BearFacts News - 11.10.22

 
 

Si tiene alguna duda sobre esta nota debido a la traduccion,
por favor comuniquese con Rafael Friedmann via email: rfriedmann@aol.com


MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Emerson Families,

Welcome to the Heart of Emerson Fundraising season! Will you help us kick off the campaign with your generous donation today?  Our goal is to raise $135,000 to support Art, PE, Office Staff, Field trips, materials and supplies, and much more!  Please take a moment to read this Kick Off Letter with links to donate today: Heart Of Emerson Donation Letter 2022.  There are many ways to donate, here is a link to get you started: Donate online (PayPal/Credit Card/Debit card). 

Big Shout out to the Grade Level Parents who planned fun weekend get togethers for each class this fall.  With the exception of the 3rd grade Play Date, which will be rescheduled due to rain, each grade has come together on the weekend to spend time together and build community.  Thank you PTA! 

Emerson students are in for a treat this morning when the Berkeley High School Symphony will visit and perform for us.  We hope that our students will be inspired by the high school students, who represent the culmination of the excellent K-12 performing arts program in BUSD.  If our students stay committed to the instruments they begin learning in the fourth and fifth grades they too may join the esteemed high school music program.

Did you know that Emerson has a Student Advisory Committee?  This diverse group of 4th and 5th grade students meets with Ms. Lily, Office of Family Engagement & Equity and the School Principal about once a month.  The purpose of the group is to give students a voice, and empower them as stakeholders in our school community.  Each year this group of students also designs an equity based school service project.  The Student Advisory Committee is an important leadership opportunity that demonstrates the power and value of student’s input in school.  

As we near the holiday season please do your best to help staff and students stay healthy at school. We have very few substitutes to cover when our staff becomes sick.  If your child is sick, with a fever or COVID/ flu symptoms, please allow them to recover at home.  Report your student's absence to Leahlopez@berkeley.net and all COVID cases to the school nurse at Covidcase@berkeley.net.  We will send COVID test kits home with your student before Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks.  We wish you a safe and healthy winter season.

Sincerely,

Jana Holmes 


UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Friday, November 11: No School (Veterans’ Day)

Friday, November 11 - Sunday, November 13: Mrs. Dalloway’s School Benefit Fundraiser

Saturday, November 19: Cal Football Parking Fundraiser - All Grades host (more info here)

Friday, November 25: Cal Football Parking Fundraiser - Kindergarten hosts (more info here)

Monday, November 21 - Friday, November 25: No School (Fall Break)

Monday, December 19 - Monday, January 2: No School (Winter Break)

Tuesday, January 3: Students return to 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.


CELLULAR PHONE REMINDER

If you send your student to school with a cell phone, please be advised that it must be turned completely off and be out of sight during the school day. The school will not be responsible for lost, stolen or damaged cell phones. Use of cell phones at any time during the instructional day will result in confiscation and possible disciplinary action. Please refer to Administrative Regulation 5131 (adopted June 4, 2003), or Section 9.9 of the Parent-Student Handbook 2022-2023 for more details. In addition, we also encourage you to monitor your child’s text messages and social media, encouraging age-appropriate and safe communication. Thank you for your partnership to keep our students safe.


Congratulations, November Shout Out Students


PTA UPDATE - HEART OF EMERSON

We are the Heart of Emerson!

This week the Emerson PTA launches our main fundraising campaign, the Heart of Emerson, to raise at least $135,000 before the end of the year, to support the next academic year. This will guarantee Art and PE for all grades every week (the only BUSD school to do so), office support, field trips, STEAM events, equity programs, and more. Thanks to the generosity of last year’s donors, THIS academic year the PTA is investing $900 per student, for 286 students!

A big thank you to our intrepid fundraising chairs, Liz Valley (Kindergartener in Ms. Carter’s class) and Stephanie Boys (Kindergartener in Ms. Bella’s class), who are leading this campaign for our community!

Please wear your Heart buttons, stickers, and shirts from years past this Friday morning for coffee on the yard before our First Friday All-School Meeting.

We have a special prize when we reach 80% participation, all amounts count so please donate early (this week!). And please ask for participation from your communities: family/friends, workplace, place of worship, and neighbors!


Art Corner

5th Grade Collages Inspired by Beatriz Milhazes

Fifth Grade Artists learned about how Beatriz Milhazes draws inspiration from the Botanical Garden next to her studio in her native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her art is anything but realistic! She uses colorful shapes to convey the feelings of the places (or foods, experiences, etc) that she loves. In art class we layered larger pieces of scrapbook paper first, then added medium size shapes and finished off with many circle stickers. We tried to balance our art so that the viewer's eye will keep moving around the piece. Each work is titled to give the viewer an idea of what the artist was thinking about.


Sneak Peek: Something beautiful is coming to the yard!

(And volunteer opportunities along with it…)

Starting just before the Thanksgiving Break and then into the two weeks after, every Emerson student will be painting a long wood slat. These will be installed on the exterior wall by the Kindergarten entrance. The photo shows some of the color schemes we are testing out. It's going to be amazing!!

