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BearFacts News                 
October 10, 2019

Message from the Principal

Dear Emerson Families,

We have completed over six weeks of the school year. Time is flying by, and I am learning more and more about the amazing systems and structures in place to ensure the students a safe and enriched environment. Many of the volunteers that work with the students are beloved members of the community who enjoy tutoring, assisting with before school drop off, providing classroom support or recess supervision. We work with the Berkeley School Volunteer program to orient, clear and comply with educational regulations. You may find that your student brings home a 3-D printed object or talks about learning to use a camera during recess. If you do not want your student to receive an object or use a camera please let me know by the end of next week and we will respect your wishes. Our goal is to encourage students' interest in technology and provide engaging alternatives during recess.  
 
Picture day is Friday, October 11 and we are asking for volunteers to help us direct the students and ensure a smooth process. We need at least two helpers throughout the morning. Pictures begin at 8:15 am and conclude before the student lunch. Please email or call Ms. Gaby, School Secretary, if you are able to assist. 
 
The Lost and Found table and hangers are just about full.  Would you please take a look and see if your child’s items were left behind? We will be bagging up and donating the lost items at the end of the month.
 
As a gentle reminder, remember to check in the main office when you are visiting campus. You will need to sign the Visitor Log and obtain a Name Tag. It is important that we know who is in the building. 
 
Remember that there is no school on Monday, October 14. Staff will attend Professional Development that day. We hope you enjoy the long weekend with your family. 

Sincerely,
Jana Holmes, Principal 

Upcoming Events & Key Dates

•  Friday, Oct 11: School pictures (grades K-5)

•  Monday, Oct 14: NO SCHOOL for staff development day!

•  Thursday, Oct 17: School Site Council meeting,
    5pm at Longfellow Middle School

•  Friday, Oct 18: Emerson Spirit Day -- Crazy Hat & Hair Day

•  Sunday, Oct 20: Walkathon & Halloween Carnival, 10am-2pm

•  Tuesday, Oct 29: Meet the symphony assembly, 8:30am

•  Wednesday, Oct 30:
PTA Association and Board Meeting, 6-8pm

•  Thursday, Oct 31: Halloween parade, 12:45 families welcome

•  Monday, Nov 4: NO SCHOOL for Parent-Teacher Conferences

•  Tuesday, Nov 5 thru Friday, Nov 8: Shortened days for Parent-Teacher Conferences

•  Friday, Nov 8 thru Monday, Nov 11:
Mrs. Dalloway’s book store fundraiser

•  Monday, Nov 11: NO SCHOOL (Veterans’ Day Holiday)

Find more dates/details: emerson.berkeleypta.org/calendar

The Halloween Submarine Report
 
We are only two weeks away from the Emerson Walkathon and Fall Carnival!
We are excited to remind you of a few changes to this year's event:

1. While walkers can walk at any point between 10am and 2pm, Ms. Holmes will start the kids off at 10am on the dot.

2. We will have a variety of food for you to purchase on the day: baked goods and coffee from 9am-12pm and offerings from our International Food Fair from 12-2pm.

3. This year we will be using tickets as currency instead of cash. You can purchase tickets from the cashier by the registration table on the day. 

4. This is a fairly large undertaking and we will need lots of volunteers on the day! Sign up for a volunteer slot (or two!) here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090a4aafa92ca2f49-halloween
 
Get more information and register online here:
https://emerson.berkeleypta.org/walk-a-thon
Walkathon Bakers Needed!

Did you know that the bake sale itself raised over $500 at last year's Walkathon? If you'd like to make this year's alumni bake sale a success, please bring a breakfast baked treat to the Walkathon; the bake sale will run from 9am-12pm. If you have any questions, or want to help out on the day, email Erin Tsuchimoto (eetsuch@yahoo.com).
Totally Terrifying Toy Swap Shop

For the first time, the Walkathon will feature a premium toy shop where walkers can pick out wonderful, new-to-you gifts. But we need your help to make it happen! Start looking around for your highly desirable gently used books and toys that may be happier in a new home! Please bring only items that are clean, in good condition, and appropriate for Emerson-aged students K to 5th. No violent or war toys and no dumping! All un”sold” toys will be further donated/re-homed. Drop off in the front office behind Gabby’s desk any time before the Walkathon. 
The Return of Respook, Rewear, Rescare

