Students helped design activities for school’s growing annual celebration

Staff

Students helped design activities for school’s growing annual celebration
Families join hands in a circle dance led by Johnson Taylor and members of his family during PS 958’s annual block party on 36th Street.

PS 958’s fourth annual block party was bigger than ever this year, filling 36th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues with food, music, family resources and activities designed by students.

The June 6 event, held in partnership with UPROSE, stretched along the side of PS 958’s Fifth Avenue building and beneath the school’s large mural.

A student planning team helped design several of the day’s activities, including the glow party tent, makeover station, superhero station and Lego station, founding principal Emily Shapiro said.

PS 958 opened in 2022 with children as young as 3 and has added a grade each year. Shapiro said it was especially gratifying to see students who entered the school in its earliest years take responsibility for the event.

“They were showing up this morning like, ‘I’m ready to work,’” Shapiro said. “We started with three-year-olds.”

A Splash Zone, tie-dye station, community free store and Quiet Comfy Zone also kept children and parents busy, along with face painting and an ongoing soccer game hosted by Street Lab..

PS 958 educates students with and without disabilities together and school occupational therapist Annie Padron said the mix of energetic activities and quieter spaces helped children with different needs participate.

“I think we do such a good job at being inclusive and having all of the kids come together and participate to the best of their abilities,” Padron said.

Shapiro said the block party now draws far more support from parents and staff.

“The first year, I was literally hanging the caution tape to block off the street by myself, in the rain,” Shapiro said. “This morning, when I got here, to see like 20 people already working, it was really beautiful.”

Parents, teachers and staff began arriving before 9 a.m. to set up tents, tables and activity stations.

DJ J Pl@ta, a PS 958 mother whose child is in second grade, kept music going through the afternoon as families moved between activities. Johnson Taylor, a traditional dancer who performs with the Redhawk Native American Arts Council, led a dance with members of his family and invited attendees to join hands and move together in a circle.

Center for Family Life and Joy Gymnastics staffed tables with information about childcare, summer camps and other programs for families.

UPROSE set up a table outside its headquarters and recently opened community thrift store, La Thrif-tería, at 462 36th St., where staff spoke with families about GRID 2.0, its community-led plan for a greener industrial waterfront and locally rooted economy. La Thrif-tería manager Kaitlyn Gillums said the store resells donated items to support UPROSE’s environmental justice and education programs.

“Everything you see here has been donated,” Gillums said. “Whatever you spend here is used to fund all the projects that UPROSE is involved in.”

Food and drinks came from businesses and organizations along 36th Street. ACTS Christian Church served burgers, hot dogs, potato salad and chips. SAVŌ shared samples of a summer watermelon salad, while DNA Coffee Lounge provided drinks.

PS 958 parent Alfredo Torres, owner of La Flor de Izúcar Café at 4021 Fifth Ave., donated cookies, pastries and aguas frescas. Torres, whose family came to Sunset Park from Puebla, Mexico, said he was struck by how much the block party had grown since he first began participating, from a handful of tents to an event that filled the block.

“It’s not just about selling,” Torres said. “It’s also about giving back to the community.”