Dear families and staff of P.S. 211 Elm Tree Elementary School,

We would like to cordially invite you to our upcoming P.S. 211 Spring Into Kindness Multicultural Arts Festival which will take place on Tuesday, June 4th, 2024 in our school’s gym/gymnatorium beginning at 8:30 AM!

Please see below for more information about the event itself along with the schedule/location and any additional information.

About Event:

P.S. 211 Elm Tree Elementary School invites you to attend our upcoming P.S. 211 Spring Into Kindness Multicultural Arts Festival which will take place on Tuesday, June 4th, 2024 in our school’s gym/gymnatorium beginning at 8:30 AM!

This is going to be an all-day event where each grade level will have their own scheduled time slot which will begin with a performance and be followed by a break for food and an opportunity to observe that grade level’s art exhibit.

Each student will have the opportunity to celebrate and represent their family’s culture using their artistic expression (which will be displayed at each grade’s art exhibit). Each project should represent the following values:

1. Where you come from
2. What you are proud of
3. What makes you shine

Each grade level will have a particular project theme to work on:

• 5th Grade - Multicultural Diorama
• 4th Grade - Bottle Figure of Famous or Important Figure (created to look like the famous person that student has chosen to conduct research on)
• 3rd Grade - Cereal Box of Famous or Important Figure (informative report on the famous person that student has chosen to conduct research on)
• 2nd Grade - My Family Totem Pole (design and create a totem pole that serves as an emblem of your family and a reminder of your ancestry)
• 1st Grade - Tales & Folklore (create an object or amulet that represents your country and/or culture while also learning about a specific tale or folklore)
• Kindergarten - Cultural Hat (design and create a hat that represents your country and/or culture)

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ALL ARTWORK MUST BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER BY MAY 30TH, 2024!!

More information regarding the various projects along with the schedule for each grade can be found within the “Additional Information” section located at the bottom of this article.

Please see below for more information related to the schedule/location of this event.

Schedule/Location of Event:

Event Name: P.S. 211’s Spring Into Kindness Multicultural Arts Festival

Date: Tuesday, June 4th, 2023

Time: 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM (each grade will have their own scheduled time slot which can be found in the “Additional Information” section below)

Location: P.S. 211 Elm Tree Elementary School Gym/Gymnatorium

50-51 98th Street

Corona, NY 11368

Additional Information:

Please see below for the full P.S. 211’s Spring Into Kindness Multicultural Arts Festival schedule:

P.S. 211’s Spring Into Kindness Multicultural Arts Festival Schedule

Pre-K/Kindergarten:

• 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM - Performance

• 9:00 AM to 9:45 AM - Food and Art Exhibit

1st Grade:

• 9:15 AM to 9:45 AM - Performance

• 9:45 AM to 10:30 AM - Food and Art Exhibit

5th Grade:

• 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM - Performance

• 10:30 AM to 11:15 AM - Food and Art Exhibit

4th Grade:

• 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM - Performance

• 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM - Food and Art Exhibit

3th Grade:

• 11:45 AM to 12:15 PM - Performance

• 12:15 PM to 1:00 PM - Food and Art Exhibit

2nd Grade:

• 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM - Performance

• 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM - Food and Art Exhibit

Please be advised that an ID is required to enter the school building.

For more information, feel free to contact Ms. Gisella Catarine, our school’s Parent Coordinator, at 929-260-0084 or through our various communication apps such as our school’s very own Elm Tree Elementary phone application.

For directions to P.S. 211 Elm Tree Elementary please visit the following link:

P.S. 211 Google Maps Directions

For more information regarding the projects that each grade is to work on, please see below:

Multicultural Diorama (5th Grade)

Create and decorate a shoebox that represents your country & culture.

1. Please use a shoebox and decorate it inside and out with material showing where the country is and what makes it special. (Google shoebox dioramas to get ideas.)
2. Decorate your shoebox with objects and/or pictures that reflect your culture, your family, and any other things that will represent your country.

MAXIMUM SIZE: 

SIZE OF AN ADULT SHOEBOX. PLEASE DO NOT COMPLETE YOUR PROJECT IN A LARGE BOX.

You may also choose to write some interesting facts about your country and culture on a separate page to include with your art project.

“Museum of Famous People” - Bottle Figure (4th Grade)

There are many famous and important people from your country. Students will research a famous individual and create a "Museum of Famous People". This project consists of two parts:

Research the life of a famous person from your country. You can find information using books from the library or the internet. The report must contain the following information about the person:

• Date of birth and death (if applicable)
• Where the person was born
• What type of education they received
• What made them famous
• Name and include 5 pictures of the person and/ or why they were special
• Describe what they were known for

Project: Bottle Figure (Bottle figures are created to look like the person you have researched.)

