The Power Within

Dr. Montanez encourages students in grades 3-5 to believe in their "heroic" qualities.

The Power Within - PBIS assemblies foster the definition of Ellington PRIDE.  Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for improving and integrating all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes every day. It is a way to support our school community to create the kind of school where all students are successful. The Power Within series is an educational and enriching set of assemblies where teachers and students alike can experience using positivity to attain goals and express their Ellington PRIDE.

Dr. Montanez teaches scholars about the effects of stress on the human body.

The Power Within Series, created by Mr. Cantu (PBIS Chairperson) is a series of workshops, geared toward scholars in grades 3-5. Scholars are motivated to believe in their super hero or “heroic” qualities. Qualities like positivity, respect and determination should be shared with the school community; classmates, teachers and family members. During this particular assembly, Dr. Evelyn Montanez, leader of Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation in New York City, encouraged students to focus on the five virtues that our school upholds:

1. Positivity
2. Respect
3. Integrity
4. Determination
5. Excellence

With help from members of her team from Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Montanez shows scholars how to incorporate these positive traits in their everyday actions. She also reminded scholars to remain positive when they take tests. "Stress hormones in the body can affect your mood, body and test-taking skills", she says. "Negative thinking before a test, can release those stress hormones".  Students in grade 3-5 will be taking New York State Standardized Tests in March, April, May and June. The test dates are as follows:

March 25-26, 2020 - Grade 3-5 NYS English Language Arts Test
April 21-22, 2020 - Grades 3-5 NYS Mathematics Test
May 28, 2020 - Grade 4 NYS Science Test (Performance)
June 1, 2020 - Grade 4 NYS Science Test (Written)

Special thanks to Dr. Montanez for her continuous support of PS4 scholars and staff. For more information about her and the Turn 2 Foundation, click here. For more information about the Power Within Series, contact Mr. Cantu. For details about New York State and local tests that PS4 scholars will be taking this year, click here.

Pictured (left to right): Dr. Montanez, Mr. Cantu, PS4 scholars and members of the Turn 2/Columbia-Presbyterian team.

3rd Graders Go To Safety City

Ms. Schwartz poses with her 3rd grade students as they prepare to walk to Safety City.

Once again, PS4 students partnered with the NYC Department of Transportation to educate students on pedestrian, bicycle and car passenger safety!  The fundamental message of Vision Zero is that death and injury on city streets are unacceptable and that we will no longer regard serious crashes as inevitable.  The goal is to reduce the number of traffic-related fatalities in NYC to zero in ten short years.  Visiting Safety City on W157th Street plays an important role in reaching this goal.

For the 6th year in a row, FedEx and Safe Kids sponsored National Walk to School Day!  On October 6th all 3rd grade students walk with family members, teachers and special guests to Safety City!  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.  The program teachings students how to make safer choices as pedestrians, on bicycles, on skates, on scooters and in cars.

Special thanks to Renso Vidal, NYC DOT - Safety and Outreach for choosing our school to partner with during this annual celebration of safety.  For more information about Safety City, click here.

Assistant Principal, Ms. Martin looks on as students celebrate National Walk to School Day

DOT Safety Educator Renso Vidal gives safety tips before walking to Safety City with 3rd graders.

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!

3rd Graders Go To Bollywood (VIDEO)

Since January, students in Ms. Cabral's class and Ms. Marino's class have been working with Bollywood Dance instructors Minila Shah and Alisha Desai from Ajna Dance!  Students in those two classes have learned dance techniques and heard music from India.  On Tuesday, February 3rd, these talented third graders performed on the PS4M auditorium stage in front of friends, family members and teachers!  Take a look at the photo collage below, to see highlights from their performance!

Thanks to Ms. Minila and Ms. Alisha for sharing their skills with our students.  Click here for information about Ajna Dance!  Special thanks to LOTUS Music & Dance for supporting the arts at our school.  Click here to find out more information about the other programs that they provide!

Make a picture collage

Writing Celebrations at PS4M

How does PS4 acknowledge the achievements of our young writers?  With a celebration, of course!  Take a look at the slide show below to see the photos from 1st and 3rd grade writing celebrations!

