PS/IS 48 - William G. Wilcox

Since 1970, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Learning Through Art program (LTA) has inspired New York City public school students to explore and learn through the arts. Based on the notion that art is a powerful means to deepen student learning, LTA sends practicing artists into the classroom to create process-oriented art projects that examine ideas and themes related to the school curriculum. Learning Through Art residencies introduce art techniques, promote critical thinking and creativity, and encourage students to view, analyze, and discuss works of art.

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Students in 3rd grade have participated in a 20 week classroom residency program

The Dancing Classrooms was launched in 1994 as a not-for-profit project of the American Ballroom Theater Company. It is an arts-in-education program teaching ballroom dance to the upper elementary, junior high and high school students of participating schools. As seen in the documentary film Mad Hot Ballroom, Dancing Classrooms is an in-school residency for every child, regardless of background or experience.

While Dancing Classrooms has been hailed as an effective program for teaching social dance, the program provides many other benefits. Dancing Classrooms is about creating an atmosphere which allows students who are typically introverted and reserved, to step out and shine. It focuses physical energies and increases health through the joy of movement. It builds self-esteem and interactive social skills as it improves confidence and children’s ability to relate to others.

Their mission is to build social awareness, confidence and self-esteem in children through the practice of social dance.

Through standards based, in-school residencies, the use of vocabulary of ballroom dance to cultivate the positive feelings that are inherent in every child. The maturity necessary to dance together fosters respect, team work, confidence and a sense of joy and accomplishment, that will be brought to every child. Ballroom dance is the medium use to nurture these qualities.

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Students in 5th grade have participated in a classroom residency program

GreenApple Corps members work with public and private schools to provide environmental education to kindergarten–5th graders in communities. This program aims to provide students with a greater overall sense of how to become environmental stewards. It is divided into four categories: personal health, environmental health, biodiversity, and botany. The Stewards of Tomorrow program ends with each class participating in a service project, which allows students to utilize what they have learned to make a positive environmental impact in their neighborhood.

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Students in 3rd & 5th grades have participated in this program

PS/IS 48 is forever thankful to The Shubert Theater organization for introducing us to ArtsConnection.  Three years ago, Shubert Theater awarded us a very generous Theater Grant Award. 

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Since then, we have managed to sustain a very valuable creative arts program under the direction of ArtsConnection’s famous consultant JoJo Gonzalez.  He is a master arts consultant who works in our Kindergarten and First Grade classrooms.  JoJo celebrates children’s creativity and imagination in so many ways and classroom teachers practice his techniques long after our residency program is over.

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Students in Kindergarten - 2nd grades have participated in a classroom residency program

The Penny Harvest shows young people they have the ability to make the world a better place by introducing them to the power of philanthropy and service during their formative years.  As children help others, they develop their generosity and moral character, and they learn through practice the skills and responsibilities of democratic participation.

After the fall penny collection, the students delve into the heart of the program by forming Philanthropy Roundtables to study community problems and to determine which organizations could best alleviate those problems, and then in the spring they use the money they collected earlier to make grants.  Last year youngsters made thousands of cash grants community organizations, such as homeless shelters, animal rescue organizations, community gardens and senior centers.

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Students in all grades have participated in the penny collection process; 5th grader have participated in the Roundtable part of this program

Mighty Milers is a school and community based program that teaches youth the healthy habit of running and/or walking for physical fitness and well being. In as little as 15 minutes a day, Mighty Milers gives kids the opportunity and encouragement to get moving, release energy, improve their fitness and health, set and strive for individual goals, and bond with their schoolmates.

NYRR provides incentives and instruction to make Mighty Milers easy to integrate into daily school life. Kids of all fitness levels and abilities learn to walk or run a half-mile, two to five times a week. Students set goals and the online database makes it easy to record and tally the total distance each student accumulates. When students reach milestones, they earn incentives provided by our programs.

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Students in 1st - 8th grades have participated in this program

Helping a child learn to read is one of the most rewarding jobs a person can do. The Staten Island School Reading Volunteer Program, now in its 48th year. The program is operated by the SIMHS in partnership with Time Warner Cable and in cooperation with the New York City Department of Education. 

