17 Days of Success - December Attendance Contest Winners

Ms. Schwartz and class 301 wearing holiday hats preparing for their pizza party.

Congratulations to the winning classes from the 17 Days of Success Contest! These classes had the highest attendance during the month of December have won a PIZZA PARTY! The winning classes were:


Class 202 - Ms. Smith & Ms. Delpesh - 96% average

Class 222 - Mr. Diaz - 96% average

Class 301 - Ms. Schwartz - 98% average

Class 501 - Ms. Wilson - 98% average

Class 501

Class 222

On behalf of Mr. Stevens, Ms. Jones, Ms. Martin and Mr. Batiz….Congratulations!  Classes that have the best attendance in January will be invited to a see a movie!

3rd Grade Students Visit the Library for Robo-Sauce

Authors Adam Rubin & Daniel Salmieri pose as robots with 3rd grade students at the Washington Heights Library.

Recently, students from 3rd grade classes visited the Washington Heights Branch Library to meet the authors of a new book!  Robo-Sauce is a new book written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri!  During this KidsLIVE! program, students learned about the process used to write the book and got to meet the authors.  "This book talk reinforced what we're doing in the classroom", said Ms. K. Cabral (3rd grade Bilingual Teacher).  "The authors explained the writing process and they were very engaging...the students had a lot of fun".

Special thanks to Amy Chang (Senior Librarian of the NYPL Washington Heights Branch) for the invitation and Penguin Books for providing our scholars with this great opportunity.  After the event, teachers given ten (10) books to take to their classroom!  To see pages of this book, click here!

PS4 and FedEx Walk To Safety City

Once again, students from 3rd grade participated in National Walk To School Day!  This year, three classes participated in this annual event where volunteers from FedEx walk to Safety City with our students.  Safety City is a traffic safety program for school children that uses a simulated New York City street to teach children about traffic safety through hands-on experience.

Special thanks to Renso at Safety City for making sure PS4 students know how to be safe as they cross the street.  Take a look at photos and a video from the exciting event and click here to learn more about Safety City.

Collage made with Smilebox

Contest Winners At PS4!

Congratulations to our most recent award recipients and contest winners!  Each year, with the support PS4 teachers, students enter city-wide writing, poetry, and art contests. 

Social Studies Projects teacher, Ms. Thomas, received good news from The Town Hall Foundation, congratulating her and Justin C (Class 301) for his essay that was chosen as a winning essay in their Black History Month Essay & Poster Contest!  He wrote about music, how it makes him feel and about his favorite musician.  Click here and scroll down to see Justin's winning essay! 

Three students from Ms. Schwartz class (320) traveled to the BMCC Performing Arts Center in Tribeca, with Ms. Lennon, to attend the 2014 NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awards ceremony for participants in the 28th Annual Water Resources Art and Poetry Contest!  675 students (grades 2-12) from New York City and Watershed communities were honored for creating more than 580 original pieces of artwork and poetry that reflect an appreciation for New York’s water resources, waste water treatment systems, and the importance of water conservation.  Marianny A., Daniela R. and Angelica C. received prizes and certificates for their artwork!  Congratulations, girls! 

Justin C. (front-right) is pictured here with other students from PS4 that entered the Town Hall contest.

Korean Dance At PS4

Class 320 celebrating Korean Dance.

The Korean Cultural Service of NY, along with Lotus Music and Dance, are promoting Spotlight Korea; an educational program which sends traditional dancers and musicians to K-12 New York City Public Schools in order to teach and perform Korean music and dance.  Click here for more information about this program.

Since January, twenty-five students from Ms. Schwartz class (320) have been working with Vongku Pak, a professional Korean drummer and instructor.  Recently, representatives from the Korean Cultural Service and Lotus, students, parents and teachers were invited to the celebration held in the auditorium.  Congratulations to Ms. Schwartz and class 320 who had a very good performance!

Click here to see a video from the show!

Another Great Jennifer Muller/The Works Performance

The Jennifer Muller Dance Company made their annual visit to PS4 and brought their show entitled Faces of Wonder.  This group of dancers, named The Works, brings dance to more than 5,000 students in New York City public schools and supports 50 emerging choreographers. 

