Rock the Test Pep Rally!

The New York State ELA Tests will take place on March 28, 29 and 30th. Our Rock the Test Pep Rally was a success! The scholars enjoyed all the fun planned activities by Mr. Ovalle and Mr. Keys. The pep rally included some memorable moments such as:

• the PRIDE song sang by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, led by the talented Janelys R.
• the awesome dance moves from the America Scores Soccer team [choreographed by Mr. Keys and Mr. Ovalle] 
• a beautiful poem written and performed by Henesy J., about being strong 
• the amazing AAU basketball team [PS4 Duke Ellington's finest athletes]! 
• and let's not forget our crowd "risers" - Maurice H., Nasir H., and Lismaldy J. They kept us dancing the whole time!

Special thanks to all of our teachers, for all the hard work they have put in for our scholars to feel successful on their test! Students were in such good spirits and are ready to rock the test! For more information about our state tests, click here and check out the video below for some highlights from our Test Pep Rally!


Rock the Test from PS4M on Vimeo.

PS4 Soccer Teams Go To The Fall Frenzy

Our soccer teams, sponsored by America SCORES NY, recently participated in the annual SCORES NY Fall Frenzy at Jacob H. Schiff Park in Harlem! They played three 15-minute games and shared a poem about teamwork! Take a look at the video below to hear their poem! 

More than 200 America SCORES NY students, 100 parents and friends celebrated the accomplishments of our athletes and poets at this annual event.  For more information about our soccer program, contact Coach Keys or Coach Ovalle.  Special thanks to PS4 parents, Ms. Acosta for another great photo!   Click here to check out more photos on the America Scores NY Facebook Page!

America SCORES NY Brings Soccer Back to PS4

Coach Ovalle poses with his athletes from PS4's America SCORES NY girls soccer team.

Recently, America SCORES NY prepared to host more than 200 poet-athletes on the Jacob Schiff Field (138th Street and Amsterdam) in Harlem for the first game day of the 2016-2017 season! America SCORES NY is the only after-school provider to combine soccer, poetry, and service learning into one comprehensive program that emphasizes physical activity and health, creative expression and literacy, and civic engagement.  America SCORES NY currently partners with 14 public schools in West Harlem and Washington Heights.  Click here for more information.

Congratulations to both the girls and boys soccer teams from PS4 for their win at America SCORES first game day! Led by Coach Keys and Coach Ovalle, both teams even received a visit from Conner Lade of the NY Red Bulls! Special thanks to Ms. Acosta for the photos! 

Coach Keys and Coach Ovalle pose with both the America SCORES NY boys and girls teams from PS4.

PS4 5th Graders Design in the Classroom

Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design Educator, Allison Cox gives students in Ms. Wilson's class a design challenge.

The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum's Design in the Classroom Program brings a basic understanding of design to the classroom!  Recently, students in 5th grade classrooms were visited by Allison Cox, Design Educator for Cooper-Hewitt.  During her 45-minute workshop, students solved a challenge through prototyping or creating a smaller version of a structure that will solve a problem.  Ms. Allison worked with each class to create a structure for kids on the beach!  "PS4 students are very innovative", she said.  "They really thought about the challenge and even created a water slide with a tent for a sunscreen".  Ms. Allison went on to talk about how design impacts our daily life and how it is thinking at a higher level.

Special thanks to Allison Cox and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum!

  Ms. Allison and Physical Education Teacher, Mr. Ovalle, support students with a design challenge.

Parents Attend Capoeira Graduation

Congratulations to the graduates of the Capoeira After-School Program!  When asked what she likes about Capoeira, third grader Aliyah said, "I saw the video of people kicking and I like to kick".  Judany, from class 520 said, "I enjoy everything!  I like cartwheels and excercise...I go to the park and run.  The instructor teaches me cartwheels."

On Friday, February 3rd, nearly forty students from 3rd, 4th and 5th grade received certificates, presented the moves that they learned and celebrated their achievements in front of students, parents and special guests.  A very special thank you goes to Dance Brazil instructors Paulo "Chuvisco" Silva and Angelo "Gafa" Ribeiro for teaching our students this beautiful Brazilian style of martial arts and dance.  See the musical postcard below for some photos taken by Mr. Ovalle, who hosted the event.

Free picture collage created with Smilebox

Math + Games = Happy Learning!

Boys and Girls of PS4 love games! Whether it's a basketball game, computer game or math game, students enjoy learning while playing. Mr. Ovalle supports the work that classroom teachers do by reinforcing math skills using math games. Mr. Ovalle is PS4's math teacher! When he walks into a classroom, students get excited! They know that he will be teaching them how to play a game that involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. "Okay, let's see who's ready", says Mr. Ovalle as he distributes a game called Sum Swamp to the students of Ms. Hodge's class. "6 + 2 = 8", announces Monise F. of class 223. This is a game where players roll three dice to create a number sentence. The first player to reach the other side of the swam, is the winner!

Mr. Ovalle is not the only cluster teacher who uses games to reinforce the skills students need to be successful. Ms. Baez (science), Ms. Grimes (technology) and Mr. Harris (social studies) also use games to help students learn! To see a list of games used with the Everyday Math curriculum used at PS4, click here. Also, check out these fun online websites:

• Cool Math 4 Kids
• Math Playground
• AAA Math
  

The PS 4 Student Government Organization

Did you know that P.S. 4 has a student government? Our Student Government Organization includes Presidents and Vice Presidents from grades 4 and 5. At their Wednesday morning meetings, run by Ms. Lennon, the Student Government learns how to work together and come up with creative solutions for problems in the school.



Here are the members of our Student Government Organization:




Kenneth Pered-401 President
Carlos Delgado-401VP
Jordin De La Rosa-402 President
Elianny Reynoso-402 VP (secretary)
Loretta Casper-420 President
Hailey Gomez-420 VP
Jenesis Morel-421 President
Aaron Hernandez -421 VP
Yeremi Nunez-482 President
Juan Ramon-Torres-482 VP