Si tiene alguna duda sobre esta nota debido a la traduccion,
por favor comuniquese con Rafael Friedmann via email: rfriedmann@aol.com
MONTHLY MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear Emerson Families,
Happy holidays! We have several events to look forward to this month to help us embrace a festive spirit. The students enjoyed the BHS Jazz Assembly this week, which is an inspiring musical treat. We hope you will join us this Friday for the All School Meeting- chock full of student performances and Shout Out Awards. Students will participate in Hour of Code computer programming activities, hosted by PTA Volunteers Amy and Kaoline Fire during the week of December 8- 12. On Thursday, December 11, you are invited to the Holiday Book Give Away, sponsored by our outstanding Librarian, Ms. Rachel. Join us from 6- 7 pm for delicious cookies and select some books to take home to read over Winter Break.
A special thank you to Anna Thanukos and Will Barton for taking the lead for our Cal Football Parking Fundraiser. With their help, we were able to enlist a special group of parent volunteers who managed to fit up to 74 cars onto our blacktop at a time! Due to parent volunteers, we raised over $13,000 through six games, which will go towards our children and the services that support them.
The PTA Board is pleased to present the last “Equity Book Club” meeting of the school year. We’d love for you to join us on Wednesday, December 10, from 5:30- 7:30 pm. The adults will discuss Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin — a powerful exploration of how imagination can reshape our communities. For our kids' book, we will read The Great Banned Books Sale, by Aya Khalil. We will read that as a group and discuss it in small groups of adults and kids from 6-6:30 pm. The adult book club will follow from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Your insights and experiences are invaluable, and your voice is needed as we work together to create a more inclusive, understanding environment for all our students and families. This session will be led by our wonderful parent volunteers, Ms. Henriette Ako-Asare and Lauren Markofsky.
The TK/ Kindergarten Fair is this Saturday, December 6, 10 am- 1:00 pm at the District Office. Big Smile to Ms. Rachel Terp, PTA Vice President, who will host the Emerson Table. This event will provide information about all the BUSD elementary schools. Please see HERE for details. Registration for the 2025- 2026 elementary and middle school year begins January 5, 2026; we recommend you make it a priority to meet the enrollment deadlines. This year, there will be a special presentation from 11:30 to 12:30 pm regarding student assignments. Check out the BUSD Admissions page for the information you will need at https://www.berkeleyschools.net/admissions/.
Thank you for your generous donations to the Heart of Emerson fundraising campaign! As you plan for the holiday season, would you consider donating this month? The ask is $650 per family; however, we are happy with any donation that you can provide. You can see our progress and donate at https://emersonelementary.org/heart-of-emerson.
With gratitude,
Principal Holmes
Staff Teacher Winter Gift
To donate please send via Venmo with a note "Emerson Gift".
Venmo: Daisy Holman
@Daisy-Holman
Last 4 digits of phone number: 3211
UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES
Friday, December 5: All-School Meeting, 8:30 am; Coffee on the Yard starting at 8:00 am
Saturday, December 6: Kinder and Newcoming Fair, 10am - 1pm (2110 Browning St. Berkeley)
Monday, December 8 - Friday, December 12: Hour of Code
Wednesday, December 10: Equity Shelf Book Club, 5:30-7:30 pm (Emerson Library)
Thursday, December 11: Winter Book Giveaway, 6:00-7:00 pm
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.
EMERSON FOOD PANTRY
Thank you to all who have donated to the Emerson Food Pantry with gift cards and non-perishables. We welcome continued contributions. The pantry will be active until Winter Break and then we will donate unused food to a local shelter.
For those who would like to donate district-wide wide please consider the OFEE, Berkeley Public Schools, and Berkeley PTA Council Family Food Emergency Campaign. You can donate to the BUSD Family Food Campaign using this link: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/familyemergencyfund/
Clickhere for FAQ Information.
LIBRARY CORNER - Winter Book giveaway!
Book Donations Needed!
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Thomaes are looking for book donations for the Emerson Books & Holiday Cookies Night on 12/11, where we fill the library with free books for students and their families! If you have any children's books you are ready to part with, feel free to drop them off at the front office between now and Wednesday, 12/10!