Here are some items that you may want to use for your bottle figure:

• empty and clean plastic bottle (medium-large soda bottles)
• Styrofoam ball or large wooden bead for head (a dolls head also works)
• Scrap fabric for clothes
• Wiggle eyes (optional)
• Dirt or sand to fill ¼ of bottle for stability
• Yarn/ string/ fake hair
• Paint, art supplies, felt, pipe cleaners
• Cardboard

Here are some tips to make the Bottle Figure:

• Make sure the head is lighter than the base; otherwise, the bottle figure will tip over.
• Look at pictures of the person to get ideas of details you can add to the bottle figure (glasses, mustache, hair color, clothes).
• You can include objects that show the person's likes or habits. BE CREATIVE!

“Museum of Famous People” - Cereal Box (3rd Grade)

There are many famous and important people from your country. Students will research a famous individual and create a "Museum of Famous People". This project consists of two parts:

Research the life of a famous person from your country. You can find information using books from the library or the internet. The report must contain the following information about the person:

• Date of birth and death (if applicable)
• Where the person was born
• What type of education they received
• What made them famous
• Name and include 5 pictures of the person and/ or why they were special
• Describe what they were known for

The FRONT of the Box: You are redesigning the cereal box to match the person and his or her style.

• Title of cereal must include the person’s name or something creative that
• represents the person you are researching. (DO NOT JUST WRITE THE
• NAME OF THE person. (Examples: “Lichten Loops”, “Picasso Puffs”, “Frida
• Flakes”, “Klee Krispies”) Make it "catchy".
• Include a picture of person
• Include the person's accomplishments
• You may include pictures/ graphics of objects related to this person.
• You may recreate an existing cereal but use the person and his/her
• accomplishments to illustrate the front of the box.
• Glue everything down flat
• Make the cereal box look real. Copy the text and/or the design.

***REMEMBER: You are designing a cereal box to represent the person!

On one NARROW side of the Box:

• Attach 5-6 pictures which represent the person (include the title and year).

On the OTHER NARROW side of the Box:

• Create a timeline of important events about your famous person. Use bullet points, dates, or numbers to list them. This is best typed on a computer.
• Glue everything down flat

On the BACK of the Box:

• Make a game, puzzle, maze, riddles, comic strip, mail-away order, website, ad, or any other appropriate activity that may be seen on the back of a cereal box.
• Be creative!
• Make sure the activity is about your person’s life or accomplishments.

My Family Totem Pole (2nd Grade)

What are TOTEMS?

Totems are objects (such as an animal or plant) serving as the emblem of a family or clan and often as a reminder of its ancestry

I want you to take some time to think about your background and your family.

• Where is your family from?
• What language do they speak?
• What type of foods do you and your family eat?
• What are the colors of the food, and the spices your family uses to season your food?
• Have you been to the country of your ancestors? 
• What are the colors of the landscape?
• What birds and other animals do you see?
• What are the colors of the traditional clothing?...The patterns?

Project: Family Totem Pole (You will use all of this information to design and create a family totem) 

Remember, this Totem will serve as an emblem to represent yourself, your family, and your culture.

Things you can use:

• Cardboard
• Toilet paper/ paper towel rolls
• Shoe boxes
• Any art material to color it and add details

Tips to make the totem:

• Make sure it is long and tall
• Make sure your totem pole can stand on its own
• What is your totem pole trying to represent? think about the colors and details you can add
• Make sure your totem pole is labeled with your name, last name, and class

Tales & Folklore (1st Grade)

What is Folklore?

Folklore is the traditional stories, customs, and habits of a particular community or nation.

Many countries have objects, and amulets with some fascinating stories behind them. For example, Guatemalan Worry Dolls. The tradition of these tiny dolls tells us that children can share their worries with them before going to sleep at night. The child slips the dolls under their pillow and they will take over the duty of worrying so that the child can peacefully sleep

I want you to take some time to talk to your parents, aunts, uncles, grandma or grandpa and ask them about the tales, folklores and find any object or amulet that is unique to your country and or culture 

I want you to think about these unique stories and create an object or amulet to represent it.

Project: Folkloric Object (You will use all of this information to design and create an object or talisman) 

Remember, this Object or Talisman will represent the flavor and essence of the folktales your family have heard for generations

Things you can use:

• Cardboard
• Paper
• Fabric
• Newspapers
• Any other art material 

Examples to spark your creativity

• Make sure your object, amulet or talisman is labeled with your name, last name, and class
• Make sure to write the origin of your object and what it means

Creative Hat Design (Kindergarten)

Creative Hat Design

I want you to take some time to gather around with your family and think about the things that represent your country and culture.

• What colors can represent your country and culture?
• What flavors and textures are unique to your culture?
• What animals are unique to your country?
• What foods do you eat?
• What are the colors of the foods? ...of the landscape?

I want you to take all of this information to design a unique hat that represents your country and your culture.

Remember, I don’t want you to copy an existing hat, but instead to design one using those unique elements you identified before.

Project: Hat Design (You will use all of this information to design and create a hat) 

Remember, this HAT DESIGN will represent the flavor and essence of your country and culture

Things you can use:

• Cardboard
• Paper
• Fabric
• Newspapers
• Plastic
• Any other art material 

Examples to spark your creativity:

• Make sure your HAT is labeled with your name, last name, and class
• Make sure to write the origin of your HAT