Duke Ellington: A Celebration of The Arts, Diversity and Community - May 24th

Join us as we celebrate the PS4 adaptation of author Andrea Pinkney’s book, Duke Ellington, and enjoy an evening of music, dancing, singing and poetry on Friday, May 24 at 5:30pm. $5 tickets will be sold at the door.

Ellington Poets Have Lunch With Principal Stevens

After a recent performance by The Ellington Poets, Principal Stevens hosted a luncheon where he shared the importance of sharing their talent with the community. 

PS4 hosted a Community Board Legislative event for District 6.  In attendance were Senator Espaillat, State Senator Jackson, Assemblyman Rodriquez and our Superintendent Manual Ramirez. Principal Stevens sat alongside a cohort of our districts finest Principals, and cheered our poets on. Superintendent Ramirez raved about their salient talents and called on parents and dignitaries in the audience to pay attention to what district 6 students represent, “the best and the brightest”.  

Under the direction of Mr. Cantu, The Ellington Poets performed 'Imagine a World Without Hate', in commemoration of Respect For All week. During Respect for All Week, February 11-15, schools across New York City will had the opportunity to highlight and build upon ongoing programs to help students, staff and communities gain a better understanding of diversity. Schools all over the city, promoted respect for diversity and focused on preventing bullying, intimidation, and bias-based harassment.  Our very own Ellington Poets wrote and performed this powerful poem that promoted kindness and peace.  

Ellington Poets Perform At Inauguration

Councilman Jackson and distinguished speakers give the thumbs up to audience as Mr. Cantu (right - front) sits with his daughter, the Ellington Poets and student performers.

A recent tweet from the Honorable Robert Jackson, State Senator of New York State District 31, showed how thrilled he was with a performance by our very own Ellington Poets!  The Ellington Poets performed at City College's Great Hall, on Sunday, January 13th, to an audience of hundreds of community members who celebrated the senator's inauguration.

Councilman Jackson makes a promise to honorably represent the citizens of District 31.

This is the 3rd time Councilman Jackson has been re-elected to represent District 31. When he was first elected to the City Council in 2001, he helped create more than 4,000 new Pre-K spots, fought against teacher layoffs, and helped start the Drop-Out Prevention Initiative. He also served as chair of the Education Committee and co-chaired the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus. He is a leader in our community and our poets were honored to celebrated his re-election to the United States Senate.  For more information about the councilman, click here.

The Ellington Poets Society perform at the inauguration of Councilman Robert Jackson.

Leading up to the performance, Mr. Cantu was with his Ellington Poets in the green room and shared  the magnitude of the moment and the powerful dignitaries that were present on the stage. He reminded them that they had worked so hard and with such conviction, and that they needed to share their wonderful work with the world.  After the performance, Mr.  Cantu said, “today is a wonderful day for The Duke Ellington School. You all have raised the bar of PRIDE and excellence for the entire PS4 school community and beyond. I am incredibly proud of you."

Congratulations to the Ellington Poets Society, under the direction of Mr. Cantu. Bravo!

Sing For Hope Piano Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Principal Stevens and Melanie Smith from the Sing For Hope Organization with PS4 students, teachers and PTA Pres.

The Sing For Hope Piano, located in our school's lobby, received an official welcome by members of the Student Government Organization, The Ellington Poets, Principal Stevens and representatives from the Sing For Hope Organization.  During this much anticipated celebration, Melanie Smith, Youth Programs Manager at Sing For Hope, gave students information about the organization and the history of our piano.  "Your piano", she told students "came all the way from under the arch at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and was painted by an artist named Lance Johnson".  This piano is perfect for our school because the artist, from NYC, was inspired by jazz music and wanted to visually express the improvisational creativity of the music. To learn more about is artwork, click here!

