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 for a great first week of school! We continue to build strong relationships with our students and establish our practices and procedures. We appreciate your partnership, which leads to our student’s success!
We hope to see you at Back To School Night this evening, Thursday, August 25 from 5:30-7:00 pm. Meet us on the blacktop at 5:30 for light refreshments. We will start out there, with Welcome and Comments from School Staff and PTA President Rana Cho. Afterward, you will be invited to the classroom for presentations. You may consider wearing a mask when you enter the building- this is optional; however, we will have masks available if you would like to wear one. If you are unable to attend or would like to review afterward, the Teacher’s Slideshow presentations will be made available. We are excited to have parents inside the school for this important evening.
Good news - the CDC has reclassified COVID transmission rates for Alameda County from “high” to “low” as of August 18th. Within the school, we continue to follow safety procedures such as frequent hand washing and sanitizing. In the classrooms, teachers continue to leave classroom windows and doors open, along with air purifiers in each classroom. To move the airflow in the cafeteria, we have placed three air purifying units and three box fans to keep the circulation from the open doors moving. PE classes have been moved outside this school year, which encourages healthy motor development in the open air. In coordination with BUSD’s new at-home testing policy, students will come home with a COVID test if we need to contract trace due to a classroom outbreak. If your student tests positive, please keep your child at home and report to covidcase@berkeley.net and Attendance Clerk Leahlopez@berkeley.net.
Recently, I became aware of the allocation of Chromebooks throughout BUSD. This standard is one cart for each 4th or 5th grade classroom. In grade 3, it is one cart for every two classrooms. Each year there will be fluctuations in the number of students at each school and at times this will cause a shuffling of the Chromebooks. This is indeed the case for Emerson this year. I want to reassure you that we have the correct allocation of Chromebooks for our students.
As always, we are looking for volunteers to help us have a successful and event-filled school year. You may also want to consider joining the School Site Council. The SSC provides guidance regarding state and federal monies provided to the school and reviews the plan for student achievement. The SSC needs a new President this year. Here is the form to nominate yourself for the ballot: SSC Nomination Form 2022- 2023. The deadline for SSC nominations is Wednesday, September 15th. The ballots will be shared on Thursday, September 16th. We appreciate your consideration.
If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to complete the application for Free/Reduced Lunch. All families are encouraged to fill out the form online at ezmealapp.com. We also have paper applications available in the office. This form needs to be completed by October 1, 2022, and is tied to important state and federal funding for our school. Even if you do not qualify for free/ reduced lunch, we encourage you to complete the form today.
I would like to provide a friendly reminder that I am always open to hearing your comments, questions, feedback, and concerns. You can reach me at janaholmes@berkeley.net or by calling the front office at 510-644-6890. Most mornings I am at the gate to greet students and again to say goodbye at the end of the day. I hope that you will find that you can talk to me and I look forward to partnering with you for your child’s success.
Take care,
Jana Holmes
Upcoming Events and Key Dates
Thursday, August 25: Back to School Night 5:30-7pm, In Person
Wednesday, August 31: School Board Candidates Forum 7-9:30pm, Willard Middle School Auditorium, 2425 Stuart St.
Friday, September 2: First Friday Coffee (during drop-off) and All School Meeting at 8:20am
Saturday, September 3: Cal Football Parking Fundraiser - 5th Grade hosts
Monday, September 5: Labor Day, No School
Tuesday, September 20: 1st PTA Association Meeting, 6pm
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.
MESSAGE FROM THE PTA BOARD
We have a new website!!!
We are now: EMERSONELEMENTARY.ORG
What does this mean? For you, nothing’s changed - our website looks the same, works as before, and holds our community resources like our Calendar and Directory.
For the PTA Board, EVERYTHING has changed! This new URL is a new virtual office with tools and processes that streamline our PTA work. We are a volunteer-run non-profit organization, and now we clearly represent YOU, our Emerson community, as EmersonElementary.org. The pandemic years are severely straining our organization, but that pressure is helping us rebuild our board intentionally and efficiently.
