This April at Emerson: PTA meeting and annual vote, Call for Volunteers, Ride 4 A Reason and Spring Break!
APRIL
April is Autism Awareness Month!
March 30th - April 2nd: Parent Teacher Conferences.Modified school schedule. Look for details in the school Cheetah Check-In or ask your student's teacher for information.
April 1st–24th: Run, Walk, Ride 4 A Reason.Support our Emerson "riders" or sign up to participate today! This is a huge fundraising contributor to Emerson!details below.
April 5th-9th: Spring Break, No School.
April 13th 1pm: Author Event with Mrs. Daloway's.details below.
April 15th 5:30-7pm: PTA Meeting.All Families are welcome to attend! Virtual dinner starting at 5:30This meeting we will vote on next school year's PTA officers.details below.
April 15th 5:30-7pm: OUSD Sanctuary Poster Contest.OUSD is calling for ALL student artists to create their own Sanctuary Posters.details below.
UPCOMING
May 10th: No School for Educator Wellness Day
May 27th: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Hi, Cheetah families!
April is Autism Acceptance Month and the Emerson Elementary Special Education Families Committee would like to share some resources with you all to celebrate neurodiversity in our school community: Please take a lookhere.
Autism is a developmental disability that changes how autistic people think, understand the world, move, communicate, and socialize. There may be some characteristics that are common, but every autistic person is different. Some people can talk, while other people use assistive devices to communicate. Some autistic people may need help with a daily living task like cleaning, while other autistic people may need help with something different, like understanding facial expressions. More at www.autismacceptance.com
PTA Meeting and Annual PTA Election
April 15th 5:30 - 7pm
Hello Emerson Families! Please join us for our fourth Emerson Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting of the year!
5:30 Virtual dinner starts.
Call for donations for our Virtual PTA Auction.
Ratify the bills.
Vote to eliminating the Unit Leader position.
Vote on new PTA officers for the 2021/22 school year
The candidates selected by the Nominating Committee for your consideration are:
President: Jason Hawkins
Executive Vice President: Cherokee Martin
Treasurer: Leonard Liu (incumbent)
Secretary: Elia Shelton (incumbent)
Along with these candidates, Association members in good standing who are present at the meeting can offer further nominations for all of the above positions at their discretion. So keep that in mind!
All families are encouraged to join this meeting regardless of PTA membership. Only member with dues paid may vote.
ONLINE MEETING:
Meeting Link + Agenda to be sent by PTA Secretary in advance of the meeting. Email PTA SecretaryElia Sheltonfor details.
Membership dues are $5 and must be renewed each school year.
RUN, WALK & RIDE 4 A REASON
R4R is here! April 1–24, 2021
If you still haven't registered to join our Virtual Event Challenge from April 1 - 24, it's not too late! Click here to register and start your fundraising for our schools and students.
Our goal is to raise $180,000 so we need all hands on deck!
We hope you'll join us for this interactive virtual finish line event to hear from R4R participants, students and teachers! We'll be asking all participants to submit videos and photos so watch out for this call to action.
RSVP HERE!
Support our Emerson R4R participants!
Click the links below and set up your pledge!
Book Author Event with Mrs Dalloway's
April 13, 1pm
Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall, the creators of the popular Ivy + Bean series, have come out with Book 12 and they are celebrating its publication with a special event for OUSD schools including Emerson! Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore is organizing the virtual event on Tuesday, April 13 at 1pm, and if you order your books from them before April 6th, you will get a signed bookplate and an Ivy + Bean pencil case for free! For more information, here is the flyer and order form. Questions? Contact Ms. Vetter
Sanctuary Poster Contest - Open to all Students Entries due Apr. 15, 2021
OUSD is a Sanctuary District and we want all students to feel safe in our schools, regardless of birthplace, immigration status, race, culture, sexuality, or any other aspects of their identities. We are calling for our OUSD student artists to create their own Sanctuary posters for a chance to win prizes and have their posters be printed and distributed to schools throughout Oakland!
Many of our Parent volunteers who have helped with Emerson + PTA Roles are graduating! Please consider volunteering for these important community tasks and committees.
• PTA Newsletter • Garden Program Liaison • School Marquee • Website Updates • Website Google Calendar • Room Rep/Parent • Arts Integration • Events + Fundraising • SpEd Families •
Garden Program Liaison: The liaison works with Sh’donna, Emerson Garden Teacher, to set the fall/spring schedule with the teachers and organize volunteers. There are grants and OUSD funds that can be accessed with the right person at the helm. Contact Melissa.