During this celebration of the arts, Ms. Williams' (Assistant Principal) daughter Maddie played a song on the piano, Sing For Hope Volunteer John Clinton engaged students in a sing along and our very own Ellington Poets performed an excerpt from their poem, Hamlet in the Heights.  To learn more about the Sing For Hope Organization and how they celebrate the arts, click here!  For more highlights from the event, click here, watch the video and take a look at the photos below!

Special thanks to Melanie Smith and John Clinton from Sing For Hope for leading our ribbon cutting ceremony!  Thanks to Mr. Cantu, Arts Coordinator, for leading arts in our school and bringing this special piano to our lobby.

The Ellington Poets Perform At The Langston Hughes Festival (VIDEO)

The Ellington Poets with Principal Stevens and Mr. Cantu

To celebrate and honor the legendary American writer and poet, Langston Hughes, school children from grades K Through 6 attend and view poetry, music, and theatrical plays at the annual City College Langston Hughes Festival at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem!  In what has become a school tradition, this is the fifth year in a row that the Ellington Poets Society has performed at this festival!

The Ellington Poets curriculum includes studying famous American Poets like Langston Hughes. This year, the poets performed original spoken word in response to reading and discussing various of Langston's finest poetic verse. The poem they wrote and performed was titled "Langston PRIDE" as an ode to practicing positivity, respect, integrity, determination and excellence as part of the PBIS/Character Education System we practice at the Duke Ellington School. "Of course they were inspired by Langston Hughes", says Ellington Poet Director and Arts Coordinator for PS4M, Mr. Cantu.  "Not only his poetic wonder... but also for the character with which he lived his life".

To read some poems by Langston Hughes, click here!  For more information about the Langston Hughes Festival, click here.  Take a look at the video below to see the Ellington Poets perform!


The Ellington Poets Perform At The Langston Hughes Festival - 2017 from PS4M on Vimeo.

Ellington Poets Will Perform At The Apollo On June 6th

Members of the Ellington Poets Society, comprised of students from 4th and 5th grade.

The Ellington Poets Society, directed by Mr. Cantu, were selected to perform at the Manhattan Borough Performing Arts Showcase at the Apollo on June 6th!  After sending an audition video to Rachel Shapiro, Director of Arts for NYC Department of Education, the poets were selected to perform as part of the festival! Congratulations, poets!

The festival showcases the wonderfully diverse talents of our students and schools across the island of Manhattan.  NYC School Chancellor Carmen Fariña kicked off the third annual Borough Arts Festivals, on May 5th.  The series of visual and performing arts events in each borough provide platforms for nearly 2,700 students from over 460 schools to showcase their work from the school year. The borough arts festivals take place at art galleries, theaters, museums, and other cultural locations across the City, and host families and community members.

“The arts are an essential part of all students’ comprehensive education, and this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the many talents of New York City students and teachers,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “The arts are not frills, instead they inspire us and reenergize us. I congratulate the talent and creativity of our students and urge community members to join in celebrating their achievements.”  To see a video of highlights from last year's festival, click here!

P.R.I.D.E. Day Celebration (VIDEOS)

Ms. Mercedes Ellington (center - rear) poses with her fellow musicians, Principal Stevens, staff and students from PS4.

The Duke Ellington P.R.I.D.E. Day Celebration event was a success with support from Dr. Montanez and the Turn2 Us Staff at Columbia Presbyterian, featuring performances from The Ellington Poets Society, The Jazz and Democracy Project, The Duke Ellington Center for the Arts and with special guest speaker Ms. Mercedes Ellington; Granddaughter of Duke Ellington!

Ms. Mercedes Ellington, granddaughter of Duke Ellington, poses with host and Technology Teacher, Ms. Lennon.

During this special assembly, we celebrated the tenets of The Duke Ellington School; Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Excellence and honor the American icon that our school is named after; Duke Ellington.  Click here to to read an article about Duke Ellington's granddaughter!  Then take a look at the videos below to see Ms. Ellington show her skills in ballroom dancing and watch an excerpt from a poem by The Ellington Poets Society. 


Ms. Mercedes Ellington Ballroom Dancing from PS4M on Vimeo.


