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por favor comuniquese con Rafael Friedmann via email: rfriedmann@aol.com
Message from the Principal
May 1, 2022
Dear Emerson Parents,
Happy May Day! We welcome Asian American Pacific Islander Month with a local author visit by Innosanta Nagara. To quote from his amazing children’s book A is For Activism, “M is for Megaphones Marching, Movimiento Music, Hip, Hip, Hooray! It must be May Day!”
We are happy to encourage parents to visit the campus this week. The last All School Meeting of the school year is tomorrow, on the blacktop at 8:30 am. We will recognize our final student Shout Outs, our Read-a-Thon winners, thank the promoting parents who have contributed significantly to Emerson as volunteers and enjoy student performances. We hope you will return to campus on Saturday for the Move-A-Thon! This promises to be a wonderful celebration, with games, prizes, opportunities to move, a live band, and your beloved community. The Move-A-Thon is a free event, from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday, May 7.
Next week, the School Site Council will review the Single Plan for Student Achievement for the 2022- 2023 school year. In preparation for the plan, the consequences of the pandemic have become apparent. Our enrollment is down, many of the past practices have yet to return or have been reimagined, our funding and staffing have been cut, and the PTA is filling in many of our financial gaps. Still, we see that student test scores have improved since the return to in-person learning. We can not do this without parent support and we are grateful for your help.
Please mark your calendars for the Open House. It will take place virtually this year on Thursday, May 12 from 6:00- 7:00 pm. Teachers will send home student work, which will be highlighted during the grade level presentations. You will be asked to discuss and review the work sent home with your child. We appreciate your participation. You can join the Zoom: HERE.
It is also the time of year when we need to plan ahead. Please complete the Returning Students Survey 2022- 2023 so that we can build classes. We ask that you complete the survey by May 13, 2022. Here it is: Returning / Non-Returning Student Survey 2022- 2023
We hope to see you soon,
Jana Holmes
Upcoming Events and Key Dates
May 2 - 6: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
May 6: All School Meeting, on the yard - 8:30- 9:15AM, Families Welcome!
May 7: Emerson Move-A-Thon (formerly called “Walkathon”), 9 AM - 1 PM
May 9: School Site Council Meeting, 6:00 PM, Zoom Link
May 9: PTA Budget Sub-Committee Meeting, 7:30 PM, Zoom Link
May 12: Elementary Open House Night, 6:00 PM, Zoom Link
May 16: Malcolm X’s Birthday Observed, School Holiday
May 17: Final PTA Association Meeting: 2022-2023 Budget & Board Roster
May 30: Memorial Day, School Holiday
June 3: 5th Grade Class Promotion & Last Day of School
Add the Emerson Google Calendar to yours!
Note to Readers: BearFacts articles and calendar items are based on submissions from the community and reviewed and edited under the PTA communication policy. Inclusion of an item in BearFacts by itself does not indicate sponsorship or endorsement by the PTA, Emerson school staff, or BUSD.
MOVE-A-THON PARTY
THIS SATURDAY, MAY 7th, 9 AM - 1 PM
You're invited to EMERSON’S MOVE-A-THON PARTY!
Bring your family and join us at Emerson's first in-person party in over 2 years!
We'll have a DJ and LIVE BAND, healthy snacks, POPSICLES, and PRIZES for everyone!
Where: Emerson Elementary, Berkeley
What to bring: Water Bottle & BYO (Bring Your Own) Lunch
What to Wear: Your favorite color!
8 - 9 AM: Check-in, warm up!
9 - 11 AM: Grade-level competition - score points for your grade by running laps, shooting hoops, hula hooping, and more!
11 AM: PRIZES for everyone, and PARTY AWARD for the winning grade!
11:30 AM - 1 PM: dancing, socializing, and having fun!
The winning grade gets a special party DURING school! Pizza and ice cream at Monkey Island Park on a school day!
Hosted by the Emerson PTA with thanks to our sponsors:
Law Office of Arabelle Malinis, Trust and Estates Law
Cho/Small Family
Kneram Family
Culture Corner Presented By:
API Families of Emerson
Bruk Abebe
LAST SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEETING FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
Join the last School Site Council Meeting on Monday, May 9 at 6 pm on Zoom. The Single Plan for Student Achievement for the 2022- 2023 school year will be reviewed.
Zoom Meeting Link Meeting ID: 832 5521 7477 Passcode: 866907
JOIN THE PTA BUDGET SUB-COMMITTEE
Want a voice in how the Emerson PTA plans its programs and budget? We're looking for people to join the budget sub-committee to help us plan for next year. Attend the meeting on May 9 at 7:30 PM to work on the budget, then the budget will be presented at the Emerson PTA Association for approval on May 17. Everyone is welcome and anyone may join.
To RSVP email: scott@levitas.com – Meeting Link
Celebrating AAPI Heritage month!
