BearFacts News
April 12, 2018
Message from the Principal
Dear Families,
I am pleased to share with all the members of our community, that Emerson School has been selected by the California Department of Education as a 2018 Distinguished School. I am very proud of the hard work and dedication all our teachers and staff have put in to making Emerson such a fine school and I am very gratified that we are being honored for this exceptional effort. Emerson is one of 21 elementary schools in Alameda County chosen for the distinction and one of 287 schools statewide.
If you would like to learn more about this award, see the the statement State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson shared in an announcement on April 2nd: "These schools implement outstanding educational programs and practices that help California students realized their potential, and put them on their path to achieve their dreams."
Parents and guardians are also an integral part of this school's success. Thank you to all of you for your involvement and support. Together we have created quite a distinguished little school!
Ms. Hodge
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
- Friday, April 13, Free coffee & pastries on the yard, 8am; All School meeting 8:30am
- Saturday, April 14, Berkeley Bay Festival, Shorebird Park (160 University Ave.), 11am-4pm
- Friday, April 20, Free coffee & pastries on the yard, 8am
- Friday, April 20 – Sunday, April 29 Emerson Read-a-thon
- Wednesday, April 25, School Governance Council Meeting, 5:30pm
Find more dates/details: https://emerson.berkeleypta.org/calendar
A HUGE thank you to
Christina Collinsworth
who led Emerson’s
2018 Auction and Party.
The auction was
a grand success, largely thanks
to Christina’s tireless efforts
and outstanding leadership!
The 2018 Emerson Auction was Out of This World!
There are so many people to thank for making this event all that it was. Nina Goldman, Stephanie Sideboth, Sarah Jarvis, Tamara Pattison, Stefanniana Moore, Erin Tsuchimoto, Ariel Clute, Mindy Szelap, Mike Shumaker, Michele Byrnes, Robin Stults, Darcy Russell, Nate Stahlhut, Sue Bessler, Matt Goldsmith, Anthony Fernandez, Vivi Andrijani, Jeff Hipona, Sarah Patrick, Elif Lostuvali, Rose Lynn Abesamis, Ashleigh Kanat, Michelle Hlubinka, Tangy Franks, Scott Hofmeister, Alice Chen, Sarah Patrick, Stephanie Meade, Emily Nathan, Jean Kawahara, Oliver Hesse, Erica Wandner, Liz White and of course the AMAZING Emerson staff who donate their time and energy to the fun teacher outings! THANK YOU for all the time, effort, sweat, and tears that you put in over the last 5 months. Emerson rocks because YOU rock it!
- Christina Collinsworth
Read-a-Thon Kicks Off This Week!
On Friday of this week, students will bring home everything they need to kick off this year's Read-a-Thon, including a guide to how the Read-a-Thon works and pledge forms. Right away students should begin collecting pledges! Students will have one week to collect pledges. Encourage your readers to reach out to grandparents, aunts/uncles, neighbors and family friends.
Then, starting on Friday, April 20th and going for ten days, Emerson students are going to read, read, read – at school and at home and everywhere in between! There will be prizes for top readers in each grade as well as for the class that reads the most minutes!
This event is designed to improve skills and uncork a love of books through focused reading over a short duration, with a little competition sprinkled in! It’s also an important fundraiser for Emerson. The money raised during the Read-a-Thon supports our entire school community.
Questions? Email Sam Lekus at samanthalekus@gmail.com.
Join the PTA Board
The Emerson PTA Board is a diverse group of volunteers who meet monthly to oversee the planning and organization of community events and fundraisers, as well as plan and implement the PTA budget. We are looking to fill the following PTA Board positions for the 2018-2019 school year.
Contact emersonbearcubspta@gmail.com or reach out to any current Board Member to ask any questions or express your interest as soon as possible.
VP of School Support and Academic Enrichment
(1 or 2 positions available)
- Oversees and provides support as needed to the afterschool enrichment coordinators
- Coordinates support for school events, such as cultural events, Hour of Code, the Winter Performance, and the Math Wall
- Oversees principal, teacher and staff appreciation events in the spring
VP of Community Outreach
(1 position available)
- Manages PTA membership drive
- Oversees and provides support for the incoming kindergarten events (summer playdates, kindergarten fair, kindergarten night, kindergarten tours, kindergarten buddy program)
VP of Advocacy
(1 position available)
- Keeps abreast of issues in education and local/state PTA initiatives; organizes parents to support CA PTA initiatives or local issues, as needed
- Attends PTA Council and District meetings and reports back to the Emerson community
Open house for French After School Program
EFBA is proud to invite you and your child (K-5th grade) to our open house at John Muir Elementary School, 2955 Claremont avenue, Berkeley CA 94705. April 23-27 from 3:30 to 5pm (every day except Wednesday April 25th) Check out our program before signing up for next year. EFBA is a nonprofit organization promoting bilingualism, specifically by teaching French in the San Francisco Bay Area. This event is FREE and OPEN to all. RSVP to clarabijl@mac.com.
Berkeley Bay Festival 2018
The City of Berkeley is proud to host another year of the Berkeley Bay Festival – a long time tradition providing the community with free hands-on educational activities focused on protecting the Bay and its wildlife. Live music for all ages, circus performers and food vendors will be present. Festival goers may paddle a Dragon boat or take a sailboat ride and build with recycled materials in Adventure Playground. This year’s Berkeley Bay Festival will take place at Shorebird Park in the Berkeley Marina on Saturday April 14th, 2018 from 11am to 4pm. https://www.cityofberkeley.info/BayFestival
Weekly Zumba at Emerson: 5:15-6:15 pm; $5 per class (no childcare).
Shop for Emerson!
Click here to raise money for Emerson when you shop at Amazon
Find Emerson Online
Website: emerson.berkeleypta.org
Email: Not getting BearFacts via email? Email us to subscribe: emersonschoolnews@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emersonpta (or follow @emersonPTA)
About BearFacts News:
BearFacts News is a weekly publication created by parent volunteers. It is distributed each Thursday in students' Look Folders and via email.
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. The deadline is each Monday at 6 p.m.
Copyright © 2018. Emerson Elementary PTA. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705