*** Special thank you to Brad Sanford who is cutting all of the wood for us and Michelle Falise who has helped with every step of the design process. ***

This is a huge undertaking, and I will appreciate every hour of volunteer help that you are able to give! There will be a more formal sign up genius request sent as the dates get closer, but for now here's the schedule if you'd like to save the time in advance. Please consider helping with painting during your child's grade level classes (Or any classes at all!). It will be fun! Thank you for considering!

Thursday Nov. 17th:

4th grade 12:30-2:30

Monday Nov. 28th:

5th grade 8:15-10:15

1st grade 10:15-12:40

2nd grade 12:40-2:30 (Morgan and Davis)

Wednesday Nov. 30th:

2nd grade 8:15-9:20 (Suzuki)

3rd grade 9:10-11:20

Kindergarten 12-1:30

Thursday Dec 1st:

4th grade 12:30-2:30

Monday Dec 5th:

5th grade 8:15-10:15

1st grade 10:15-12:40

2nd grade 12:40-2:30 (Morgan and Davis)

Wednesday Dec.12th:

2nd grade 8:15-9:20 (Suzuki)

3rd grade 9:10-11:20

Kindergarten 12-1:30


VOLUNTEER KINDERGARTEN TOUR GUIDES NEEDED

Emerson K Tours - Volunteer Kindergarten Tour Guides Needed for just a few more dates! Share your love of Emerson with prospective Kindergarten families - be a tour guide!

Tours will take place for prospective families at Emerson Thursdays from 8:15 am - 9:45 am, November 10th - January 26th. 

We will have two leaders per tour this year, and are eager to welcome new tour guides. We’ll provide you with talking points, answers to FAQ’s, and other information to make the job easy and fun. We need tour guides for just a few more dates:  1/12, 1/19, and 1/26 and we also could use a few folks to staff the Emerson table at the Kinder Fair on 12/3/22. 

Sign up to co-lead a tour or staff the Emerson Table at the 12/3 Kinder Fair here

Please email tours@emersonelementary.org or eleanor.hollander@gmail.com with questions.


EQUITY CORNER

The PTA Equity Team invites you to join us in a 3 part series, Meetings on the Bridge, to grow our cross-cultural skills to create a more equitable school to benefit our children and our community!

The first session is November 15, 2022, facilitated By Ms. Pamela Harrison-Small from 6pm-8pm with food and childcare provided. The workshop will begin at 6:30pm; all are welcome! Please RSVP by November 13 here: https://tinyurl.com/MOB1115 and indicate childcare needs and dietary preferences.

Be sure to check your LOOK! folders for more information in the form of a flyer and reach out to the equity team with any questions at equity@emersonelementary.org

-cielo, rachel, and silvia


LIBRARY CORNER

November is Indigenous People's Heritage Month, and BUSD Library Services has updated our reading lists with some new, wonderful books!

These reading lists, organized by grade level, represent books published in the last 5 years that are devoted to celebrating, representing, and affirming Indigenous heritage, featuring Indigenous authors, characters and the North American Indigenous experience.
All of these books are available at the Emerson Library as a physical and/or digital book. If an ebook is available through Sora, you can access it by clicking the cover of the book.


This Weekend - Mrs. Dalloway’s School Benefit Fundraiser

Shop at Mrs. Dalloway’s (in person or online) between November 11th and 13th. Save your receipt and turn it into the school office. Mrs. Dalloway’s donates 15% of your pre-tax sales to Emerson!


BAMPFA Second Saturday

Second Saturday is this Saturday, November 12

Gallery + Studio: The Structured Stitch with artist Lizzy Blasingame | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Gallery+Studio integrates art on view at BAMPFA with a related art project. Sign up at the Art Lab 10 minutes ahead of the session. For ages 6 - 12 and their grown-ups.

Hannah Levy’s art is a study in contrasts--hard edges, soft textures, organic shapes and industrial materials. Explore shapes, colors, textures and sewing as you connect shapes and build your own sculptures.

¡Roundtable Reading Bilingüe!: Dancing Home / Nacer bailando by Alma Flor Ada & Gabriel Zubizarreta | 2:00 PM

At Roundtable Reading, young readers read aloud to one another from the opening pages of a good book for about an hour. Children who participate at the event will receive a copy of the book to continue reading at home. No advance sign-up needed; just show up at 2:00 ready to read!
For ages 8 and up (younger kids welcome as listeners)
Reading led by Angela Loza, Librarian at West Contra Costa Unified

Margie has finally convinced the other kids at school she is one-hundred percent American—just like them. But when her cousin Lupe visits from Mexico, the image she’s created crumbles. Things aren’t easy for Lupe, either. Mexico hasn’t felt like home since her father went North to find work. Her hope of seeing him in the U.S. comforts her, but learning a new language in a new school is tough. Little by little, the girls’ individual steps find the rhythm of a shared dance, and they learn what “home” really means.


Find Emerson Online

Websitehttps://emersonelementary.org/

Remind: Text @7f6hb to 81010; or go to www.remind.com/join/7f6hb

Facebookwww.facebook.com/emersonpta (or follow @emersonPTA)


About BearFacts News:
BearFacts News is a weekly publication created by parent volunteers and posted online at emersonelementary.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 bearfacts@emersonelementary.org. 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 and include alt-text. The deadline is each Monday at 6 p.m.

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