Ellington P.R.I.D.E. Poem (Excerpt) by The Ellington Poets Society from PS4M on Vimeo.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Assembly (VIDEO)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said his 'I Have A Dream' speech on August 28, 1963.

"I have a dream that little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" is what Dr. King told an audience of millions in August of the year 1963.  As America continues to struggle with racism, students at PS4 honored the great man by listening to presentations by our students and inducting fifteen new members of our National Elementary Honor Society.  Hosted by our Social Studies Teacher, Mr. Harris, this celebration included students reading excerpts from Dr. King's most famous speeches:

• Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech (December 10, 1964)
• Montgomery Bus Boycott Speech (December 5, 1955)
• I've Been to the Mountaintop Speech (April 3, 1968)
• Letters From A Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)

After learning about the meaning of each speech, Mr. Harris spoke about why we celebrate Dr. King and encouraged students to learn more about his life by doing some research.  Here are some kid-friendly websites about the life of this great man;

• Brainpop.com - Martin Luther King, Jr. (VIDEO)
• Time For Kids - Honoring King's Dream (VIDEO)
• Social Studies for Kids - Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Our assembly to honor Dr. King also included a candle-lighting, induction ceremony for the fifteen new members of PS4's National Elementary Honor Society (advised by Ms. Lennon), a great vocal performance of Estelle's song 'Conqueror' from Kasiyah O. (class 502) and a poem from the Ellington Poets (directed by Mr. Cantu).  To see their performance, click the video below.

Ms. Lennon with the new members of the National Elementary Honor Society.

Kasiyah O. (502) sings 'Conqueror' by Estelle.

MLK Jr. Celebration - Ellington Poets from PS4M on Vimeo.

The Ellington Poets Perfrom at NYU (VIDEO)

The Ellington Poets perform at the 2014 No Place for Hate Recognition Ceremony.

No place for Hate is an initiative of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) that offers students educators, administrators and family members the opportunity to work together to combat prejudice and enhance a culture of respect in their schools and communities.  Recently, the ADL awarded the seventy-six schools that participated in this anti-bullying initiative.

This year,  The Ellington Poets performed in front of an audience of students, teachers and honored guests at NYU's Performing Arts Theater!  Under the direction of Mr. Cantu, PS4's Dean and ESL teacher, the talented group of 4th and 5th grade poets were chosen to perform their rendition of Imagine by John Lennon.  Congratulations, boys and girls!

Take a look at the video below or click here to see a video of their entire performance!  Special thanks to the ADL's Associate Education Director and No Place For Hate Coordinator, Jason Sirois for his continued support of PS4.  We love you too, Mr. Jason!

The Ellington Poets with Mr. Cantu at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts Center following their performance.

Ellington Poets from PS4M on Vimeo.

The Ellington Poets Society Perform at BAM

The Ellington Poets Society with Mayhem Poets

The BAMcafe stage

The Ellington Poets Society recently performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the professional poet group, Mayhem Poets.  The Mayhem Poets take audiences on a high energy verbal adventure that raises poetry to playful and thought-provoking heights, inspiring students with the power of spoken word.  Commenting on subjects from Dr. Seuss to superheroes to fast food, this trio of theatrically trained artists is joined by an electric violinist to explore rhythm in its many forms.

More than two hundred students from all over NYC were invited to this event, but the only student group to take the stage was the Ellington Poets.  One member was very inspired by the Mayhem Poets.  Byron M. asked Mason Granger, who joined the Mayhem Poets in 2005, about his inspiration for one of his poems.  "Do you really love cartoons that much?", asked Byron. "Yea", Granger responded, "I do".  For more information about Mayhem Poets, click here!

Lead by our school's Dean of Discipline, Mr. Cantu, the next two performances by the Ellington Poets Society will be at Aaron Davis Hall (Langston Hughes Choral Speaking Festival) on May 23rd and at our annual Talent Show on June 15th.