Almost 250 volunteers are currently working in Staten Island public elementary schools, where they tutor young children one-on-one at a location within the school building.

New volunteers are trained every October and February by a Department of Education reading teacher, who instructs them in various interactive techniques to help the children master the skills and discover the delights of reading. The techniques include reading together, telling stories, playing games and solving puzzles, discussing books of special interest, and writing prose and poetry. After training is completed, each volunteer selects a participating school, where he or she will spend about two hours a day, two days a week, tutoring youngsters with reading problems. The students to be tutored are chosen by their teachers, with permission from their parents, and are released from class for the sessions with the volunteer. Volunteers who can spare more than four hours a week may be permitted to do so.

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Students in K - 2nd grades have participated in this program

Goldman Sachs Gives, established in 2007, is a donor-advised fund available to partners and former partners of the firm. The program is a public charity that maintains individual donor accounts from which donors can recommend grants to qualified charitable organizations.

Goldman Sachs Gives is an important part of the firm’s tradition of philanthropy, which is based, in large measure, on the involvement of our people in the non -profit sector. Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million charitable contribution in 2009 and a $320 million contribution in 2010 to Goldman Sachs Gives. This expansion of Goldman Sachs Gives reinforces the firm’s commitment to philanthropy through diversified and impactful giving at a time when non-profits need it most.

Through Goldman Sachs Gives, the firm’s partners recommend non-profit organizations that may receive donations.

PS/IS 48 has been fortunate to receive these grants in the past years.  Beautiful art murals were created with these funds.  Last year, The children created beautiful "Masks".

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Students in all grades have participated in this program

Through school-wide and grade-wide enrichment programs, museum educators work with every class and every teacher each month over the course of the school year, delivering hands-on social studies programs that align with the Social Studies Scope and Sequence for each grade. Students explore artifacts, images, maps and documents from the museum collections to develop their history content knowledge and hone their critical thinking skills while teachers benefit from this classroom-embedded approach to professional development. The enrichment series begins in September with a planning session for all participating teachers. Monthly class sessions are scheduled between October and June.

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Students in 4th & 5th grades have participated in this program

PS/IS 48 has partnered with CHAMPS and Atlas Basketball to bring after school athletic clubs to our school.  Students will practice with their coaches and team mates to learn the rules of the game & will compete against other NYC Public Schools enrolled in the program.

The Atlas Foundation funds and supports a 5th Grade Basketball League on Staten Island. The league is comprised of boys’ and girls’ divisions. Each team has a cheerleading squad comprised of fellow students from the same school. Several area schools participate and enter one team in each division to represent their school. This league is designed as a behavior modification tool in that eligibility to participate in the league depends on the student’s academic and behavioral performance in school.

Games are held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from December through March, and the season ends with a championship game and league party.

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The CHAMPS Middle School Sport and Fitness League is an initiative of the New York City Department of Education that promotes physical activity among children going through the critical years of middle school. The name CHAMPS derives from the initials of the five values that define our participants: Cooperative, Healthy, Active, Motivated, and Positive Students.

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Students in grades 5-8 have participated in these programs

The National Junior Honor Society is the nation's premier organization established to recognize outstanding middle level students. More than just an honor roll, NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, character, and citizenship. These characteristics have been associated with membership in the organization since its beginning in 1929.

Students in grades 6–8 who meet the requirements for membership outlined by our school are eligible to be invited for membership. 

Students must be in their second semester of sixth grade for consideration.

Scholarship: Per national guidelines, at a minimum, students must have a cumulative GPA of 85, B, 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent standard of excellence. (Each school chapter is allowed to require a higher cumulative GPA.)

Service: This involves voluntary contributions made by a student to the school or community, done without compensation.

Leadership: Student leaders are those who are resourceful, good problem solvers, and idea contributors. Leadership experiences can be drawn from school or community activities while working with or for others.

