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,
Thank you to the PTA Room Parents and Board for organizing the grade level playdates. Big Shout out to Erwin, Emerson Night Custodian, for opening up the facilities for community use. One recurring theme this year is that our community wants to reconnect. We are grateful that families worked together to set up fun events for families to safely gather on the Emerson campus during October and November weekends. We hope you had a chance to participate, and if you did not, stay tuned for more opportunities after Winter Break.
We are excited to reward the students for their academic and behavioral achievements tomorrow! Students will have the opportunity to meet the Little Explorers Petting Zoo animals during the second recess and lunch. The Zookeepers are vaccinated and will be outside, under the supervision of Emerson Administration. We hope your child comes home happy, with a fun story about petting a zoo animal.
If you read the Superintendent’s letters and updates, you know that BUSD is facing significant budget challenges for the 2021- 2022 school year. Just as many school districts in the Bay Area are required, our district must submit a list of proposed budget cuts to the Alameda County Office of Education in December. The early budget requirement is a reflection of the concern over tightened statewide budgets. As we move into the giving season, please remember Emerson Elementary and the Heart of Emerson campaign. Your contributions go to supporting important programs such as full Art and PE programs for each student. You also support additional Office Staffing, Materials and Supplies, and the English Language Learner program. We hope you can make a contribution here: https://emerson.berkeleypta.org/heart-of-emerson. We still have a ways to go to meet our goal, and we are counting on our community to help us reach it.
We have been fortunate to have very low COVID-19 Transmision numbers here at Emerson. Thank you for your vigilance to keep your family safe when out in the community, which helps us here at school too. We encourage you to take advantage of the 5-year-old and up COVID-19 vaccinations. Appointments can be found at https://myturn.ca.gov/ and the vaccine is free to everyone age 5 and up. You can send a copy of your child’s vaccination card to office staff Leahlopez@berkeley.net or Gabriellaparra@berkeley.net and we will update your child’s immunization status in our records.
Keep in mind that eventually, COVID-19 vaccinations will become a requirement for in-person attendance. Here is a handout from the county that details when students/staff should stay home after receiving the vaccination, and when they can come to school. Note that this only applies when students/staff are not in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case. We will continue to conduct on-site COVID-19 testing for Emerson staff and students every Friday morning.
Have a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving Break!
Jana Holmes
Upcoming Events and Key Dates
November 18: Picture Retakes (send back your child’s package on November 18 and take a new photo.)
November 22 - 26: Thanksgiving Holiday - No School
November 30: Giving Tuesday - Heart of Emerson Matching Challenge
December 20 - 31: Winter Break - No 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.
Halloween Parade Video
Thank you, Mr. Phil, for documenting this year’s Halloween Parade! Link to video.
Holiday Gift Cards for Families in Need
The Berkeley Public Schools Fund and the Office of Family Engagement and Equity are working together to fundraise for Holiday Gift Cards for families in need in our BUSD community. Please join us in helping out our school community this holiday season! To support families at our school, tax-deductible donations for Winter Holiday Gift Cards can be made here. (Click on the link and then select Holiday Gift Cards as the program and complete the rest of the form.) If your family is needing support during the holiday season, please contact Lily Howell at lilyhowell@berkeley.net.
Equity Corner
Have you been to Coyote Hills (occupied land currently stewarded by East Bay Regional Parks) in Fremont? This park contains the protected site of the ancient village of Tuibun, one of the many Ohlone peoples living in the Bay Area over 2,000 years ago. Coyote Hills has a freshwater marsh, home to an incredibly versatile plant known as Tule (pronouced TOO-lee) that is used as a construction material— and in these videos, you can watch the Ohlone Youth Summit harvest, construct, and launch a Tule boat (from 2019) and learn more about Tule from EBRPD Naturalist Dino Labiste. As you look around the Bay Area, see if you can spot Tule in the marshes around us (look for the seed caps at the top of the tall plant!).
Esquina de Equidad
¿Ha visitado en Coyote Hills (tierra ocupada actualmente administrada por East Bay Regional Parks) en Fremont? Este parque contiene el sitio protegido del antiguo pueblo de Tuibun, uno de los muchos pueblos Ohlone que vivían en el Área de la Bahía hace más de 2.000 años. Coyote Hills tiene un pantano de agua dulce, hogar de una planta increíblemente versátil que se llama Tule (pronunciada TOO-lee) que se utiliza como material de construcción, y en este video, puedes ver la Cumbre Juvenil de Ohlone cosechar, construir y lanzar un Tule barco (desde 2019) y aprenda más sobre Tule de EBRPD Naturalist Dino Labiste. Mientras mira alrededor del Área de la Bahía, vea si puede ver a Tule en los pantanos que nos rodean (¡busque las tapas de las semillas en la parte superior de la planta!).
PTA "Welcome Back" Playdates and Giving Tuesday
Last Sunday November 14 the Grade Parents and PTA hosted an epic THREE playdates back to back from 9:30 - 3:30 (3rd, 5th, 4th Grades). These were after Saturday November 6th for 1st and 2nd Grades, Kindergarten's Playdate was on Halloween!
Thank you Shawna Matilla and Ariel Clute, our Community Building Co-Chairs for Emerson's PTA Board. And thank you Rose Lynn Abesamis-Bell for solidifying our roster of AMAZING Grade Parents! You all helped connect our classmate families for these in-person events, our first at-school events since February 2020.
Thank you for everyone's patience as we navigate together the challenges of planning in-person events. We all appreciate the simple act of families showing up at the same time AT school. That's been so rare, and missed.
We learned a lot by delegating planning on the grade level. You may hear about how different grades planned their playdates. All this helps focus our community building on the GRADE level for now, to knit tighter these connections first.