Hour of Code is NEXT WEEK (Dec. 8-12)!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We’re looking for parents to help lead activities (a short intro before kids dive in) and for parents to circulate and support students as they code. Find your child’s time slot and sign up at https://bit.ly/emerson-hoc-2025.
Learn more at http://emersonelementary.org/hour-of-code
Questions? Email hourofcode@emersonelementary.org
EQUITY SHELF BOOK CLUB
Join our PTA-Sponsored Equity Shelf Book Club! Our next read is Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin — a powerful exploration of how imagination can reshape our communities.
Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Time: 5:30–7:30 PM Dinner at 5:30 PM | Kid Book Club (6–6:30 PM) | Adult Book Club (6:30–7:30 PM)
Need a copy of the book? RSVP ASAP so we can get one for you! RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/EquityShelf3
HEART OF EMERSON FUNDRAISER
With $140,541 raised, we are 80% of the way to our Heart of Emerson fundraising goal. There are only TWO WEEKS LEFT to meet our Heart of Emerson fundraising target and we are just $34,459 short of our goal. Please donate today to fund PE classes with Coach Robinson for all grades, school-wide events, supplies and software for classrooms, enriching field trips, and more.
DONATE TODAY ♥️ and track our progress at: https://emersonelementary.org/heart-of-emerson
Thank you, PTA Football Parking Volunteers 2025!
Our annual football parking fundraiser has wrapped, earning more than $13,000 for Emerson in just six games! It all happens because of the hard work of our volunteers, so if you see the following folks around Emerson, give them a high-five and thank you for their efforts:
Our intrepid captains: Michael Walker, Will Barton, Jon Wilkening, Anna Thanukos, James Henderson, Matt Gordon, Matt Kondolf, and Matt Lesenyie
Our parking guides: Lidia Gaitan, Tim Wilson, Shaun Little, Robert Lewis, Nancy Busarelo, Brittany Jones, Mollie Lee, Emma Cott, Jeremy Venegas, Catharine Winarsky, Fangchao Song, Lizzie Kendrick, Simon Leblanc, Natalie Devaty, Andrew Pienaar, and Sara Tarshis
Our monitors and clean-up crew: Eric Max, Carolyn Egelman, Robert Denomme, Nate Darling, J Spagnolo, Xander Pollock, and Bryant Baker
We know you receive a lot of messaging around volunteers, and we don't like it any more than you do! This happens because most game times are announced last minute, leaving us scrambling. If we can fill our slots on the first Remind message, we'll send just one per game!
ART CORNER
One Point Perspective
4th and 5th graders used what is called a vanishing point to create a sense of depth in their artworks. As I explained to them, there are many, many different ways to do art. It is my job as their art teacher to provide them with a variety of different approaches to art making so they can find out what types of art they prefer to do. I explained that this particular project would require precision to have it come out looking super 3D. They were up for the challenge. Using rulers, they drew a line from each corner of their shapes to the vanishing point in the center to create the look of crystals or buildings zooming towards us. They used crayon shading to further increase the sense of depth. Well done!
BUSD Informational Fair - Saturday, Dec. 6th
Ms. Ames' Open Studio - Dec. 6 - 7
Every year or two, Ms. Ames opens her backyard studio to show her current work. Along with full size paintings, she also has note cards featuring her art, journals covered with her art and other gift items. There will even be a table for art making (and a little gift for every Emerson kid). If you have been curious about Ms. Ames' mixed media art practice, please consider stopping by.
Have you checked out our new EMERSON FAMILY DIRECTORY?
You can access the new ONLINE Family Directory here:
https://emersonelementary.org/directory
Anyone who is in the directory can log in via Google or Yahoo to access. Note that anyone, not just Gmail users, can create a Google account with their existing email address to access.
Families can submit their information or updates via the "Update Your Information" link. Responses are manually reviewed by our webmaster before access is provided.
This is a new platform and a work in progress. Please email us with any questions or concerns at communications@emersonelementary.org
The Family Directory is organized by the Emerson Parent Teacher Association (PTA). 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.
The Family Directory is not used by Emerson Elementary School administration to contact families; School Administration communications are sent using the Remind Application
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.
Copyright © 2025. Emerson Elementary PTA. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705