Si tiene alguna duda sobre esta nota debido a la traduccion,
por favor comuniquese con Rafael Friedmann via email: rfriedmann@aol.com
Emerson Kindergarten Tours
HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
Know someone with a rising K or TK’er? Encourage them to sign up for a tour of Emerson, to get to know our wonderful school. The first tour kicks off Thursday 11/13 at 8:30am.
Guided tours with current Emerson parents will be held at 8:30am starting on Thursday, November 13th 2025 and running through Thursday, January 15th, 2026 (with the exception of Thanksgiving and Winter Break). Meet at Emerson's main entrance, 2800 Forest Ave.
https://emersonelementary.org/kindergarten-tour-signup
Interested in leading a tour? We still have a few slots open for tour guides. Click here to sign up!
REMINDER: Early Release Week
Parent Teacher Conferences are Monday, October 27- Thursday, October 30
NO SCHOOL on Friday, October 31, 2025
TK/ Kinder are released every day at 12:30 pm
Grades 1-5 are released every day at 1:10 pm
Kids World will be in Session
HALLOWEEN PARADE
The annual Halloween Parade on College Avenue will be on Thursday, October 30th, at 8:30 am
Students should wear their costumes to school
Free costumes will be available in the office for students who need/want one
Caregivers are welcome to join the parade
No scary costumes with weapons. No costumes that portray a group's culture.
Please refer to this document with reflection questions when selecting costumes.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES
Friday, October 24: Picture Day
Monday, October 27 - Thursday, October 30: Parent/Teacher Conferences (early release week)
Thursday, October 30: Halloween Parade, 8:30 am (meet on blacktop)
Friday, October 31: NO SCHOOL, Elementary Conference Day
Sunday, November 2: Fall Festival, 10 am- 1 pm
Wednesday, November 5: Equity Shelf Book Club, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Emerson Library
Friday, November 7: PTA coffee on the yard, 8:00 am - 8:30 am, All School Meeting, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Tuesday, November 11: NO SCHOOL; Veteran’s Day
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.
FALL FESTIVAL
Join us Sunday, November 2, from 10 am - 1 pm for this year’s Fall Festival! Bring the whole family. There will be games, delicious food to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, fun swag, and more!
EQUITY SHELF BOOK CLUB
Equity Shelf is our PTA-sponsored book club that explores books fostering conversations about equity, inclusion, and community. Whether you’re new to these topics or have been on this journey for a while, this is a space to learn, share, and connect with other caregivers and educators.
This month’s read: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement.
What to read: If you can’t read the whole book, please read the essay “My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation.”
Details
• Date: Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
• Time: 5:30–7:30 PM (Dinner at 5:30 PM; Book Club begins at 6:00 PM)
• Location: Emerson Elementary Library (Childcare provided for Emerson students)
New to the club? No problem! Everyone is welcome, whether or not you’ve attended a previous session.
Please RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/EquityShelf2
Need a copy of the book? Please RSVP as soon as possible so we can get you one.
Save the date: Our next fall Equity Shelf meeting will be on December 10, 5:30–7:30 PM.
Questions or comments? Email us at equity@emersonelementary.org
ART CORNER
Halloween Fun in Art Class...
We don't always do holiday inspired art, but this one had so many great learning objectives and allowed for personal expression, so I decided to try it out with the second graders. The artists started by drawing and cutting a pumpkin shape. Next they cut a head, ears and a tail for a black cat (except for some who changed the cat to something else). It was tricky to fit the pieces together, but once they were in place they added eyes with stickers and sharpies, more details in crayon and sparkly dots in the background with metallic paint sticks. So much personality!
TURNED WOOD ART SHOW
Local artist (and Emerson parent!) Michael Hackett will be showing his work Saturday, October 25th, from 11 am - 3 pm at Sports Basement in Berkeley.
15% of all proceeds will go to the Heart of Emerson fund!
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS AT EMERSON
Join BUSD in Celebrating LGBTQ+ and Filipina/x/o History Months in October
Visit the district’s LGBTQ+ History Month web page for LGBTQ+ reading lists by grade level, background on LGBTQ+ History Month, a resource guide, and much more.
Visit the district’s Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month web page for reading lists by grade level, family guides, teaching guides, and more for celebrating Filipina/x/o History Month.
INTERNATIONAL WALK AND ROLL TO SCHOOL DAY
Check out this wonderful video of October 8th, International Roll and Walk to School Day, which we dedicated to Volunteer Mr. Bob. We proudly collected helmets in honor of Mr. Bob.
Mr. Bob was given the Chris Kindness award in a celebration on Wednesday, October 22nd. You can see the coverage of the event here!
FOOTBALL PARKING FUNDRAISER
Shout out to Catherine Winarsky, Fangchao Song, Nate Darling, Anna Thanukos, and Jon Wilkening for volunteering for last Friday night's parking fundraiser. Thank you also to Mr. Evan for letting us have access to the yard early. These volunteers earned over $2000 for Emerson with just a few hours of elbow grease!
Two of our amazing volunteers: Catherine and Fangchao!
EMERSON FAMILY DIRECTORY
DON’T FORGET TO ADD YOUR CONTACT INFO TO OUR ONLINE FAMILY DIRECTORY!
To submit or update information, visit:
https://tinyurl.com/EMERSONFamilyDirectory
The Emerson Elementary Family Directory is a tool for families to coordinate and communicate. For example, families have used the Family Directory to coordinate carpools and playdates outside of school hours.
Questions? email communications@emersonelementary.org
Note: The Family Directory is not used by Emerson Elementary School administration to contact families; School Administration communications are sent using the Remind Application. To join remind: text @7f6hb to 81010; or go to - http://www.remind.com/join/7f6h.
CITY OF BERKELEY SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
City of Berkeley wants your feedback!
This is an opportunity to connect directly with City staff and help shape safety improvements at Zachary’s Corner (Warring and Derby).
Date: November 12, 2025
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Location: Online via Zoom - The “Zachary’s Corner Safety Improvements Project” webpage will be updated with the Zoom meeting link prior to the meeting.
Learn more: https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/our-work/capital-projects/zacharys-corner-safety-improvements-project
JOIN THE BEARFACTS NEWSLETTER TEAM!
Have you read through this entire newsletter? Do you want to get involved and help folks stay informed? If so, the Emerson communications team is looking for a few good editors for the weekly BearFacts newsletter. All work can be done from home. No experience necessary, we’ll train you! The more volunteers we have, the easier the workload. We would love to see some new faces this year!
Interested? Please contact Vanessa and Lizzie at communications@emersonelementary.org
FIND EMERSON ONLINE
Website: https://emersonelementary.org/
Remind: Text @7f6hb to 81010; or go to www.remind.com/join/7f6hb
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.
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Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705