Donated Book Bags Go To PS4 Scholars

Mr. Cantu with students who received donated book bags filled with school supplies.

As the school year begins, many organization are giving away school supplies and book bags to support learners all over New York City.  Our very own Dr. Thomas, currently teaching 4th grade, recently brought the needs of many of our scholars to the attention of Jason Cohen, Executive Vice President & General Counsel at Diamond Resorts International! Along with Jennifer Wellington, another kind donor, more than fifty students received a brand new book bag filled with school supplies.

From The Desk of Dr. Thomas - 4th Grade Teacher

Hello All,

Just sharing this GREAT information in response to the persuasive letters my 4th grade students wrote to Congressman Espaillat, as a part of their Performance Based Assessment. This was an integrated project combining ELA and Social Studies [Government & Human Rights]. Please click the video below to see him thank our students!


Best,
Dr. Thomas 

Congressman Espaillat Thanks Our Students from PS4M on Vimeo.

Isabella and Benny Win Town Hall Contest

Benny and Isabella (front row, wearing white) pose with other contest winners at the award ceremony on May 10th.

Congratulations to Isabella R. and Benny C. from class 402!  They received an award certificate and $50 from the Town Hall for their Black History Month essays!  Six winners were selected out of hundreds of entries from all over New York City!  Their winning essays will be featured on The Town Hall website, for one year.  Click here to visit the website!

Each year, The Town Hall, a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, presents a series of performances - sponsored by Con Edison - in celebration of Black History for public school children. Every school district in the five boroughs is invited to attend, and seats are filled on a first- come, first-served basis. The Black History Celebration consists of daytime performances, offered free of charge to public school classes in grades three through eight, and their teachers.  Following the concert, they hold a Black History Month Poster and Essay Contest for children who attended the performances. The contest encourages children to think critically about the performance, as well as express themselves through words and pictures.

Special thanks to Benny and Isabella's teacher, Dr. Thomas, for providing the quality teaching that helped to inspire winning essays year after year.  Congratulations!

Student Government Organization Raises $500

Our school has completed the challenge of helping The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society find cures for blood cancer! Student Government members from 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes encouraged their classmates to donate money to specifically support children living with cancer. Thanks to all of the contributions from PS4 and schools all over the United States, patients will be able to go beyond surviving and live a long and happy life.

Student Government Organization members count the donations from students in their class.

At a recent meeting, student-leaders completed the campaign by counting the many boxes of change. Although donations are still being collected.  As of January 9, 2016, $521.04 has been collected from upper-grade classes.  A special congratulations to students in Dr. Thomas's class who donated $101.41!  Special thanks to Madeleine Hamingson, Student Series Campaign Assistant, from LLS for attending one of our Student Government meetings and talking to our scholars about her organization.  For more information about LLS, click here!

Greater New York Dental Meeting

Our fourth grade classes were invited to participate in this unique event held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.  They participated in an entertaining educational program which emphasized the importance of oral health care utilizing proper brushing techniques in a fun and child-friendly atmosphere.

During the field trip, students had the opportunity to visit five different “stations,” consisting of an educational film, an exhibit on nutrition, a “How to Brush” instructional demonstration, and Colgate’s “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Van” where those students who were granted parental permission had their teeth screened by a dentist.  Students practiced their newly learned oral hygiene skills at sinks under the supervision of dental hygiene personnel and receive a gift bag containing items, including a toothbrush and toothpaste to reinforce their newly found knowledge.

Special thanks to Jayme S. Spicciatie, Program Manager for the Greater New York Dental Meeting, for always inviting us to this exciting event!  Click here for more information about this event and take a look at the photo collage below!

This free photo collage generated 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.

Social Studies Bowl - 2012

Recently, each 4th and 5th grade class celebrated their knowledge of Social Studies in front of family members and friends as they competed for class prizes in a Social Studies Bowl!  Hosted by Ms. Thomas and Mr. Harris (Social Studies teachers), students answered questions related to American government, geography, history and facts about the recent presidential election.  Each student was given an opportunity to answer a question with support from classmates in teams of three or four.  "Our students really had to study", said Ms. Martin (Assistant Principal), "and they were prepared for this challenge - I'm  proud of them".

The final round consisted of one member of each class reciting the preamble of the United States Constitution:

In the end, classes 401 and 501 received gifts for their class.  However, each student should be proud the the amount of effort they put into studying.  Congratulations! See the photos below for some of the highlights below!

Members of class 501 - the winning team.

4th grade students who recited the Preamble!

4th grade students from class 421.

5th grade winners who recited the Preamble.

Poll Question Results: Great African-Americans

Last week, in the blog's weekly poll question, readers were asked which great African-American they most admired. The choices were Michael Jackson, Rosa Parks, Duke Ellington and Muhammad Ali. The results were a tie between Michael Jackson and Rosa Parks with 35% of the votes for each. Duke Ellington and Muhammad Ali came in third and fourth, respectively, with 15% and 10% of the votes.

Members view poll question results.

Ms. Thomas with Debate Team president.

Each week, the Debate Team will assist blog editors in creating a new poll question based on a topic they are discussing.  For more information on the Debate Team, contact Ms. Thomas.   For more information about Duke Ellington, click here and to learn more about Muhammad Ali, click here!

Let's Debate!

With the leadership of our very own Ms. Thomas (Research Project Teacher), the 23 members of the PS4 Debate Club will be discussing this controversial topic:

Do boys and girls learn better in separate schools?

According to the December, 2011 issue of Time for Kids, the authors of a new report in Science magazine looked at research about single-gender schools.  The authors found that single-gender schools cut back on girls and boys opportunities to work together.  They also found that there is no scientific evidence that single-gender schools lead to better learning.  But, more kids are going to single-gender schools.

We want to hear from you!  Click here for the Time for Kids article.  Then vote on our poll question on the left side of the blog and leave a comment below.