While you are poking around your closets and other storage areas, be sure to also set aside your old-to-you costumes for our annual costume recycling program. Let's go GREEN for Halloween! Put to EEK-o-friendly use any hats, masks, capes, and wigs collecting dust in your closets in our annual costume swap. Take what you want, and give any clean and easily reusable dress-up goods to our big green and ghosty Costume Recycling box. The boo-tiful costumes will be at the Walkathon and outside Ms. Jeannie’s room. We’ll help your costumes find new bones… er… homes that will love them! You don’t have to donate anything to get a “new to you” costume. Any gear not adopted by Emerson families will be further donated.
Dia de los Muertos at Emerson
 
Emerson will be celebrating Dia de los Muertos, on Friday, November 1 in the library. In the weeks leading up to Dia de los Muertos, Ms. Zoe will be reading books about the holiday. Students, staff and families are invited to bring pictures and/or mementos of a loved one to put on the ofrenda.
 
We will need families to help construct the ofrenda in the library on Friday October 18 after drop off - email Ms. Zoe (zoewilliams@berkeley.net) or just show up to help!
Art News from Ms. Ames

Emerson artists have been exploring color!
* The kindergartners mixed blue and yellow paint to paint green leaves for their ladybug art. 

* The first graders made monsters inspired by the book Monsters Love Color. They used paint sticks in two primary colors and then used water to blend the two colors they chose. Two primaries mixed together make a secondary.

* Second graders created abstract paintings inspired by Sonia Delaunay. For these they chose two primary colors and mixed as many new colors as possible and tints of those colors using white.

* Third graders made color wheels starting with three primary colors and ending up with 12 by the end of class. They are also working on analogous colored flowers that will eventually be part of a school wide collaboration. (Analogous colors are colors that are close to each other on the color wheel/rainbow.) 

* Fourth and Fifth graders just completed a project which focused more on negative shape and pattern (but definitely included color as well). They wrote their names in India Ink and used crayon resist to create interesting designs in the negative shapes between the letters.
 
It can be a challenge to fit in all of the art making and cleanup into a 40-45 minute art period.  Sometimes we get quite a backlog to wash hands at the end of class.  If any of you would like to donate some baby wipes to the art program to help alleviate this problem, it would be greatly appreciated!

 
Friday Morning Bakers Needed

Please join the Friday morning bakers this year! If you enjoy occasionally baking (Sweet or savory, simple or fancy!) and would like to bring our Emerson caregiver community together to enjoy coffee, conversation and a morning bite please contact Christine at 510-545-6349 or Christinecoxjude@gmail.com.
Getting too many reminder texts? Or not yet signed up?

You can get school reminders via email, text, or Remind app notifications. 
Click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner when you open the Remind app to choose how you want to get school reminders.  If you aren't getting the messages, sign up at:   https://www.remind.com/join/7f6hb
 
Questions? Visit the FAQ at http://bit.ly/EmersonRemind or email scott@levitas.com
Join the PTA Today!

The Emerson Parent-Teacher Association works for a positive school experience for all Emerson students. As a member, you can vote on programming and spending decisions. Parents, guardians, extended family or friends of Emerson students are invited to join.

Please renew membership every year.

You can sign up ONLINE at emerson.berkeleypta.org/pta-membership. A donation of $10/person is suggested but NOT required.

For questions, contact eklostuvali@gmail.com.

 
Find Emerson Online

Website: emerson.berkeleypta.org

Email: Not getting BearFacts via email? Email us to subscribe: emersonschoolnews@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emersonpta (or follow @emersonPTA)

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BearFacts News
About BearFacts News:
BearFacts News is a weekly publication created by parent volunteers. It is distributed each Thursday in students' Look Folders and via email. 

If you have a news item or announcement to include in the BearFacts News, please send an email to emersonschoolnews@gmail.com. Please keep your message brief and include all the pertinent details including dates, times, locations and contact information. The deadline is each Monday at 6 p.m.

Copyright © 2019. Emerson Elementary PTA. All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
2800 Forest Ave.
Berkeley, CA  94705

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Emerson PTA · 2800 Forest Ave · Berkeley, CA 94705 · USA

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