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!

Dominican Heritage and Black History Month

Dancers perform to traditional Dominican music.

During the month of February, we celebrated Dominican Heritage and Black History Month with some exciting trips and activities that were planned for PS4 scholars!  Each morning began with fun facts about famous African-Americans and Dominicans!  For example:

• Did you know that Langston Hughes created a new form of poetry called Jazz Poetry?  Click here for more information (VIDEO).
• Did you know that Dominican entrepreneur Dilcia Granville became the first Dominican inventor to patent and market the product American Dip & See?  It's the only portable indicator of sugar in the drink!  Click here for more information.
• Did you know that Duke Ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions?  His extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy!  Click here for more information (VIDEO).

• Did you know that Dominican-born, Superintendent of District 6 Schools, Manuel Ramirez was a math teacher for middle and high school? Click here for more information!

Special thanks to our PTA for providing our 5th grade students and all families with a Dominican Heritage Celebration on Culture Day!

Culture Day - 2016

A 5th grade students wears the flag of her country to school on Culture Day.

The Duke Ellington School celebrated our first Culture Day! We invited parents, family members and special guests to visit their child's classroom to share some traditions, cultural foods, traditional clothing or stores representing the many cultures in our school!  It was a success!

Thanks to all of the parents and special guests who visited our school to share parts of their culture with our scholars.  Special thanks to author J.C. Malone for reading a few pages of his book '9 Ejemplos Excepcionales Y Una Mujer Extraordinaria' with students in our 4th grade classes.  His book (in Spanish) is available at the book fair!  Take a look at the slideshow below for some highlights of our first annual Culture Day!

Slideshow customized with Smilebox

Famous Hispanic Americans

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.

The term Hispanic or Latino, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. On the 2010 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin." According to the 2010 Census, 50.5 million people or 16% of the population are of Hispanic or Latino origin. This represents a significant increase from the 2000 Census, which registered the Hispanic population at 35.3 million or 13% of the total U.S. population.

For more information, click on the photos of the famous Hispanic Americans below or go to any of the links below to see lists of famous Hispanic Americans!

• Scholastic.com - Latinos in History
• Scholastic.com - Meet Famous Latinos
• Factmonster.com - Notable Hispanic Americans
• PBSKids.com - Maya & Miguel Powerful Hispanics
• Infoplease.com - Notable Hispanic Americans
• Time.com - 25 Most Influential Hispanic in America

Jennifer Lopez, singer and actress (VIDEO)

Alex Rodriguez, baseball player (VIDEO)

Naya Rivera, actress

Oscar De La Hoya (VIDEO)

Ellen Ochoa, astronaut (VIDEO)

Dominican Heritage Essay Contest

February 27th is Dominican Independence Day!  Students in grades 3-5 are encouraged to enter this essay contest celebrating the achievements of people with Dominican heritage.  Which of these great Dominicans do you most admire?

• Alex Rodriguez - sports
• Oscar de la Renta - fashion
• Junot Diaz - writing
• Milly Quezada - music
• Ydanis Rodriguez - government

Choose one of the leaders above and write an essay, including 3-5 paragraphs (8+ sentences in each).  In your essay, you must:

• Discuss why it is important to learn about your heritage
• Give facts about the famous Dominican you chose
• Explain why you admire him or her
• On a separate sheet of paper, list the sources of information you used (at least 4).
• Check and correct errors in spelling and grammar

For more information about these great Dominicans, you may click on the names above or use websites listed under 'Great Websites for PS4 Kids' located on the left-hand side of this blog.  All typed or neatly hand-written essays must be e-mailed to dlennon2@schools.nyc.gov or handed to Ms. Lennon before 4pm on Friday, March 9th.  Three winners will receive a $10 Gift Certificate to our Scholastic Book Fair!

We'll Celebrate The Dominican Heritage On March 5th!

Join P.S. 4 on March 5th when Mr. Ovalle hosts the first annual Dominican Heritage Celebration! This fundraiser will have merengue music played by Clave Azul, professional artwork, a fashion show from Elizabeth's Modeling Studio and dinner. It should be a fun and informative time. Please visit the office to purchase tickets.