Si tiene alguna duda sobre esta nota debido a la traduccion,
por favor comuniquese con Rafael Friedmann via email: rfriedmann@aol.com

MONTHLY LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Emerson Families,

As I write this last letter for the 2023-2024 school year, I do so with a grateful heart! Thank you for all your partnership and support. This year our focus areas were improved Attendance, the implementation of the BUSD Literacy Action Plan, and continued work on our comprehensive Equity plan. We are pleased that Lily Howell (Office of Family Engagement and Equity), Michelle Lopez (Attendance Clerk) and I were able to meet with over thirty families to reduce student truancy. In support of literacy, Emerson staff were trained in phonics, phonetic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension strategies. The teachers and intervention staff monitored student literacy improvement as indicated by the Fall, Winter and Spring Dibels and STAR assessments. Staff participated in a year-long book study that provided strategies to adjust curriculum to accommodate diverse student needs. The PTA Board kicked off the year with an Equity Retreat that allowed us to bond as a team while we set common goals. This Spring, Emerson parents participated in an Equity Circle, which empowered families to thrive in our multicultural school.

The Heart Of Emerson campaign was a success and the Read-A-Thon engaged students and raised more funds for our programs. As a result, full time art and PE instruction, field trips and office support will continue for the 2024- 2025 school year. By meeting and exceeding our fundraising goals, we will continue to offer students the full range of educational experiences they have come to expect at Emerson.

As we wind down the school year, it’s time to celebrate! You are invited to the last All School Meeting of the year on Friday, May 3rd at 8:30am. In addition, we hope you will join us next Saturday, May 11, from 10 am to 2 pm for the Spring Festival. This will be a free event for the community, with fun activities for the kids and adults, and delicious food. Finally, the 5th Grade Promotion Ceremony will be on the Emerson blacktop from 8:30 am to 10:15 am on Tuesday, June 4. We are proud of all our Emerson students and wish you a safe and happy summer!

Take care,

Jana Holmes

PTA ANNOUNCEMENTS

2024-25 EMERSON PTA BOARD POSITIONS ANNOUNCED

The Emerson PTA's Nominating Committee would like to inform the Emerson community of the following individuals who will run, uncontested, for the 2024-2025 Emerson PTA Board positions:

President - Will Barton
Executive Vice Presidents - Krysten Curtis, Rachel Terp
Treasurer - Amy Fire
Secretary - James Krimmel
Fundraising Vice Presidents - Stephanie Boys, Masha Danilenko and Elizabeth Valley
Communications Vice President - Vanessa Leonardo
Community Building Vice President - Elise Kneram and Stephanie Yolish
Equity Vice Presidents - Henriette Ako-Asare, Lauren Markofsky
Community Engagement / Membership Vice President - Daisy Holman, Madeline Noonan
Enrichment - TBD
Advocacy - David Rose
Teacher Representatives - Jenny Weddle, Kim Davis

Members will vote on these nominations at the May 7th Association Meeting. See below for details and see you there!

PTA ASSOCIATION MEETING

When: May 7th, 6:00-7:30pm

Where: Emerson Library

Please join us at the May Association meeting, with a special presentation at 7pm on the “Welcoming Schools” curriculum by 1st grade teacher, Ms. M.

Food and childcare provided.

NOTE FROM THE PTA TREASURER

Treasurer Documents for Association Meeting on 5/7/2024

At our next Association meeting on 5/7/2024, we will vote to amend the 2023-2024 Budget and to set a preliminary budget for the 2024-2025 year.

Find the documents online: https://emersonelementary.org/budget-programs/

Email questions: treasurer@emersonelementary.org

time to plan for next school year

Registration for Kids World (Learns Program) is OPEN!

All families, current or waitlisted, will need to re-register for next year to be accepted for fall 2024!

Contact Evan Adorador, Program Director, with questions or concerns at evanadorador@berkeley.net.

https://tinyurl.com/registerLEARNS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Summer School Registration is open!

Program dates: June 17 – July 12, 2024

Check out the catalog at the following link to see the various summer offerings- there are new and different options this summer.

https://tinyurl.com/summerBUSDcatalog

Please use the form below to sign up your child.

https://tinyurl.com/signupSummer

TEACHER & STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK- MAY 6-10

SIGN UP TO DONATE AND VOLUNTEER!