A slideshow by Smilebox

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

NY State Mathematics Exams

The NY State Mathematics Exams for Grades 3, 4, and 5 takes place April 30-May 2, 2014.  Students should have two sharpened #2 pencils, a good breakfast and arrive to school on time.  

Students in grades 3–8 take the State Mathematics Test each spring. These assessments measure the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS).  Teachers and principals use the results from the State math test to help make decisions about whether or not a student will be promoted to the next grade level, and to place students in summer school.  Educators also use individual student test results to assign students to the appropriate classes and to identify areas where the student needs extra help, or where he or she may be ready for more challenging material. Teachers and principals also use the results from the whole class, grade, or school, to identify areas where they can improve instruction.
 
Click here, for more information about the Common Core Learning Standards.

Jazz at PS4 - Black History

The Agness Varis Jazz and Blues in the Schools Program preserves the legacy of jazz and blues y introducing this music to thousands of public school children, many of whom have never been exposed to it.  At the same time, it is actually preserving hundreds of the very pioneers who created it!  We are very thankful to the Jazz Foundation of America for sending legendary jazz musicians to our auditorium each month.

Recently, we were honored to hear from the Annette St. John Trio!  The band featured Vinnie Ruggieri on piano, Earl Sauls on bass and John Cooksey on drums.  Band members even took the time to answer questions from an audience of more than two hundred 3rd and 4th graders!  Brianna S. (401) really enjoyed seeing John Cooksey and wanted to know if he grew up playing the drums.  John replied, "When I was 8, I watched a show called the Little Rascals!  One of the characters played the drums and I wanted to do that".  Mr. Cooksey has been playing the drums for more than 50 years!

Special thanks to Will Glass from the Jazz Foundation for organizing all of the visits by these great artists!  Take a look at some photos from our two most recent jazz assemblies.

Customize a picture collage

The Colgate Van Visits PS4

The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures^® Program provides free dental screenings and oral health education to children through its fleet of mobile dental vans. These vans travel to under-served rural and urban communities, reaching over 1,000 towns and more than 10 million children each year.

Recently, with the average screening lasting approximately two minutes, third grade students boarded the Colgate van, with volunteer dental professionals!  They each received a free dental check-up with treatment referrals (if needed).   Following their check-up, children received a bag of materials that included a tube of Colgate® kid's toothpaste, a Colgate® kid's toothbrush and brushing instructions!  The program was an enormous success and plans are already well under way to repeat the program for students in Pre-K to 2nd grade! The Colgate Van will be back in March!  Click here for more information and check out the collage below for a few photos of bright smiles from our students!

Create a free photo collage

Hip-Hop Teaches Healthy Living

Easy A.D. with students after the Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S workshop at PS4.

Through fun, interactive hip-hop songs, videos and games, Hip Hop H.E.A.L.S (Healthy Eating and Living in Schools) promotes a healthy understanding of calorie as food energy and encourages a balance between food consumption and physical activity.  Using a "traffic light" model, grouping foods as "Go", "Slow" and "Whoa", this program helped students in grades 3 and 4 understand calories and healthy living.

Easy A.D., Dave C. (4th grader) and Artie Green

Easy A.D and Artie Green used an exciting combination of videos, wireless remote clickers or "beat boxes", and call-and-response opportunities to provide students with information about living a healthy lifestyle.  "PS4 kids were excited", said Easy A.D. after the two-day workshop.  "They didn't realize they were learning".

Special thanks to A.D. Harris, Director of Hip Hop Education Programming,  and Artie Green, Director of Music Production.  Click here and have an adult register to play games, listen to music, and share what you've learned about being healthy and making good choices. 

Third Grade Students Go To Broadway

Ms. Thompson's class with a performer from Ballerina Swan, presented by Making Books Sing in NYC.

Recently, third grade students were invited to attend a Broadway performance of Ballerina Swan!  This 50-minute family show blending dance, theater and puppetry.  It tells the story of Sophie, a Central Park swan with dreams of becoming a ballerina and dancing in Swan Lake.  Based on the children’s book BALLERINA SWAN by former NYC Ballet prima ballerina Allegra Kent, with illustrations by Caldecott Medal winner Emily Arnold McCully, the piece features three dancers and a dancer/puppeteer who operates a five-foot dancing swan puppet!  "It was a different kind of performance", said third grade bilingual-teacher, Ms. Montenegro.  "The kids loved the puppets and dancing." 

