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MONTHLY LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Emerson Families,

Spring is a busy time of year at Emerson and we are looking forward to many engaging educational activities for students. Let’s finish the school year strong by making the most of our time together. We encourage all students to be on time for school. The gates open at 8:00 am. and school starts at 8:10 am. We are participating in the Elementary School March Madness Attendance challenge; each week we will face off against another school. This week we are challenging Sylvia Mendez Elementary School for best attendance. The winning school will be announced by the BUSD Student Services Office at the end of the month and awarded a trophy.

We are proud of the many students who participated in our site’s Oratorical Contest during the March All School Meeting. This year’s theme is “Black Artists: Art for Change. Art for Joy”. Ms. Lily, Office of Family Engagement and Equity, mentored seven student groups and three solo acts who presented passionate entries judged by a panel of Emerson Staff. All students will receive a small reward from the Emerson staff. We are pleased to announce that Soleyana Derebe will advance to the district competition. Stay tuned for more information about the district competition on March 21st at 5:30 pm- we hope you will attend to cheer Soleyana on!

This month students will enjoy several special events that will enrich their educational experience. This Friday, March 8, students will be treated to a performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”, which will introduce creative word and story themes through live-action comedy. On Friday, March 22nd, we will support and affirm transgender and non-binary youth by celebrating the Rainbow Families National Day of Reading with a Drag Read-A-Loud. Mark your calendars and come dressed to make a mess at the Family Art Night on Friday, March 22nd, from 6:00- 7:30 pm. Finally, we will honor Cesar Chavez Day with an inspiring cultural performance from Ballet Folklorico Mexicano.

The Read-A-Thon starts on Friday, March 8. Students have 10 days to read as much as possible and raise money for our school. Let’s have fun and empower our students with literacy!

It’s time to begin planning for the 2024- 2025 school year. Please consider joining the PTA Board and keep an eye out for nomination information. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. We will affirm the new Board and next year’s budget at a Spring Association meeting. Thank you for your consideration and support!

Sincerely,

Jana Holmes

UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Friday, March 8: Emerson Read-A-Thon begins, “Relax & Read” Spirit Day (wear your pj’s and bring a stuffie and your favorite book to read)

Sunday, March 10: District-wide Rainbow Families Playdate, 2 - 4pm (BAM's Big Yard, 2015 Virginia St.)

Wednesday, March 13 - Friday, March 15: 5th Grade Field Trip at Camp Arroyo

Sunday March 17: Read-A-Thon ends

Friday, March 22: Read-A-Thon reading logs due

Friday, March 22: Family Art Night, 6 - 7:30pm (Library & Multipurpose Room)

Friday, March 29: Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning

Monday, Apr 1 - Friday, April 5: 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.

MESSAGE FROM THE PTA PRESIDENT

JOIN THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR 2024-25 PTA BOARD

Dear Emerson Community,

Your participation is crucial in shaping the future of our beloved school! The Emerson PTA is in the process of forming a nominating committee to select board members for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Your involvement and input are invaluable in this process.

If you are passionate about contributing to our school's growth and success, we invite you to join the nominating committee. Please contact Merlin Edwards, President of Emerson Elementary PTA, at president@emersonelementary.org to express your interest or nominate a deserving candidate.

This committee will be elected in a special PTA Association meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 7:00 pm, (Zoom link will be provided) where we will both vote on the nominating committee and get approval for an audit for the first half of the school year.

Together, let's continue to make a positive impact on our school community!

Warm regards,

Merlin Edwards II

MARCH STUDENT SHOUTOUTS

THE EMERSON READ-A-THON BEGINS TOMORROW!

Tomorrow is the first day of our 2024 Read-a-Thon! For the next ten days (March 8 - 17), we encourage all students to read as much as they can, while raising money for Emerson. We’re striving for full participation - meaning we hope that every student will find some time to read at home! Emerson students will be celebrating the first day of the Read-A-Thon with "Relax and Read" Spirit Day. Students may wear pajamas and bring stuffies and their favorite books to read to school on Friday, March 8th.

There will be prizes for the top three students in grades K-5 who read the most minutes, a prize for the classroom at each grade level that reads the most, and a schoolwide prize if all together we read 300,000 minutes! TK will also receive a class prize for participation and join in the schoolwide celebration.

If you haven’t already, please visit https://app.99pledges.com/fund/emersonele24 to find your student’s page. You can forward the link to your student’s page to friends and family far and wide!

Here are forms you may need:

Questions? Contact Ms. Thomaes at: marieevethomaes@berkeley.net

ART CORNER WITH MS. AMES

FAMILY ART NIGHT

SAVE THE DATE!

When: Friday March 22nd from 6 - 7:30 pm

Where: In the Emerson Library and Multipurpose Room.

You won't want to miss it!

BLACK CATS INSPIRED BY CHRISTIAN ROBINSON

TK Students did an author study of Christian Robinson in class, so of course, we had to try out some fun collage art like he does!

The artists cut out the cat shapes and glued them down to create their sitting cats. Next they added faces using white crayon. Finally, they glued down lots of punched out circles inspired by some of the art in Robinson's book, Another. Great work TK Artists! They have grown SO much this year!

LIBRARY CORNER

AUTHOR VISIT

Just in time for the Read-a-Thon, author Judd Winick is coming to Emerson to share his newest book in the popular Hilo series: Hilo Book 10: Rise of the Cat! He will be presenting to the 2nd-5th graders in the library on Monday, March 11th.

If your child would like a signed copy of his newest book, Mrs. Dalloway's is offering 15% off books ordered by March 10th! See flier below for details:

* Use coupon code HILO! and apply it to your cart to see the discount at checkout. Choose ‘pickup at the store’ option.

** Please put your child’s name, grade, and Emerson Berkeley in the order comments so that the book can get to the right place.

BUSD Announcements

Hello families,

Please take advantage of the following free tech workshops for BUSD parents/guardians:

Digital Citizenship: Your Student + Tech

Are you looking for strategies to balance your child’s tech use at home and keep them safe online? Join us for a discussion about your concerns. Leave with some practical tips about how to have those difficult conversations with your child and set limits.

Grades TK-5 (childcare provided):

Tuesday, March 26 from 6:00pm – 7:00pm at Berkeley Adult School in the Multi-Purpose Room.

Grades TK-12:

Spanish-Speaking Families (virtual session): Thursday, May 2 from 6:00pm - 7:00pm on Zoom
Saturday, April 20 from 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Berkeley Adult School in the Multi-Purpose Room. Childcare provided.

Grades 6-12:

Tuesday, May 14 from 6:00pm – 7:00pm at Berkeley Adult School in the Multi-Purpose Room

Stay Connected: Tech Tools for Parents/Guardians

Come to this hands-on workshop and learn more about the apps used to communicate with teachers, view grades and attendance and manage a school-issued Chromebook. We will provide training on the following BUSD tools:

GoGuardian Parent App
Google Classroom
Infinite Campus Parent Portal
Remind

Grades TK-12 (childcare provided):

Spanish-Speaking Families: Tuesday, March 5 from 6:00pm – 7:00pm at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School Library.
Saturday, April 20 from 2:15pm - 3:15pm at Berkeley Adult School in the Multi-Purpose Room
Tuesday, April 23 from 6:00pm – 7:00pm at Rosa Parks Elementary School Library

For more information and to RSVP, go to bit.ly/busdpgtw

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 submission deadline is each Monday at 6 p.m.