Our Third Annual Daffodil and Tulip Planting Event

Just before the first snowstorm of the year, PS4 scholars in 3K, 4K, Kindergarten and grade 2 spent an afternoon planting daffodil and tulip bulbs with Ms. Diane! For the past three years, Ms. Diane Pobuda, an active member of the PS4 school community, has donated hundreds of bulbs to beautify our school. Because of her efforts, the NYC Parks Department re-planted the trees in front of our school building when they were destroyed by scaffolding. With her vision of making 160th Street become a tree lined street, not only did she get more trees added, she also helped to put the railings around each one. 

During this year's annual daffodil and tulip bulb planting event, Ms. Diane spoke to each class about daffodils and tulips! She gave scholars specific instructions on how to plant each bulb. "Pointy side up and root side down", she reminded them. She also discussed the importance of roots and then told them that the tulips will be red when they bloom!  Ms. Diane brought shovels, rakes and soil for students to use. She instructed them on how to use the tools to dig the holes for the bulbs. "My students were so excited", said Kindergarten teacher Ms. Benenson. "The mere excitement of getting out of the classroom during these unprecedented times was priceless...it was a joy to see how engaged they were in examining our green community space and making connections to our science lessons about plants".

Ms. Estevez, Special Education Teacher, found that her students also used the information that they learned about other seeds (ex: raddish) to make comparisons to the size of the tulip and daffodil seeds! "It was amazing to see my scholars make connections about what they learned in school to real life experiences", she said. "These opportunities allow the students to not only make science connections, but also to understand the importance of community... planting seeds might look like something simple to adults, but to a child it can give them a sense of pride because they helped to make their community beautiful".

When asked what they most enjoyed about planting daffodil and tulip bulbs, most students said they loved dropping these large seeds into the ground. But, for members of the school community, the best part of this annual event is watching young scholars develop and strengthen their community roots by actively participating in the beautification of where they live. Mr. Cantu, Leadership Education Apprentice Graduate/PBIS Coach/SBL/SDL spoke about the true importance of the event. "In essence, it’s an honor to witness generations of our students engage in enriching projects that help them grow academically, socially and emotionally."

On behalf of Ms. Martin, Assistant Principal for early childhood grades, a big thank you goes to Mr. Cantu, Ms. Estevez, and Ms. Benenson who helped us dig! A very big thank you goes to Principal Stevens, our visionary and inspirational leader, for giving his permission and support. A very special thanks goes to Ms. Diane Pobuda for her unwavering dedication to making our school community beautiful and educating young scientists from PS4. To see what red tulips look like when they bloom, click here!