Dr. Ludgate, emdt program director wrote: “Ocoee Middle School is the state technology demonstration school for Florida- showcased every year at FETC. A few months ago the EMDT crew met with Sharyn Gabriel (principal) and a few staff to discuss a Flash Mob idea. They were so inspired by the Flash mob scene from the Oprah and Black Eyed Peas show- they wanted to try the same concept – educationally inspired. They hired a professional singer to write and sing lyrics related to reading and literacy to encourage kids to prepare and read for the FCAT test. “The amazing Full Sail Online Production team made this all happen- they even let the Ocoee Middle School production class shadow them and gave them mini-lessons throughout the shooting process.”
I was there taking still photos during the video shoot & the energy was amazing. If you look really carefully at 3:00 in the video I’m the little black dot on the extreme left of the screen by the trees taking pictures. What an amazing day.
Also, now the response videos are beginning to pop up (song pops up 1:40 in..) and I love that they “freeze” when the video stops because of buffering!):
WOW! I am so impressed! I am doing my senior internship at a Brevard County elementary school, and I cant wait to go to school in the morning so I can show this video to my class.
It is AWESOME! Ocoee you did a great job! I know my students will love it!!!!
who are the kids who sang the song
The singer featured in the video was a former teacher from the Ocoee Middle School, where the video was taped. The kids in the video were students from Ocoee Middle School.
Hi Joe!
Thanks for writing about this awesome project. I am the vocalist on the recording but I wanted to clear up some small details. I was the choir director at Ocoee middle school for 3 years and I came back to do this project with one of my best friends, Nicole Nasrallah (who is the band director and the one who wrote the lyrics). I just wanted to make sure she got the credit for that. Also, I did it for free, of course
Thanks again for writing! This was a lot of fun!!
Jamie
Thank you! Thank you! Can we do this at our school? I certainly hope so. This is so much fun…inspirational! I think my class will start every day this way.
How did you get permission? We want to do something similar at our school. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Contact Janet Bergh, the reading coach at Ocoee Middle School. The video was her brain-child and she did all of the hard work securing the rights to the song. Here’s the URL for the school: https://www.ocps.net/LC/WEST/MOO/Pages/default.aspx
And here’s the URL for the song/video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D9jiEYxzs
Where can I find the lyrics. Wouls like my class to learn the words
Link to the school site is: https://www.ocps.net/lc/west/moo/Pages/default.aspx
I didn’t see the lyrics on the website. Are they available somewhere? A would like for my students to be able to sing along!
Just contacted one of the artists featured in the video and she says you can get a PDF of the lyrics at the school website:
https://www.ocps.net/lc/west/moo/Documents/Gotta%20Keep%20Reading%20Lyrics.pdf
Enjoy!
Here’s a link to the lyrics: https://www.ocps.net/lc/west/moo/Documents/Gotta%20Keep%20Reading%20Lyrics.pdf
Gotta Keep Reading!
I’m not aware of a copy of the recording that’s available separately. The video creators were very careful to respect the permission they got from the Black Eyed Peas to use the song in the video and not go beyond that usage.
it is the coolest sing i got it stuck in my head now gotta keep reading
I thought it was cool.And keep on rocking!
Looks like other schools are doing their own videos promoting school life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zGFqSji420
Do you have the lyrics to this song? We come to the carpet each morning to a song. We are ready for a new one and they have voted for this one.
Thanks,
Randi Timmons
2nd grade teacher
Chets Creek Elementary School
Jacksonville, Florida
Just contacted one of the artists featured in the video and she says you can get a PDF of the lyrics at the school website: https://www.ocps.net/lc/west/moo/Documents/Gotta%20Keep%20Reading%20Lyrics.pdf
Enjoy!
i am a ocoee middle school student that did the video.. it was so much fun you can contact us at 407-877-5035
Just heard it’s going to be featured Oprah tomorrow — 3/5/2010. My first professional teaching job was as a 6th grade Reading teacher at Ocoee Middle. Way to go, guys!
How exciting to be part of this great reading video! We showed this video at our school for Read Across America and the kids were so energized, they had to get up and move. I was thrilled to see that Full Sail had a part in bringing this video to life!!!!!
Congratulations!!!!
We lOVED this video! I was this on Oprah and shared it with my co-teaches. How inspiring!
Is there a link to the actual song (not the video)?
We are getting ready for a pep rally for our State tests and we’d like to do this for the school if possible.
I agree with Jen! I’d love to have the song itself–my son saw this at school (he’s in 3rd grade) and has requested it for his ipod.
I’d happily make a donation for the download. Love to see teachers and kids embracing pop culture in such a creative, useful, and motivating way!
Now I like the song with these lyrics!
I would like to talk to you about permissions. Please reply to me at my aforementioned address ASAP, please. Thanks!
Contact Janet Bergh, the reading coach at Ocoee Middle School. The video was her brain-child and she did all of the hard work securing the rights to the song. Here’s the URL for the school: https://www.ocps.net/LC/WEST/MOO/Pages/default.aspx
Damn, I wish I could think of soemhintg smart like that!
am keen to use the song to Launch My Sa Career Guide in South Africa
how do I get permission
I’m not entirely sure how this might work out in South Africa but the contact person at Ocoee Middle School was Janet Bergh, the reading coach at Ocoee Middle School. The video was her brain-child and she did all of the hard work securing the rights to the song. Here’s the URL for the school: https://www.ocps.net/LC/WEST/MOO/Pages/default.aspx. I hope this helps and let us know if you are able to create your own version.
What about the Karaoke? It does not line up with the Karaoke for the original version and my choir would like to sing it at our concert!!!! ( and of course, budget is non- existent!)