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

DECEMBER ALL SCHOOL MEETING

Just in case you missed last week’s December All School Meeting, here’s the video produced by Berkeley Schools Volunteer, Mr. Phil:

https://youtu.be/5ccHuFssCvA

MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Dear Emerson Community,

Thank you for showing your support through your donations to the Heart of Emerson campaign! It is wonderful that we met our fundraising goal earlier than usual- before Winter Break! This means we can comfortably plan for the 2026- 2027 school year, knowing that our program is securely funded. I especially want to thank our Fundraising Chairs, Stephanie Boys and Elizabeth Valley. For several years, Liz and Stephanie have worked together to help us with this campaign, and I am grateful for their devotion.

Have a safe and happy Winter Break.
Sincerely, Principal Holmes

UPCOMING EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Thursday, December 11: Winter Book Giveaway, 6:00-7:00 pm

December 22 to January 2: Winter 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.

Good news - Mr. Bob has returned to Morning Drop Off!

Mr. Bob came back to volunteer at Emerson for morning drop off on December 1st! Mr. Bob says he has been walking a lot, and he was happy to be back to help. He admits he is in pain, but being active & returning to the Emerson community is good for him! Thank you, Mr. Bob!

STAFF TEACHER WINTER GIFT

Give our beloved teachers and staff a special gift this season. Staff/Teacher Winter Gift collection goes through Wednesday, December 17. Please consider donating to show appreciation for all they do! If you prefer to contribute through cash or check, please contact Daisy Holman (3rd grade parent) directly daisy.holman@gmail.com to arrange time to connect.

To donate please send via Venmo with a note "Emerson Gift".

Venmo: Daisy Holman
@Daisy-Holman
Last 4 digits of phone number: 3211

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!

A GREAT HOUR OF CODE!

Tomorrow marks the end of Hour of Code at Emerson! A HUGE thank you to the many parent volunteers who took time out of their day to share their love of being creative with computers and problem-solving--you helped make Emerson’s Hour of Code 2025 a success!

Ask your children what their favorite part of the Hour of Code was! Feel free to reach out with any questions or ideas: hourofcode@emersonelementary.org — or visit https://code.org for a full suite of exercises! Here are the lessons we shared with Emerson this week:

TK, K, 1st Grade ~ Kodable (https://www.kodable.com/hour-of-code/self-guided). They learned to program little fuzzballs through mazes, some of them even pushing through to conditionals or making their own mazes to follow!

2nd Grade ~ Flappy Code (https://studio.code.org/flappy/1), introducing them to blocks-style programming, loops, and event triggers.

3rd Grade ~ Blocks Jumper (https://bit.ly/emersonjump), expanding their blocks-style programming to a full suite of libraries, conditionals, widgets, and a lot more room to explore their own creativity.

Ms. Suzuki's 4th Graders ~ Music Lab: Jam Session (https://studio.code.org/courses/music-jam-2024/units/1/lessons/1/levels/1), where they now applied blocks-style programming to remixing music, showing that programming can be used for more than video games.

5th Graders ~ Tetherball (https://app.blackbirdcode.com/intro.php?type=stage&id=1100), where they expanded their practice beyond block programming to write object-oriented code (JavaScript).

HEART OF EMERSON FUNDRAISER

Congratulations Emerson, we did it! On behalf of the Emerson PTA, we are so pleased to announce that we have achieved our Heart of Emerson fundraising goal! THANK YOU SO MUCH for donating your time, your funds, and for your help in spreading the word.

Having reached our campaign goal, our school-wide prize will be free Heart of Emerson t-shirts for all students and staff, designed this year by Kyle Rush (parent of 2nd grade Dominic) who designed the Emerson bear cub logo that you saw on the Heart of Emerson page. Keep an eye out for forthcoming details on this in the new year where we will share this year’s t-shirt design and how to order.

ART CORNER

Third Grade Self Portraits (inspired by children's literature)

I read the book, Wallflowers to the third grade artists. It was written by Mackenzie Joy (who happens to live on my block in El Cerrito). It is a wonderful book that explores the world of those kids who prefer being the quiet ones – ones who don't mind blending in: "We want to be heard, we just don't want to have to SHOUT!"

In the book, Mackenzie draws the children in clothing that matches the wall behind them. We had a great discussion in class, pondering if we like to blend in or stand out (some kids said they are one way at home and another way at school). For our art project we created a patterned wall and then made self portrait figures that either contrasted or blended in with the wall.

Holiday Gift Card Fund for BUSD Families

Thanks to our school community's generosity, we have raised $20,000 in emergency food funds, providing families vital and immediate support.

The holidays present new challenges, including the loss of school provided meals during break. The Office of Family Engagement & Equity asks for your continued support of families by considering a donation to our Holiday Gift Card program.

"Your donations directly address the immediate hunger and uncertainty many families are facing. Gift cards support families while preserving their autonomy to choose the items they need most. We deeply appreciate your commitment to equity."

- Lydia Gebrehiwot, Supervisor, Office of Family Engagement & Equity

We ask for your generous support for this year's Holiday Gift Card fund. Donations can be made HERE.

The Berkeley Public Schools Fund is proud to be the fiscal sponsor for the program.

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.

BearFacts News - 12.11.2025