As an outcome of these playdates, more families want to be connected with each other. Create or update your contact information in Where's Waldo, our opt-in school directory.
Save some thanks for GIVING TUESDAY on November 30, after our week-long break. A preview THANK YOU to our Giving Tuesday sponsors of the Matching Challenge!
- From the PTA Board
Alphabet Rockers
Take a listen to the opening song from Alphabet Rockers album The Love, with a powerful land acknowledgement of Ohlone Land. The Alphabet Rockers are making music that makes change, right here in the Bay Area.
Escuche la primera canción de los Alphabet Rockers álbum “The Love”, con un reconocimiento de tierras de los Ohlone. Los Alphabet Rockers están haciendo música que hace cambios, aquí mismo en el Área de la Bahía.
COVID Vaccine and Testing Resources
COVID vaccinations are available at a number of locations within our community. Please review and share this document for vaccine and testing locations often. It will be updated with new information as it becomes available. If you have information to add to this list, please email emersonequitypta@gmail.com.
Guidance for Symptoms after Covid-19 Vaccine
Here is a handout from the county that details when students/staff should stay home after receiving the vaccination, and when they can come to school. Note that this only applies when students/staff are not in close contact with a positive Covid 19 case.
Heart of Emerson: Please Donate
We have raised over half of $110,000, which is our goal for the Heart of Emerson Campaign. This funds PE, Art, student programs, family engagement, office support, and more. If you can, donate at least $680, the amount Emerson PTA spends for each student. Donate more to cover costs for other Emerson students. You can see in this Heart of Emerson ART video, the positive impact of the Art class with Ms. Ames on students. Students describe the class as “fun, relaxing, always something new, expressing what you love and being okay with making mistakes.” In this Heart of Emerson dance video, led by Coach Robinson, we see students and staff have fun with movement. Coach Robinson makes PE class enjoyable for students each week. These videos are snapshots of the one-of-kind community we have here at Emerson Elementary! Finally, be on the lookout for information about our annual Heart of Emerson Giving Tuesday Challenge, which is happening on Nov. 30th. If you donate on Giving Tuesday, you will have an opportunity to score your own original Art work created by Lucy Ames and some Emerson Elementary swag. Stay tuned and thank you for your support!
Volunteers Needed for Vaccination Clinics
The Berkeley Public Schools fund is always in need of volunteers— particularly if you are bilingual or Spanish speaking! BUSD, the City of Berkeley, and Carbon Health have partnered to offer upcoming childrens’ vaccination clinics on Saturdays. You can help support the Spanish-speaking community by volunteering your time! Please check out this link and contact Valerie to to volunteer at upcoming clinics.
El fondo de las Escuelas Públicas de Berkeley siempre necesita voluntarios, ¡especialmente si usted es bilingüe o habla español! BUSD, la ciudad de Berkeley y Carbon Health se han asociado para ofrecer las próximas clínicas de vacunación para niños los sábados. ¡Usted puede ayudar a apoyar a la comunidad de habla hispana ofreciendo su tiempo como voluntario! Consulte este enlace y comuníquese con Valerie para ser voluntario en las próximas clínicas.
Where's Waldo - Emerson's Community Directory
It’s time to build our school/class directory called Where’s Waldo! Did you know it can be found on our school website? Playdates, rideshares, resource sharing and more can be possible when Where’s Waldo is complete! It’s all available securely online and printable. If you have submitted your information through a paper form, we are working to get your information updated. You will still need to create an account to access the directory and to adjust your preferences by using the email you submitted. Click here for the steps to joining Where's Waldo! Visit the Friday PTA table for help signing up!
Teachers’ Corner: Drawing Paint Brushes in the Art Room
Before creating these observational drawings of paint brushes, the 4th and 5th graders honed their observation skills by doing what is called a "blind contour" --- they were not allowed to look at their paper, but instead had to look closely at the brush and then let their pens follow the same journey that their eyes took. Let's just say that the final drawings look a lot more like paint brushes than those first ones did! After drawing these, they added some hatching and pencil rubbing to create shadows and then added watercolor paint.
Mock Newbery Virtual Author Visits
All 4th and 5th graders and their families are welcome to join us for a series of evening virtual author visits on Zoom. The Zoom link will be posted on our Mock Newbery Nights Website. Students and their families will have a chance to meet these featured authors, live in conversation with BUSD school librarians (and they’ll also be entered into prize raffles!) on Thursday evenings in December and January.
Each year, the American Library Association awards the The Newbery Medal to the author of the most “distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” In BUSD, students have the opportunity to join Mock Newbery Clubs to discuss and read a list of new books chosen by their BUSD librarians that reflect the diversity of our community and spark joy and a love of reading. Students then vote on their choice to receive the Berkeley Mock Newbery Medal. Last year, in lieu of our in-person clubs, we hosted several virtual evening events for families over Zoom - our “Mock Newbery Nights.”
And the Mock Newbery Nights were so much fun that we’ve decided to keep on hosting them! We are thrilled that these four authors will be joining us in the upcoming months!
Thursday, December 2, 6pm - Cynthia Leitich Smith
Thursday, December 9, 6pm - Kyle Lukoff
Thursday, January 6, 6pm - Shing Yin Khor
Thursday, January 13, 6pm - Nic Stone
How to Connect!
Do you want to talk to another parent about Emerson, learn ways to connect with other families and support the school? Here are four things you can do:
1) Visit the PTA table on Friday mornings at drop-off!
2) Set up your profile in Where’s Waldo, Emerson’s online family directory.
3) Join the PTA .
4) Learn about the Heart of Emerson campaign!
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.
Copyright © 2021. Emerson Elementary PTA. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705