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MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Emerson Families,

You are invited to join us in the March Madness Attendance Challenge! Our enthusiastic 5th Grade Student Advisory Committee will lead this year’s contest. Students who arrive on time, before 8:10 am, will have an opportunity to receive small prizes and participate in fun student-led before school activities. This year we are competing with the early start elementary schools, which include Malcolm X, Oxford, Sylvia Mendez, Thousand Oaks, and Washington. Last year we won third place, let’s win first place this year!

According to the California School Dashboard, Emerson’s truancy rate is improving. A student is considered truant once they have accumulated three or more unexcused absences and/or three 30 minute late arrivals. For the 2023 school year, we had an 18% school-wide chronic absentee rate, which was 3% higher than the district average. For the 2024 school year, our rate improved to 15%. Although we are happy to make progress, our rate remains 3% higher than the district average of 12%. We know we can do better, Emerson! Don’t forget to notify our friendly Attendance Clerk, Leahlopez@berkeley.net, when your child stays home sick, has a medical appointment, or other excusable absence.

Research has shown how important consistent schooling is for elementary students. If children don’t show up for school regularly, they miss out on fundamental reading and math skills. California studies show that children who are chronically absent in Kindergarten and 1st Grade are far less likely to read proficiently at the end of 3rd Grade. You can learn more about the importance of regular attendance through this infographic. Let’s make attendance a priority for the rest of the school year and finish strong! If you have any special questions or concerns, or have ideas about how we can support your family with attendance, please reach out to our Family Engagement and Equity Coordinator at Lilyhowell@berkeley.net.

Take good care,

Principal Holmes

UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Thursday, March 6, 6-8 pm: Winter Equity Circle, session #6 (Emerson Library)

Friday, March 7, 8:00 am: PTA-hosted Coffee On The Yard (Emerson Blacktop)

Friday, March 7, 8:30 am: Emerson Oratorical Contest (Multi-Purpose Room)

Wednesday, March 12- Friday, March 21: Emerson Read-A-Thon

Friday, March 14: BUSD Non Duty Day (NO SCHOOL)

Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 pm: School Site Council Meeting (via meet.google.com/xat-kssw-poh)

Friday, March 21: Shakespeare on Tour Student Performance, Romeo and Juliet

Friday, March 21, 6:00-7:30 pm: Family Art Night (Multi-purpose Room & Library)

Wednesday, March 26, 5:30 pm: District Oratorical Contest (Oxford Elementary)

Monday, March 31: Cesar Chavez Day

Monday, March 31- Friday, April 4: Spring Break (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.

MARCH ALL SCHOOL MEETING

The March All School Meeting will be the Emerson Oratorical Contest- the theme is Harlem Renaissance. Join us on Friday, March 7 at 8:30 am to see inspiring performances from 3rd through 5th Grade students. The finalist will be invited to the BUSD district wide competition on March 26, at 5:30 pm in the Oxford Elementary Auditorium (see details below).

BUSD BLACK HISTORY ORATORICAL FEST

The 2025 Black History Oratorical Fest will be held at 5:30 pm on March 26 in the Oxford Elementary School Theatre (1222 University Ave., Berkeley, CA)

PTA EQUITY CORNER

WINTER EQUITY CIRCLE - LAST SESSION

Join the conversation to build a more inclusive Emerson at the PTA's annual Equity Circle TODAY, March 6th at 6:00 pm in the Emerson Library.

Be part of a community dedicated to advancing diversity, inclusion, access, and belonging– all with the goal of improving academic success for every student.

If you’re interested in joining us for the Equity Circle, please RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/Equity-Circle-2025

In community,

Henriette & Lauren

EMERSON READ-A-THON FUNDRAISER

COMING MARCH 12 - MARCH 21

Emerson Read-A-Thon packets were sent home to each student today (Thursday, March 6th) in their Look folders. The packet contains a student and family guide explaining how the Read-a-Thon fundraiser will work, a Reading Log (which will replace your student’s regular reading log during the Read-a-Thon), and a bookmark to color in and use during the Read-A-Thon.

Tomorrow, March 7th, the Read-a-Thon will be announced at the All-School Meeting, and parents will receive an email with a link to our Read-a-Thon campaign page. If you don’t receive an email, you can search for your student’s page here: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/emersonele2025

Questions: contact Ms. Thomaes at marieevethomaes@berkeley.net

ART CORNER

FAMILY ART NIGHT!

We hope you’ll be able to join us for Family Art Night on Friday March 21 from 6 - 7:30 pm. There will be activity stations set up in the Multi-purpose Room and the Library.

To make the night run smoothly, we are in need of volunteers to help run stations. Please follow the link below to sign up to help:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080444ABAD2FA5F94-volunteer

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

OAKLAND ROOTS STUDENT TICKET PROMOTION

The Oakland Roots are giving every student a FREE TICKET to their March 22nd Home Opener!

Use code [EMERSON] at https://oaklandroots.group/students to claim yours!

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.

BearFacts News - 3.06.2025