Dance And Drums From PS4's French Club

Founders, teachers and student-members of PS4's French Club, funded by the USA Mali Charitable Association of NYC.

UMACA (US-Mali Charitable Association) is a 501-C3 non profit organization devoted to women and children causes. They provide Malian families going through times with clothing, groceries, medical supplies, toys, etc. The USA-Mali Charitable Association of New York City hosts a series of after-school music and cultural education programs for local youth, particularly of African descent. Students learn to play the drums, xylophone, flute, and the West African traditional instrument, the Kora, as well as learn the French language. 

The USA-Mali Charitable Association of New York (UMACA) gives kids in Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx the chance to interact in a safe environment. An African art specialist introduces the students to African traditional instruments, ancient objects and modern African art. This program culminates in a public event where participants share learned material and perform for community members. 

Recently, student-members of PS4's French Club (funded by the USA-Mali Charitable Association of NYC) celebrated the end of the year with an African Dance And Storytelling Presentation. Special thanks to Mrs. Assetou Sy, founder of the US-Charitable Association. For more information about this organization, click here!

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.

Martha Graham School Dancers Visit PS4

Dancers from the Martha Graham School perform for students in Pre-K to grade 5.

The Martha Graham School is one of the foremost modern dance schools in the city and country! During this exciting performance our scholars were introduced to the language and history of American modern dance and the legacy of iconic dancer and choreographer Martha Graham.   It is the mission of this dance company, to bring the Graham tradition to younger audiences, smaller venues, and to cultural communities, and to be a springboard for young dancers to enter the professional dance world. When our scholars hear the words "spiral" and "contraction", they will As we continue to celebrate Ellington P.R.I.D.E., our scholars received a visit and performance from students at the Martha Graham School! Just before the performance, Mr. Cantu (Arts Coordinator) discussed the importance of having integrity.  "Having integrity means you are honest and fair", he said.  "The 'I' in P.R.I.D.E. stands for integrity and here at PS4, our schools are honest and fair".

think of the this performance!

After the performance, audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions.  Jessica, a 2nd grader from Ms. Lennon's class asked, "Why do you dance in your bare feet?".  "We dance in our bare feet so we can feel the rhythm of the music", was the answer from a member of the talented dance team.

Special thanks to Ms. Virginie Mécène, Program Director, and the talented dance team of Graham 2 for performing for and speaking to our scholars. For more information about this school of dance, click here!

Dancers answer questions from an audience of students in Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade.

Mr. Cantu, Arts Coordinator, poses with Graham 2 Dancers from the Martha Graham School.

Honoring Mothers - 2018

PTA Vice President Orchid Rodriguez Huerta portrayed the "Candy Mom" during a celebration honoring mothers.

Directed by Mr. Perez (PS4's Dance Teacher), in collaboration with the P.B.I.S. (Positive Behavior Intervention System) Committee, our scholars honored mothers and mother figures at a Spring performance that took place in our school's auditorium.  Entitled 'Mother, May I?', the show highlighted our talented scholars and featured mothers from our PTA.  We even received a special visit from Johanna Garcia, President of the Community Education Council - District 6)!

Johanna Garcia, President of the Community Education Council - District 6, congratulates Mr. Perez, the show's director.

Directly after some opening remarks from Mr. Perez, the audience was treated to video sharing the powerful portrayal of three women’s journey to motherhood, from around the world and members of our PTA shared a poem.  Then the PS4 Stepping Queens, consisting of ten girls from the 5th grade, took the stage! They showed us a type of dance, with origins in South Africa!  Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps!  For more information on stepping, click here!

Our Spring performance, honoring mothers, continued with the Ellington Poets, directed by Mr. Cantu, performing their original bilingual poem entitled, "Madre Mia".  Our show ended with some Words of Wisdom from Ms. Lennon (Technology Teacher/P.B.I.S. Committee Member) and a special "Candy Mom" performance by the Duke Ellington Dance Company and Mr. Means (Music Teacher).  Here are some of Ms. Lennon's Words of Wisdom...

"The women who mother us speak to us in many ways.  They tell us they love us every time they give a hug or a smile.  They tell us they love us every time they cook a meal or cover us with a blanket when we're cold. Next time you are with the person who mothers you, notice all the little things she does that tell you that she cares.  Then write a letter of appreciation.  It's the best Mother's Day gift you could ever give her".

On behalf of the Duke Ellington School community, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers!  Special thanks Joanna Garcia for visiting our school and to Mr. Perez for directing a great show!  To see more photos and videos from the performance, click here!

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.

Winter Arts Showcase

The Boy's Squad, under the direction of Mr. Perez (Dance Teacher) perform.

Happy Winter!  On December 21st, the official first day of winter, the Arts Department of PS4 presented a Winter Arts Showcase featuring our talented students.  In front of an audience of students, teachers and parents, dancers, singers and actors from 1st to 5th grade celebrated the season.  Take a look at the videos below for highlights of this exciting assembly


Class 520 - Vocal Performance in Spanish from PS4M on Vimeo.


PRIDE Actors - Winter Performing Arts Showcase from PS4M on Vimeo.


Boy’s Squad - Winter Arts Showcase from PS4M on Vimeo.


Class 320 - Dance the Menorah - Winter Arts Showcase from PS4M on Vimeo.


101 Dance Performance - Winter Arts Showcase from PS4M on Vimeo.


402 Dance Performance - Winter Arts Showcase from PS4M on Vimeo.

Sing For Hope Piano

Sing for Hope Piano is temporarily placed under a painting of our namesake

Have you seen the piano in the school lobby? The Sing for Hope Pianos places pianos throughout NYC’s parks and public spaces for anyone and everyone to play. Each summer, the pianos bring individuals and communities together in an open festival of art for all. After their time on the streets, Sing for Hope transports the instruments to NYC public schools, where they become hubs for Sing for Hope’s ongoing creative programs and enrich students’ lives for years to come.

This year, Sing for Hope placed its 400th unique piano artwork in the five boroughs, making NYC host to more street pianos than any other city in the world. As New York City’s largest recurring public art project, the Sing for Hope Pianos impacts an estimated 2 million people each year.

Not too long ago, PS4's Arts Coordinator Jose Cantu, applied for our school to receive a 2017 Sing for Hope Piano.  Recently, we received an artist designed piano in our lobby.  It was delivered and placed directly under a painting of our namesake, Sir Duke Ellington.

Arts Coordinator Jose Cantu poses with Sing for Hope piano.