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,
This is the last Bear Facts Newsletter of the 2021- 2022 school year. What a year it has been! We have learned how resilient we are. COVID had a huge impact this school year. It was difficult to cover classes with staff absent for 10 days at a time. Big Shout out to our faithful guest teachers, who filled in the gaps many, many days: including retired teachers Cindy Schafer, Lori Perenon, and Stefani Woolridge. Big Smile to our Interventionists, Kim Shevelson and Jeannie Wang, and Librarian Rachel Budget, for many days of guest teaching across the grade levels. Hugs to Emerson's Parents who got Substitute Credentials to help us: Amy Fire and Shawna Matilla. We could not have made it in person without “All Hands on Deck”!
Thank you to all the parents who cooperated with all the COVID restrictions. You kept your symptomatic students at home in order to prevent more spread and absences of staff and students. Let’s hope we can all get some rest and gear up for another year, which is sure to bring its challenges in 2023.
In the wake of the horrific mass shootings, some have asked what we do at Emerson to keep students safe. Here are just some of the safety measures we have in place:
1) Emerson doors are locked. You cannot enter the school without coming through the front door and ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door.
2) All visitors sign in at the office.
3) We have cameras that record the inside and the outside of the building 24 hours, 7 days a week.
4) We have two Campus Supervisors on campus who monitor for safety.
5) We have a Safety Plan and Safety Committee that meets regularly and updates the plan annually.
Personally, I am frustrated by the lack of action on the part of our elected officials. Instead of leaving the responsibility of keeping students safe solely to school staff, I beg to see some gun safety legislation. Here in the Bay Area, elections are coming up on Tuesday, June 7. This is our chance to elect officials who care about Gun Safety / Violence / Domestic Terrorism and our children’s futures. Please do vote – I am mailing in my ballot this week.
This week we look forward to celebrating the end of school and the beginning of summer with a PTA-sponsored Jumpy House / Ice Cream Day on Thursday, June 2nd. We are rewarding the students for their hard work by extending lunch recess so everyone can enjoy it.
On Friday, June 3rd, the 5th Grade students will be promoted, with a special ceremony from 8:30- 10:00 am on the blacktop.
Don’t forget students will be released early on the last day of school, with Kindergartners excused at 12:30 and 1st- 5th Graders at 1:10. Kids World will dismiss at 5:00 pm. Please make arrangements to pick up your child on the last day of school according to the early release times.
School resumes on Monday, August 15, 2022. The first three days of the 2022- 2023 school year will be early release, with students dismissed at 1:30 each day. We look forward to welcoming you back after the Summer Break.
Take good care and thank you for your support,
Jana Holmes
Upcoming Events and Key Dates
Thursday, June 3: 5th Grade Class Promotion. 8:30-10:00am.
Thursday, June 3: Last Day of School. Kindergarten dismissed at 12:30pm; Grades 1-5 at 1:10pm.
Monday, August 15: 1st Day of 22/23 School Year!
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.
Thank You
Thank you PTA members, Grade Parents, and all of the volunteers who helped connect our Emerson community this year. School's out, but not the PTA! Expect some messages from us over the summer, especially for welcoming our incoming Kindergarten families. And we continue to seek Board members for these roles:
VP of Advocacy
VP of Fundraising
Co-VP of Communications
Summer Reading Bingo
Yay! It's Summer! It's the perfect time to...READ!!!! Emerson students spend all year reading each and every school day. Reading over the summer keeps your student's reading muscles strong. Try Summer Reading Bingo for fun! Happy Summer Reading!
Ms. Jeannie
A MIGHTY THANKS
As we come upon this last issue of the Bearfacts, your weekly Emerson newsletter that keeps you in the know, you might be wondering how it all gets done week after week! Behind the scenes, every week, without fail, is a team of parent volunteers who are rotating Editors, preparing the newsletter. Thank you to our Editors: Amy Fire, Nathan Fisher, Ashleigh Kanat, Jenn Petrucelli, and Rose Lynn Abesamis-Bell. These folks also share the role of draft reviewers with PTA board members and Ms. Holmes so the Bearfacts is ready to go live on the Emerson News page on our website, in your Remind, and in your email inboxes every Thursday morning! Lastly, thank you to many of who you contributed to the content from community information, special events, student artwork with Ms. Ames, the equity corner, PTA updates, and always Ms. Holmes weekly letter and so much more. A mighty thanks for helping keep communication and information flowing at Emerson!
JOIN THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
The Bearfacts is one component of Emerson’s PTA communication system. This system includes the Parent Handbook, Communications Card, Where’s Waldo School Directory, Bearfacts, Website, Remind and more! As you can imagine, it takes a team of people to hold different parts to make it all happen. As you think about next year and your participation in the life of Emerson School, consider joining the Communications Team. For more information or to raise your hand, email emersonschoolnews@gmail.com… you won’t regret it!
Gift Collection for Enrichment Teachers and Support Staff—THANK YOU!
The generosity in this community is nothing short of amazing. In just one week, we were able to collect enough funds from families to give $135 gifts to each of the 37 enrichment teachers and support staff at Emerson—WOW! What a way to send all of these incredible humans off into summer break! Thank you all again for your generosity and for acknowledging ALL the people who interact with our kids. Have a great summer break!
Free COVID Resources
Residential households in the US are now eligible for another order of free at home tests on USPS.com; each order now includes 8 rapid antigen COVID-19 tests (4 tests in each package) and the entire order ships to you for free. Please share this free at-home testing resource with your community! https://special.usps.com/testkits
The CDC continues to offer Free respirators (N95) to communities through local pharmacies. To find a location near you, follow this link; please also call before to ensure they have inventory as the site lists participating locations but does not include current inventory levels.
Summer Vaccine Clinic Availability
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