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,

Good news! Governor Newsom will end the California COVID-19 State of Emergency at the end of this month. Transmission rates are low in California. This means that the District’s policies are going to change. This Thursday, February 16th, will be the last day that testing is offered at the Adult School. We will shift to “response testing” which means that testing kits will be sent home with students only when there is an outbreak (meaning 3 or more cases in an overlapping time frame in a classroom or other shared space). In addition, we will send COVID-19 testing kits home one last time before this coming 4-day weekend. After that we will no longer send them home, unless there is an outbreak. However, parents can request a kit from the front office anytime. Finally, masks will continue to be available for staff and students who request them. Thank you for all the lengths you have gone to during the past 3 years to keep our school community safe!

Facilities update: contractors came out to look at the back doorway and begin the process of ordering parts for the repair. I was cautioned that it will take a long time for the parts to come in and for the work to begin. The Fire Inspector came this week, and even with one less exit, we are still in compliance with requirements, and the Fire Inspector knows that the repair process is underway. During our January fire drill and evacuation, we managed to exit the building in less time than we did with both exits. Of course, we will still repair it. Our next fire drill is on February 23.

The second trimester ended on Friday, February 10th. Report cards and assessment reports will be sent home in student’s backpacks this week. Assessment reports include: Kindergarten through Grades 2 DIBELS Literacy assessment reports and Grades 3-5 STAR Reading and Math Assessments. These reports are reviewed by teachers and other school staff to see how students are progressing throughout the school year and how we can help them succeed. If you have any questions regarding your student’s reports please reach out to your classroom teacher. We look forward to continuing to partner with you throughout the remainder of our school year.

The poem below was created a few years ago, by this year’s 4th Grade class, and it is still a wonderful poem to celebrate Black History Month!

Sincerely,

Jana Holmes

UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Thursday, February 16: School Site Council Meeting, 7:00pm - via Zoom

Friday, February 17: No School (Lincoln’s Birthday)

Monday, February 20: No School (Presidents’ Day)

Thursday, February 23: ‘Meeting on the Bridge’ equity workshop, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Friday, March 10: 1st Day of 2023 Read-a-Thon

Monday, April 3 - Friday, April 7: Spring Recess (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.

BUSD Black History Month Family Guide

Please see the BUSD Family Guide for Black History Month 2022- 2023. The guide includes a message from Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel and also includes practical ways that all families can celebrate this month.

PTA UPDATE

HEART OF EMERSON T-SHIRTS!!

Our school-wide prize for meeting our Heart of Emerson fundraising goal this year is free t-shirts for all Emerson students and staff! Every student’s name will be featured on the back, and extra shirts can be ordered for just $15. Fill out the form below to claim your shirt - registration will close on Friday, 2/24. CLICK HERE TO ORDER

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Help shape our future PTA by joining the Nominating Committee!

The Nominating Committee consists of the Principal or faculty representative, at least five members, and NOT the president. Please contact the PTA if you are interested in joining the Nominating Committee - volunteer@emersonelementary.org

SPRING EVENTS

Coming soon: Read-a-thon, Art Night, and Spring Special! Please volunteer when Grade Parents reach out for help for these community events: volunteer@emersonelementary.org

ART CORNER

Black Lives Matter in Art

All of the artists at Emerson spent some time appreciating all of the beautiful colors and shades of browns that our skin can be. Most of us read All the Colors We Are The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color, except for the Kindergarteners who read The Colors of Us. We also looked at various social justice artists many of whom use hands and fists to show solidarity, power, resistance and a willingness to fight for justice.

Each child traced their hand and colored it using a skin tone as close to their own as they could (which is not entirely easy to do, but we did our best!) All of these hands are being put together now to show that our school community stands together and believes that BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Learn More About BUSD’s African American Success Framework

Check out the African American Success Framework Winter Newsletter— learn about College Bound Saturday sessions (next one is March 25th!), Young, Gifted, and Black meetings (rehearsals are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-6pm).

SAVE THE DATE for your rising 6th grader at the Middle + High School Transition Fair on April 15th, from 10am-1pm.

Email busdaasf@gmail.com with any questions, suggestions, or feedback. Learn more about the BUSD African American Success Framework (AASF) here!

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BUSD ETHNIC STUDIES BLACK HISTORY MONTH RESOURCES

Please enjoy the BUSD February Ethnic Studies Newsletter, which features an interview with a brilliant educator from Malcolm X Elementary, Ms. Felicia Gray! She shares about her experiences of being a part of the first kindergarten classes to integrate BUSD schools and so much more.

In this month's newsletter you'll also find links to all of the Black History Month resources, other teaching resources for cultural celebrations throughout the month, a link to the school board presentation for ethnic studies in our elementary schools, the 7 C's of Ethnic Studies, as well as other resources.

The Read-a-Thon is Coming!

The Emerson Read-A-Thon is a school-wide celebration of reading - coming up in March (3/10 - 3/19)! Keep an eye out for more information in next week’s BearFacts!

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 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.