Gratitude and glory to Amy Fire! Parent of 4th grader Fenris and 1st grader Phoenix, Amy is also our Co-Treasurer, and she single-handedly migrated our archives, set up new emails for each Board member, and created workflows tailored to our PTA’s many functions (including this newsletter!). Amy accomplished the equivalent of starting up a company 100% remotely! Thank you Amy! The Emerson community is already benefiting from this major change!
UPCOMING EVENTS, DATES:
The Next First Friday Coffee will be Friday, September 2nd after morning drop-off. Then stay for the first All-School Meeting of the year, which will be on the blacktop.
Once we have Grade Parents signed up, we’ll have our Welcome Back Playdates in September/October.
Cal Football Parking now through November. Each grade, in descending order, volunteers to support our Football Parking fundraiser, starting with the 5th Grade on Saturday, September 3.
PTA-sponsored afterschool enrichment classes - Signups coming soon! Classes will begin the week after Labor Day (Sept 12), and scholarships will be offered.
URGENT ROLES, NEEDS:
PTA Board positions for Fundraising, Communications, and Advocacy To learn more, reach out to rana.cho@emersonelementary.org
Grade Parents!!! Sign up via Questionnaire or email to learn more: krysten.curtis@emersonelementary.org
Volunteers for Cal Football Parking on Saturday, Sept 3 (and other home games this season): Steve Wilson soccerfan311@gmail.com
Reminder to fill out the Back to School Questionnaire, this will help us connect everyone for the coming year! (https://forms.gle/jMXTWV3TkRmkMckw6)
EQUITY CORNER: A BRIEF HISTORY OF EQUITY AT EMERSON
Back in 2013, a group of caregivers joined the Emerson PTA to lift issues around Equity in our school community; in 2015, led by the question of how we as a community create a more welcoming school created the Desired Racial Equity Outcome Plan. The PTA now funds Equity programs and has three dedicated equity liaisons this school year-- Cielo (4th grade parent), Rachel (1st grade parent), and Silvia (1st grade parent). Each Spring, our community is invited to join the Spring Equity Circle, facilitated for our community by Ms. Pam. We are looking forward to meeting you and your family and providing space to meet up, let our students play, and show up for one another.
Keep in touch with us at equity@emersonelementary.org or click here to sign up for our email list so we can connect with you for upcoming events and cultural celebrations. If you have ideas or want to help contribute to our community, cultural celebrations, or anything else, please let us know!
ART CORNER WITH MS. AMES
"Just make a mark and see where it takes you." From The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
First graders through 5th graders all made dots in celebration of International Dot Day (which happens in September). Well, we mostly made them in celebration of the unique creativity each of us brings to art class.
They are all hanging in the hallways now.
Ms. Ames
GETTING CONNECTED: BEARFACTS & WHERE’S WALDO
Would you like to receive this weekly BearFacts in email? Subscribe HERE.
If your family's time at Emerson has ended, you may unsubscribe at the bottom of any BearFacts email.
Would you like to access our online school directory, Where’s Waldo? Set up your account HERE.
Here are step by step instructions for setting up and managing your Where’s Waldo profile.
Both of these services are OPT-IN so be sure to sign up!
Questions? Email communications@emersonelementary.org
City Council and School Board Candidate Forums
Southeast Berkeley Candidates Forum
Sponsored by: Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association (CENA), Willard Neighborhood Association (WNA), Bateman Neighborhood Association (BNA), Halcyon Neighborhood Association (HNA), and Panoramic Hill Association (PNA)
Come hear from the candidates. Ask them questions! This is your opportunity to find out where the candidates running for School Board and City Council District 8 stand on issues that matter to you and to the sponsoring organizations.
Berkeley School Board Candidates Forum (at-large seats) - All Candidates Invited
Willard Jr. High Auditorium | 2425 Stuart St.
Wednesday August 31, 2022
Doors Open 6:30pm | Meeting 7pm to 9:30pm (2 ½ hours)
Candidates:
Ka’Dijah Brown
Mike Chang
Tatiana Guerreiro Ramos
Norma J F Harrison
Reichi Lee
Jennifier Shanoski
THIS ACTIVITY IS NEITHER SPONSORED NOR ENDORSED BY THE BERKELEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Find Emerson Online
Website: https://emersonelementary.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 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.
Copyright © 2022. Emerson Elementary PTA. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705