick-off to Scholastic's 90th Anniversary year. Nick Cannon hosted the live interview with pop-singing sensation Taylor Swift who was well poised and articulate as she verbalized how important reading and writing have been to her. She explained how her ideas for songs come through the events that happen in her life. Sometimes these ideas come to her in the airport, in the car, or while talking to friends. She said that she wrote all of the songs by herself on her newly released album, "Fearless". In fact, she has been writing songs since she was 10 years old. She told the students that she believes reading and writing go hand in hand. She stated that songwriting is storytelling in musical form, just set to a rhythm.
Ms. Swift encouraged the students to find something that they feel passionate about and then work very hard at it. She told them that the most important part of a person is their imagination. She thanked her teachers and her mom for encouraging her to read every day because it gives you a greater appreciation for things in life, it helps you to better understand people, and it makes life more colorful. She told the live audience that her high school reading assignment "Romeo and Juliet" was the inspiration for her same-named song. She also shared that her favorite genre of literature is historical fiction. She finds it amazing to put herself in the mindset of someone who lived so long ago, perhaps during the Civil War or during an ancient time period. Lastly, Taylor Swift and her band treated the students to a live performance of "Mine" from her new album.
This Scholastics Books event offered students a rare opportunity to be encouraged to read by a tremendously successful musical star admired around the world.