On Monday May 6th, we are kicking off Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week with a potluck breakfast! Your help is needed to help make the week extra special for our Emerson educators. There are so many ways to show your appreciation, from a breakfast treat, to flowers, to a simple note of thanks to someone at Emerson who has made a difference in your child’s life.

Visit the links below to learn more and to make your plan for showering our Emerson teachers and staff with love and gratitude!

Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week-At-A-Glance: A schedule for the week’s activities

Volunteer/Donation Sign Up: Ways to support through your time and/or resources

Questions/contact: Carol carol.wang@gmail.com 510-415-3167

UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Friday, May 3, 8:00 am: Coffee on the Yard & Last All School Meeting of the year!

Monday, May 6 - Friday, May 10: Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week (Volunteer signup HERE)

Tuesday, May 7, 6:00 - 7:30 pm: Special PTA Association Meeting (Emerson library)

Thursday, May 9, 5:30 - 7:00 pm: Emerson Open House

Saturday, May 11, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm: Emerson Spring Festival (Emerson blacktop)

Friday, May 17: Malcolm X Holiday (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, May 24: PTA after school classes end

Monday, May 27: Memorial Day Holiday (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.

EQUITY CORNER

ASIAN-AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH AND JEWISH HERITAGE MONTH

Excerpted from Superintendent Ford Morthel’s monthly note:

In May, we take the time to uplift, center, and celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities with the full acknowledgment that these communities are richly diverse, have a breadth of histories, lived experiences, and needs–and that one month is never enough time to fully honor their contributions.

Beginning in 1990, the U.S. government designated the month of May as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May was chosen as AAPI month because it marks the arrival of 14-year-old Manjiro, considered the first Japanese immigrant in the United States on May 7, 1843, as well as the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, which was completed due to the back-breaking labor of over 20,000 Chinese immigrants.

This May you will see a variety of acronyms in use, such as Asian Pacific Islander (API), Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI), Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA), or you might come across calls to separate Asian American from Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander because the differences in needs are more and more important to shine a light on. Most months when I write these letters, I name how a month is never enough time to reflect on, teach about, and celebrate how vastly diverse each community truly is.

BUSD’S AAPI HERITAGE MONTH RESOURCES

Family Guides
Please take advantage of BUSD’s Family Guide for Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month. It provides resources for families to Listen, Learn, and Lift Up the AAPI community during the month of May and beyond.

https://tinyurl.com/familyGuideEngAAPI (English)
https://tinyurl.com/familyGuideVietAAPI (Vietnamese)
https://tinyurl.com/familyGuideSpanAAPI (Spanish)
https://tinyurl.com/familyGuideArabAAPI (Arabic)

READING LISTS

These reading lists, organized by grade level, represent books published in recent years that are devoted to uplifting Asian-American and Pacific Islander history, celebrating heritage, affirming identity, and promoting antiracism. Sharing these books is one part of our effort to develop anti-racist consciousness with and for our youth and ensure they know they are not alone and that they can speak out to help stop the spread of bigotry.

All these books are available through BUSD school libraries as a physical and/or digital book. For more information about any of these books or to check out a copy, please ask your school librarian.

BUSD AAPI Family Book Club Event

Author talk, featuring Bay Area author, Thien Pham!

When: May 2nd, 5:30-7:00pm

Where: BUSD Board Room

1231 Addison Street, Berkeley

Sponsored by Berkeley Public Schools Fund

BUSD ETHNIC STUDIES SHOWCASE

PTA COUNCIL SPEAKER SERIES: SUPERINTENDENT FORD MORTHEL

The Berkeley PTA Council (BPTA) would like to invite all BUSD families and teachers to our PTA Council speaker series, this month with Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel on April 29th from 7:30-9:00pm. This is a virtual event that can be joined via Zoom at http://tinyurl.com/BPTA-meetings.

We are collecting Questions for the superintendent to review and prepare for the meeting. All BUSD community members are welcome to this discussion. Submitted questions will be given priority for the superintendent to answer.

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.