Character: The student of good character is cooperative; demonstrates high standards of honesty and reliability; shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others; and generally maintains a clean disciplinary record.

Citizenship: The student who demonstrates citizenship understands the importance of civic engagement; has a high regard for freedom and justice; respects the U.S. form of government; respects the law for all citizens at the local, state, and federal levels; and demonstrates mature participation and responsibility in activities such as scouting, community organizations, or school clubs.

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Students in grades 6-8 have participated in these programs

Students enrolled in our band program will learn how to read music and play an instrument. Students will have band practice during the day & will be given practice assignments at home to help learn to play the instrument fluently.  Students will have night time performances to show case their abilities.

Students in grades 5-8 have participated in these programs

Staten Island MakerSpace was founded in 2013 by sculptors, DB Lampman and Scott Van Campen.  DB works in mixed mediums, and has a background in dance, performance art, and arts administration. Scott is a metalworker and in addition to making sculpture, has operated his architectural metalworking business New York Custom Fabricators in the space at 450 Front Street for the last ten years. 

Education Programs for young makers:

Our education programs support STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning. The maker movement led by DIYers, artists, craftspeople, computer geeks, and engineers emphasizes learning- through-doing (constructivism) in an informal, collaborative, social environment. The maker movement is also sometimes referred to as the “hacker” movement because of the DIY nature of creating or “hacking” your own learning experience. Maker spaces such as the Staten Island MakerSpace are built around that philosophy and offer a community environment to encourage experimentation and cross-pollination between the arts, applied crafts, math, science, and technology.

School/Camp Field Trips:

Staten Island MakerSpace offers SMartT (Science, Math, Art, and Technology) Workshops programs to schools, out-of-school programs, community centers, libraries, and more. Groups can visit our facility, or we can come to you.  In school SMartT programs are 60 minutes long , and SMartT programs at the MakerSpace are 90 minutes and include a metal working or 3D printing demonstration and a tour of the facilities.

Project-Based School Programs:

In addition to field trips, we will also work with schools to develop custom project-based programs that integrate curriculum standards across subjects including science, technology, engineering, math, art, and the humanities. 

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Students in grades 2-8 have participated in these programs

Councilman Matteo has funded a Cultural After-School Adventures (CASA) Grant that has allowed our students to form a Zoo Club with the Staten Island Zoo. This year we worked collaboratively with the TV Studio students and teacher at Staten Island Tech to produce a video about our experience. The video is on You Tube! Our students wrote their own script. I am so proud of them. Thank you to Mr. Keith from the SI Zoo, Mr. VanBuren and host students from Staten Island Tech (especially Taylor) and Councilman Matteo for making this all come together. Enjoy the video!

Students in grade 3 have participated in these programs

The Citywide School Garden Initiative was established by GrowNYC and The Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC to inspire, facilitate and promote the creation of a sustainable school garden in each and every public school across New York City.

Our Vision for NYC School Gardens:
We work with schools to ensure that gardens are sustainable teaching resources in the long term, responsive to each individual community’s vision and needs, and transformative for student learning in the cafeteria, classroom, and beyond. New York City schools have a big and important job. We need them to be places of learning, helping to prepare our children to be a next generation of productive and positive citizens. But we also need schools to be healthy spaces, concerned with what our kids eat and how they are active. We need them to be connected to our families and communities, helping to bring together diverse groups of people around one central mission of student development. We need them to support our students to learn how to be friends and collaborators, to empathize with others, to be good leaders, to make contributions. For these reasons and many more, we believe that school gardens can be incredible tools for schools looking to develop the kind of holistic programming and real world connections they need to meet the varied needs of their students.

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Students in all grades have participated in these programs

Borough President Oddo joined with members of the NYPD and 5th grade students, who participated in the "Too Good For Drugs". The curriculum is co-taught in the classroom by an NYPD police officer and a school teacher. The program took place in 5th grade classes in every public school on Staten Island, as well as in several parochial schools. Over 5,000 students on Staten Island participated in the program this year.

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Students in grade 5 have participated in these programs