Spring Reading Challenge - 2019

Students in Mr. Ovalle's class (402) forms a line to receive free ice cream.

The Carmel Hill Fund Education Program funds our Accelerated Reader Program. When students read books, they take an online quiz. When students take quizzes, using Accelerated Reader, the program adds up all of the words in each book. The Carmel Hill Fund initiating the second year of our "Spring Reading Challenge" to encourage students to continue on the path of reading practice. The challenge ran from March 18 to June 7, 2019. The goals were based on the amount of words read. 90% of students in each class needed to reach the following grade-level word count goals:

• Grade K: 4,000
• Grade 1: 7,000
• Grade 2: 12,000
• Grade 3: 30,000
• Grade 4: 100,000
• Grade 5: 150,000

As a reward, The Carmel Hill Fund Education Program recently sent an ice cream truck to PS4, for the classes that have met their criteria. Here is the list of classes that reached their reading goal.

• Grade K: K01, K02
• Grade 1: 101, 120, 480
• Grade 2: 201, 202, 220
• Grade 3: 301, 304, 302, 481
• Grade 4: 401, 402, 482

Special thanks to Maria Garcia, Carmel Hill Fund's Implementation Specialist and Ms. Bonifacio, Assistant Principal, for monitoring student progress and organizing a successful reward for our scholars. For more information on the Carmel Hill Fund, click here. Congratulations to all classes that achieved their reading goal and got an invitation to visit the ice cream truck!

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!

Multicultural Day!

Scholars in Class 402 (Teacher; Dr. Thomas) represented the country of Jamaica.

On May 31st, scholars embarked on an annual Multicultural Day to celebrate diversity, respect for all and to have a better understanding of different cultures! This was truly a celebration of the diversity that united our school community.  Scholars, teachers, staff, parents and invited guests shared traditions, foods, hobbies, celebrations, art, economy and languages from 25 different countries or cultures around the world!

Special thanks to Flamenco Vivo for their musical performance from Spain and to Ms. Bonifacio (Assistant Principal) for organizing this special day!

Duke Ellington: A Celebration of the Arts, Diversity and the Community

Scholars from PS4's PRIDE Saturday Academy, student-musicians from PS4's Guitar Club (funded by Midori & Friends Organization), as well as student members the Jazz Power Initiative Ellington Poets Society celebrated the PS4 adaptation of author Andrea Pinkney's book, Duke Ellington! On the evening of May 24, a full auditorium of scholars, parents, teachers, special guests, local politicians and Duke Ellington's very own granddaughter Mercedes Ellington enjoyed dancing, singing and poetry performed by students from kindergarten to grade 5.  This was truly a celebration of our community.

On behalf of Principal Stevens, special thanks to Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (pictured above), Jose Cantu (Director), Mercedes Ellington (granddaughter of Duke Ellington) and the wonderful faculty and staff of PS4 for their dedication, continued efforts and motivation toward supporting our scholars.

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!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

The National Education Association's Read Across America Day is a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2—Dr. Seuss's birthday. PS4 joined schools across the country to celebrate the birth of an author whose books are loved by many children. 

Throughout his career, cartoonist and writer Dr. Seuss published over 60 books. His children's books like 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'Green Eggs and Ham' were some of his most famous works.

Who Was Dr. Seuss?  Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 to September 24, 1991), better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, was a writer and cartoonist who published over 60 books. He published his first children's book, 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street', under the name of Dr. Seuss in 1937.  Next came a string of best sellers, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. His rhymes and characters are beloved by generations of fans. Each year, children accross the country celebrate reading and this author's birthday.  

For Dr. Seuss information, videos and activities, click here!  Take a look at the photos below to see how our scholars celebrated this special day!

Dads Take Your Child To School Day - 2018

A PS4 parent walks his children to their classrooms.

Dads Take Your Child to School Day ​is an event that promotes father involvement by encouraging fathers and significant male caregivers of all kinds to take their children to school or Head Start.  This is an event celebrated throughout New York State and the number of schools, Head Start and Child Care programs.  Participation continues to grow rapidly. Each year, proclamations are presented by state and local officials.

This year, fathers and father-figures were again invited to celebrate with their children at PS4. The day began with a welcome by Principal Stevens in the auditorium. Dads were then given a chance to enjoy coffee and tea with members of the staff and encouraged to visit their child's teacher.

For more information about Dads Take Your Child to School Day, click here.  Special thanks to the many men that celebrated with us.  We appreciate all the you do to make sure that school is a priority in your child's life.  See below for more photos from this special day.

Kindergarten Students Celebrates Earth Day!

Ms. Baez's class (K02), along with Ms. Patricia, of the NYC Parks department and Ms. Diane, our Community senior volunteer, celebrated Earth Day by beautifying our kindergarten yard!  This project started back in September when students were studying, "Our Community".  They started planting flower bulbs all over the sidewalk beds from Broadway on 160th Street to Amsterdam Avenue and 159th Street. Our scholars learned to dig with shovels up to 4 inches!  They measured with rulers! They learned to face the roots down to help the bulbs grow correctly. It took many planting g sessions, working around the weather to complete this planting project. 

Our young environmentalists couldn't wait to see the school surrounded by beautiful flowers. Amelia D. told Ms. Baez, " It's going to be like walking through a garden every day, on our way to school!"

The Giving Tree, a book by Shel Silvertein helped students learn about the important relationship between people and plants, we depend on each other.  Now that Spring has come, our scholars are seeing their flowers bloom.  They are also reporting the damages of the garbage and animals that are destroying some of the plant beds. Mrs. Diane recently visited Ms. Baez's students to find out what could could be done to improve the growth of our plants. Students Adam B. and Eli S. shared that we could build a metal fence or a metal gate! Ms. Diane and The Parks Restoration agreed to use the idea. But would use recycled wood instead of metal!  to use recycled wood!

To celebrate Earth Day, class K02 painted an " Earth day" banner to let everyone know we care about our Earth and we would Celebrate with our plants and trees in our kindergarten backyard! The scholars enjoyed cleaning up the kindergarten yard together, so they could give the newly planted tree and our future plants a clean shelter. Students sang songs, blew bubbles, used wind pinwheels, and even explored worms and snails!  After some digging and cleaning, Liam said "I love playing with Earth balls!".  

When asked about this successful project, Ms. Baez said, "what my students got out of this planting project and Earth celebration is that we, the scholars of our community, can problem solve together and come up with good ideas. By communicating our ideas and working hard together, we can make the changes that we feel are most important. Our Earth is too important and we can all help make it better".  Congratulations to Ms. Baez and the girls and boys of class K02.