PS4's French & African Dance Club Goes To The United Nations!

Members of PS4's French and African Dance Club at the City Council's Committee on Cultural Affairs, Council Chambers.

The NYC City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations held a meeting on Monday, April 29, 2019 at 10:00 A.M. in the Council Chambers, City Hall, New York, NY regarding the Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) Initiative: Bringing Arts & Culture To New York City Public School and Enriching The Lives Of Students. PS4's French and African Dance Club was invited!  The meeting brought members of the staff as well as students who are active participants in the CASA programming, like our French and African Dance Club.  Most exciting, was that students were asked to perform in front of the Council Members!

On March 18, our scholars were also invited to perform at the United Nations! This particular event was held to celebrate women and girls around the world. Congratulations to the members of the French and African Dance Club.  Special thanks to instructor Assetou Sy for exposing our scholars to great experiences and to Ms. Martin (Assistant Principal) for taking the following photos!

Join Our Family

Ms. Martin (Assistant Principal) speaks to prospective parents about PS4.

Are you a parent of a preschooler and looking for a school for your child? Please consider joining the Duke Ellington Family!  Recently, PS4 hosted an open house, specifically designed for parents of preschool and kindergarten children! Hosted by Ms. Martin, Assistant Principal of lower grades, neighborhood parents were invited to attend an informational session where they received a tour of Pre-k and Kindergarten classrooms.  They were also given a token of appreciation and valuable resources to support their decision making with regards to which neighborhood school would be a best fit for their child.  In attendance, was a recent graduate whose 3 year old sister may be attending PS4 next year. “I miss this school”, she told Ms. Martin. “I want my little sister to go here”.

We currently have two Pre-K classes and plans are underway to add a 3-K class! 3-K for All, is an expansion of the city’s popular Pre-K for All program, which now serves 70,000 4-year-olds across the city. 3-K gives children stronger math and reading skills in elementary school. Studies show that early childhood education improves performance throughout a child's school experience. If you are new to NYC and need to find a pre-K program, click here or speak directly to our Parent Coordinator, Denise Nuñez.

For more information about our school, click here.  If you would like a guided tour of our school, click here.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Kindergarten students celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday at an assembly hosted by Ms. Martin.

Kindergarten students celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday with an assembly hosted by Ms. Martin!  Most students wore red and white hats inspired by the famous author and illustrator of more than 44 books!  Among the books he is best known for are "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat".  During our celebration, Ms. Martin read "The Cat in the Hat" and asked questions to see what students were thinking.  "What would you do", she asked, "if the Cat in the Hat knocked on your door...would you let him in?".

Following the assembly, classes took photos and were given stickers to commemorate the celebration.  March 2nd is also Read Across America Day, sponsored by the National Education Association.  This an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.  For more information on Read Across America Day, click here!  To see photos of the event, click the slideshow below!

Free picture slideshow created with Smilebox

Perfect Attendance for December

Mr. Diaz, Kindergarten Teacher, shakes the hand of a parent as her daughter receives a Perfect Attendance certificate.

Congratulations to the nearly seventy-five students that attended the celebration for scholars that have achieved perfect attendance for the month of December!  This celebration took place in the auditorium with an audience of parents, teachers and guests.  Teachers presented students with a certificate.  "A special thank you goes to the parents", said Ms. Martin, assistant principal and host.  "Thank you for making learning a priority and making sure that your child comes to school every day, on time".

Excellent attendance is a crucial requirement for doing well in school--and life! A student may be absent for illness, emergencies, or for religious observance, but the goal is for every student to be in school every day.   A student who has 90% attendance is missing one month of instruction. A student with less than 90% attendance is considered chronically absent.  For more information from the NYC Department of Education, about student attendance, click here.

Take a look at the photo collage below, for some highlights from the Perfect Attendance Celebration!

Free photo collage made with Smilebox

Awards for 1st Graders

Singing famous nursery rhymes, like The Eensy Weensy Spider, is a lot of fun when you're singing with one hundred students from 1st grade!  ELA/Literacy Coach, Ms. Thomspon, began this special assembly by speaking to students about the importance of learning sight words.  "It's important that you learn sight words and rhyming words", she said.  "This is how you learn to read".

After singing three nursery rhymes that students were familiar with, Ms. Martin gave teachers the opportunity to reward students that have achieved success in the areas of reading, math, and overall behavior.  Students with perfect attendance were also rewarded!  Congratulations to all of the students that earned certificates!

Ms. Luciano and Ms. Martin with students from class 101.

Ms. Sanchez and Ms. Martin with students from class 120.

Ms. Reyes, Ms. Delpesh, Ms. Martin and Paraprofessional Ms. Aguilar with students from class 102.

Ms. Rivera, Ms. Martin and Paraprofessionals with students from class K483.

Ms. Pinales and Ms. Martin with students from class 122.

3rd Grade Meeting & Awards

Assistant Principal Ms. Martin discuss her expectations with students and teachers in grade 3.

Recently, Assistant Principal Ms. Martin met with students and teachers from the 3rd grade.  She encouraged students to create academic goals, discussed expectations for the next month and provided time for teachers to give certificates to students who have achieved success in math, English language arts, reading and overall behavior.  Nearly fifty students were awarded for academic success and another fifty students were also rewarded for having perfect attendance since the first day of school!

Congratulations to the 3rd grade award winners!  Take a look at photos of the meeting below.

Ms. Schwartz with award winners from class 301 and Ms. Martin.

Ms. Davis with award winners from class 302 and Ms. Martin.

Mr. Cantu with award winners from class 320 and Ms. Martin.

Ms. Cabral with award winners from class 321 and Ms. Martin

Ms. Marino with award winners from class 322 and Ms. Martin

Breakfast With Santa

This week, Santa visited PS4!  Each student got an opportunity to have a snack, take a photograph with Santa and visit the Holiday Store (sponsored by the PTA) to chose a present for a family member.  Take a look at the slide show below to see some highlights from our successful event, organized by Assistant Principal, Ms . Martin.

This slideshow design made with Smilebox

The Duke Ellington School Celebrates Halloween!

Have you ever heard a scary story? Well, on Friday, October 29th, Ms. Lennon, our librarian, read a short story called 'Where Is My Toe?', from a book entitled 'Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark' by Alvin Schwartz. PS4 celebrated Halloween by having celebrations all over the school. Even the teachers got in the Halloween spirit by dressing up! Ms. Lennon and Mr. Diaz (Kindergarten teacher) both dressed as doctors and Ms. Baez-Torres (1st grade teacher) dressed as a witch. Boys and girls in lower grades celebrated Halloween in their classrooms and students from grades 3, 4, and 5 assembled in the gym for story telling, a costume parade, and a dance performance. Once students were in the Halloween spirit and saw all of the costumes, the costume contest began and the winners were announced:

1st Place-Devon C. (Class 501); Zombie
2nd Place-Yasmin P. (Class 420); 18th Century Princess
3rd Place-Dazaeth M. (Class 481); Werewolf with a Mohawk

"It was a difficult decision", said Ms. Martin, Assistant Principal and Costume Contest Judge, "there were so many great costumes". After the contest, Turn 2 Foundation's choreographer, Jona Biddle (known to his students as Mr. B), introduced his PS4 Dance Team. They danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The twelve members of the dance team not only gave an excellent performance, but were dressed in costume! Ms. Martin gave students a few safety tips. "Boys and girls, if you are going Trick-or-Treating this Sunday, do not go out alone. Go with an adult and be safe". Although many children carry around bags of candy, each Halloween, 5th grade members of our Honor Society were trick-or-treating for UNICEF. Go to www.unicefusa.org for more information.