This month, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Earlier this week, Willard’s AAPI club held a night market to celebrate culture and family and this month is full of events to celebrate community! On May 19th, from 6:00 -7:30 PM, celebrate the Year of the Tiger with special guests Innosanto Nagara (author of A is for Activist), Panda Dulce (founding queen of drag queen story hour), and Shanthi Sekaran (author of The Samosa Rebellion and BUSD parent).
Please also encourage your Emerson student to submit questions directly to our AAPI celebration event guests that will be answered during the event— click here for a link!
Check out BUSD AAPI reading lists by grade for some wonderful stories to read together!
Please also check out the amazing resources compiled by Joemy Ito-Gates, Ethnic Studies Teacher on Special Assignment (TSA); Listen, Learn, Lift Up, and Love to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month in May and beyond:
AAPI Heritage Month Family Guide (English)
AAPI Heritage Month Family Guide (Arabic)
AAPI Heritage Month Family Guide (Spanish)
TEACHER AND STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK
Thank you, Emerson families, for celebrating Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week! It’s not too late to show your gratitude to your beloved Emerson staffers! They are the best and let’s take time to show them how much we care and appreciate all of their efforts this school year. Send in your notes and flowers and other inspirations! Here is a list of all the staff and some thoughts lifting up the unique work they each do for our children!
ART CORNER
House of our Dreams
First graders created these imaginative houses inspired by Daniel Pinkwater's book The Big Orange Splot. When Mr. Plumbeam's house gets an unexpected splash of orange paint dropped on its roof, he takes the opportunity to recreate his house so that it looks like all of his dreams. First graders had a wonderful time imagining what their dream houses would look like. They even added a door that opens and drew themselves inside.
- Lucy Ames, Art Teacher (she/her)
EMERSON GARDEN HELPERS NEEDED
Friends are needed to spruce up the Emerson Garden and make it ready for the summer. Everyone is welcome! The plan is to do two hours of light weeding in May and then a few hours in June to spread mulch.
Anyone that is interested, please email Miss Jeanette at jeanettekjobmand@berkeley.net.
Hear us Roar!
Celebrating AAPI Literary Voices in The Year of the Tiger
Join the district-wide AAPI Heritage Month event on Thursday, May 19th from 6:00-7:30 PM.
Event flyer: Hear us Roar! Celebrating AAPI Literary Voices in the Year of the Tiger!
Special presenters include children’s book author, Innosanto Nagara, author of A is for Activist; Drag Queen Story Hour founding queen, Panda Dulce, who will read celebratory AAPI stories; as well as the author of upper grades novel, The Samosa Rebellion, Shanthi Sekaran, who is also a BUSD parent!
Read the books ahead of time (if you are able) and have your child submit questions to our presenters through this form HERE.
COMMUNITY BLOCK PARTY
COME ONE, COME ALL!
After a really tough year, the Berkeley Public Schools Fund will be celebrating educators and the larger BUSD community at our first-ever Spring Block Party on Saturday, May 21, 12-3 PM!
We’ll be closing off part of downtown Berkeley (Shattuck & Center) for an all-community, open-air celebration with music, speakers, kids’ activities, a biergarten, and the unveiling of a very special mural. The mural is being painted by BHS alums and was commissioned by the Schools Fund, in honor of the educators, volunteers and parents who held BUSD together over the past 2 years.
Bring your people and join us in celebration!
EFFICIENT AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS
The U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are conducting a series to share energy efficiency and indoor air quality (IAQ) best practices to help school districts improve their facilities through the Efficient and Healthy Schools program and the first session is this Friday, May 6th at 10:00 AM PST. This webinar will review efforts undertaken at two schools and experts from LBL (brilliant scientists just up the road from Emerson at Cal!) will present on this as well as share information about ways to effectively improve school site Air Quality. The DOE is welcoming comments for the recently released Request for Information for the $500M grant program for K-12 school's energy upgrades. Click here to register to attend (FREE!)
Find Emerson Online
Website: emerson.berkeleypta.org
Remind: Text @7f6hb to 81010; or go to www.remind.com/join/7f6hb
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emersonpta (or follow @emersonPTA)
About BearFacts News:
BearFacts News is a weekly publication created by parent volunteers and posted online at emerson.berkeleypta.org.
BearFacts articles and calendar items are based on submissions from the community and reviewed and edited under the PTA communication policy. Inclusion of an item in BearFacts by itself does not indicate sponsorship or endorsement by the PTA, Emerson school staff, or BUSD.
If you have a news item or announcement to include in the BearFacts News, please send an email to emersonschoolnews@gmail.com. Please keep your message brief and include all the pertinent details including dates, times, locations and contact information. Send images as an e-mail attachment. The deadline is each Monday at 6 p.m.
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Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705