Special thanks to Making Books Sing for providing NYC students with great theatre!  Nearly one hundred of our students were able to see this show for free thanks to their generous donation.  Making Books Sing is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed theatre and arts-in-education non-profit organization. Their mission is to promote children's literacy and social development through professional theatre productions and arts-in-education programs. For more information about Making Books Sing productions and education programs, visit: www.makingbookssing.org.

Social Studies with Mr. Harris

This year in Social Studies, our 3rd Grade students will be learning about various cultures of the world. By learning about different countries and its citizens, students will have a better understanding of the outside world and a better appreciation of the world that they live in. In this video, produced by the BBC, David Attenborough discusses all of the wonders of the continent of Africa, the continent that the third grade is currently learning about. In this Youtube video (not accessible in school),  he mentions geographic areas that Mr. Harris has discussed in 3rd grade classes; the Rain Forests in Africa and the deserts in Northern Africa. Enjoy the video and take notes!

To go to the BBC website, featuring the full video about Africa, click here!  For more information about the continent of Africa, click here!

Great American Smoke-Out with Micky Magic

On November 17th, the American Cancer Society marked the 36th annual Great American Smoke-Out!  It is a day that many smokers stop smoking.  Did you know that 4-7% of smokers are able to quit without any help?  Students and staff of PS4 learned ways they can help a smoker in their stop smoking.  They also celebrated this day by learning about the harmful effects of smoking from Master Magician and Smoking Cessation Counselor, Micky Magic.  "Students now really know how bad smoking really is", said 5th grade teacher Ms. Cabral, "it was a good show".


After the show, the students promised to remain healthy and teach others about this cancer causing habit.  Students and staff took their promise outside as they marched and rallied for the entire community to see and hear.  Special thanks to Micky Magic for a magical show!  His enthusiasm about putting an end to smoking in our community inspired all of us to talk to our friends and family about ways to stop the habit.

Micky Magic talks to 4th graders.

4th grade students march against smoking.

For more information about Micky Magic, click here.  Go to www.cancer.org for more information about the harmful effects of smoking.

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!

PS4 and the Power Of One

On Wednesday, January 25th, the students of PS4M/The Duke Ellington School were given their second anti-bullying workshop of the year. Through Soren Bennick's the Power of One, actors portrayed the roles of the bully, target, and bystander. Even students and teachers showed some of their acting skills! Ms. Anderson acted as the bully!

Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 learned techniques on how to battle peer pressure, escape bullying situations and the importance of reporting bullying when they see it. Although they have heard these terms and techniques before, this program gave students a creative way of looking at a difficult topic. "We do this because it is very important that children learn the power that one person can have", said Lauren (one of the actors). "They need to feel empowered and realize that even if they are alone, they have the power to defend themselves from bullying and negative peer pressure." That is one lesson that all teachers agree is very necessary.

In the days following this workshop, each student signed a poster board with the following oath:

I will not bully others

I will not stand by while others are bullied

I will report bullying when I see it

Because I have the Power of One!

3rd Graders Celebrate 'International Walk to School Day'!

On October 7th, the boys and girls of the third Grade, including students from Mr. Nycz and Ms. Bonilla's class, traveled to Safety City, at 222 W134th Street in Harlem. They learned important lessons about crossing the street safely in New York City. The lessons taught students how to cross the street, how to look at a driver in their eyes and how to signal to a driver when crossing the street. Students were also able to honk the horns of Fed - Ex trucks and buses! Fed-Ex volunteers, in red T-shirts, celebrated International Walk To School Day by visiting our school and walking with our students and teachers to Safety City! "This is a good example for kids", said Ms. Nieves, teacher of class 323,"now they will have a clear understanding of the proper way to cross the street."

Special thanks to the men and women of Safety City and Fed-Ex for spending time with us and using our wonderful students to show the world how important it is to cross the street safely. Check out a video from Federal Express highlighting the event!