Students and teachers from 2nd and 3rd grade classes were invited to the auditorium last Friday to the talent of this dance company.  After the show, students were encouraged to ask the dancers a question.  "They had some really good questions", said Mr. Nycz (3rd grade teacher) who assisted the young audience members to the stage.  Here are a few of the questions that were asked that afternoon:

• Why do you use body language? - Ariannis Z. (class 321)
• How do you feel when you dance? - Kelsey D. (class 201)
• Why did that dancer copy the other dancer? - Abdul A. (class 223)
• When did you start to dance? - Melanie V. (class 320)
• How long have you been performing? - Wilbert D. (class 201)
• How did you all get so good? - Brianna R. (class 320)

Special thanks to the dancers for once providing another exciting show for the students of our school!  For more information about Jennifer Muller/The Works, click here!  To see an article from their last visit to PS4, click here!

Four-In-A-Row Competition

For two months, students have been practicing their multiplication facts at home, in class and even during lunch!  Recently, three teams competed in the Four-In-A-Row Competition!  Here are the winning teams:

First Place: Team 401 (Ms. Daniels) - Abigail C., Isis A., Carlos S., Ashley M., and Brianna P.
Second Place: Team 523 (Ms. Anderson) - Byron M., Aleya B., Carolina C., Naa M., and Anthony M.
Third Place: Team 324 (Ms. Schwartz) - Armando R., Nathaniel P., Vanessa P., Elijah C., and Francis D.

1st Place Team from class 401.

2nd Place Team from class 523.

Assistant Principal, Mr. Batiz, leads the competition.

Students in these teams each received a medal.  The first place team received a trophy and certificates.  Congratulations to all participants!  Your hard work did not go unnoticed!

To play your own four-in-a-row multiplication game online, click here!

Grade Three Goes to China

Students from class 323 discussing Chinese Art.

All third grade students recently had the opportunity to visit the China Institute in Manhattan!  The Discovering China Through Art program for children is designed to introduce students to Chinese art and culture through lectures and workshops based on the exhibition’s theme. Each group visit includes a gallery talk, video presentation and a hands-on workshop.  When asked about how students enjoyed the tour, 3rd grade teacher, Ms. Bonilla said, "The visit went very well!  The students enjoyed the tour...especially the workshop".  Each teacher agreed that the best part of the visit was the art project.  "The students really liked the art project and now know a lot about China", said Ms. Arce after the trip.
  

Students from class 323 at the China Institute.

Special thanks goes out to Yue Ma from the China Institute for coordinating each trip.  For more information about the China Institute, click here and for a fun game played in China, click here.

PS4 Celebrates Walk to School Day

On Wednesday, October 5th, students all over the world celebrated Walk to School Day!  Children, parents, teachers and community leaders in all 50 states joined nearly 3 million walkers around the world to celebrate the second annual International Walk to School Day.  Whether your concern is safer and improved streets, healthier habits, or cleaner air, Walk to School Day events encourage a more walkable America — one community at a time.

Students in third grade celebrated by not only walking to school on that day, but joining FedEx volunteers as they walked through the Washington Heights community to our local Safety City location at 157th Street.  Safety City is a traffic safety program for school children that uses a simulated New York City street to teach children about traffic safety through hands-on experience. Monase, from class 320, walks to school every morning with her grandmother.  "She follows the rules and we wait for the light before we cross the street", she says, "we like to talk about school".  Third grade teachers look forward to this event every year!  Ms. Schwartz even brought her son to join in on the festivities!  "It's exciting", she said".

Ms. Thompson and class 301.

Mr. Nycz and class 320.

To see what other schools did to celebrate International Walk to School Day, click here!

Alma Flor Ada Academy Students Get Awarded

On Friday, April 1st, students in the Alma Flor Ada Academy (second floor) received certificates from their teachers! Students were awarded for their hard work in math, science, social studies, writing, reading and citizenship. This assembly was hosted by Mr. Batiz, Assistant Principal for all lower grades, and Ms. Lorenzo, the school's Bilingual Coordinator. Congratulations to all students who received certificates!

Take a look at the slideshow below to see photographs from this event!

Jennifer Muller/The Works Perform at PS4

"That's a good one", replied dancer Pascal Rekoert, after answering one of many questions from first and second grade students, "I love dancing so much, I will never stop". Many girls and boys, like Franchesca O. and Elijah C. (class 220), also wanted to know how to do some of the dances that were seen on stage. "Lots of practice", said Pascal.

Ms. Schwartz's class (class 220) was very excited about seeing the Jennifer Muller/The Works Dancers! This dance company has been around for more than 35 years and has performed in countries like China! The choreographer for these dancers, Jennifer Muller, likes a variety of music and lots of energy in every performance. The performance at our school was very energetic and the music got every audience member dancing in their seats!

Special thanks to dancer Pascal who led the question & answer portion of the show and to Ms. Schwartz and her students for preparing 'thank you' cards.