School Marquee:
Help update the Emerson Marquee (by the teacher's parking lot)! It's an easy and flexible gig with a minimum of once monthly updating, but can be done as frequently as weekly depending on the scheduled events. Contact Bronwyn.
PTA Newsletter: The Emerson PTA is looking for a member of our school community to manage the Emerson PTA Newsletter next school year! Our current editor will retire in May. A great way to participate in the school community within your own busy schedule. Contact Karen
Website Updates + Calendar:
The Emerson website and events calendar are input at the beginning of the school year and receive occasional updates through the year. Zero coding, basically data entry. Contact Myra
Events + Fundraising:
Help the Emerson community with fundraising and events! This virtual year has made in person community difficult. Lets celebrate our community and bring in funds to support our valuable PTA funded programs. Contact Amber
Arts, Music and Movement:
The Arts Integration committee needs community support to help coordinate art, music and movement enrichment programs with the Emerson school site. Contact Porsha
SpEd Families Committee:
Enrichment for ALL students is an important value of the Emerson parent and school site community. Join the SpEd Families committee to help insure programs and events are inclusive for all! Contact Peggy
Room Rep/Parent:
Help get the Emerson Room Rep/Parents program going! Contact Porsha
Families- know your rights!
Did you know that you have the right to opt your child out of state standardized testing? To learn more, go to https://tinyurl.com/oaklandoptout
Our Emerson Virtual Auction committee is looking for donations and items to add to the Emerson Online Auction Fundraiser! Please contact Amber for details and to volunteer!!
One of Our Emerson Families Needs Our Help!
A student of Ms. Mari's has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare degenerative genetic condition, Aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU). There is no known cure and his condition will eventually be fatal if they do not find a cure. A group of people who have children who have this condition have already done pre-clinical trials for possible gene therapy that looks very promising. They have started a gofundme to try to raise money for trials in human patients. More information on this condition and a link to their GoFundMe is below.
"My student could be more or less cured and live a normal life if this can work and he could have the treatment completed by early 2022.
So, this year, for my birthday, all I ask is that you donate to this cause as much or as little as you can so that my student can start his treatment. THANK YOU!" – Mari Reyes
Mari Reyes is a beloved K-2 Verbal Behavior SDC teacher, M.S at Emerson Elementary School.
Academic Milestones for PK-5th Grade!
Curious how your child should be progressing with literacy and math skills during the school year? Check out the literacy and math milestones by grade level at Family Central. Available in multiple languages.
Harvest of the Month Virtual Cooking Classes
4th Monday of Each Month.
Harvest of the Month (HOTM) celebrates the bounty and diversity of fruits and vegetables grown in California. Each month, we will be highlighting a seasonal and locally sourced fruit or vegetable on our school menus, through recipe videos, newsletters, giveaways, and more! Learn more at the HOTM website and join us for upcoming virtual cooking classes Mar. 22. Spread the word! Get flyers in multiple languages here.
Egg-splore College with Eggster - Apr. 10th
Eggster is a student-run organization at UC Berkeley and this is the 27th FREE annual event dedicated to educating Bay Area elementary school students Interested in STEM? Do you like to DANCE? What is COLLEGE? Join us for a morning filled with excitement and learning at Eggster's first virtual learning festival to find out! Open to kids aged 2 to 12. Read More
Any low income tenants in Alameda County (except Fremont) looking for rental assistance related to COVID should call the EVICTION DEFENSE CENTER (510) 452-4541.
Waitlist pre-applications start TODAY (April 1) for affordable housing at 16 EBALDC properties! Click HERE for details and updates on below-market-rate housing opportunities and more, courtesy of our PTA's Ad Hoc Housing Committee. For more information, contact Erin at ehanley@eastbayinnovations.org
Click the buttons below to be directed to local agencies
Looking for a Newsletter Editor - Next School Year 2021/2022.
Hello Emerson Families!! The Emerson PTA is looking for a member of our school community to manage the Emerson PTA Newsletter next school year! Our current editor will retire in May.
Newsletters send once a month.
We use Mailchimp, an intuitive template program.
The current editor, Karen, is happy to help train and assist.
This is a great way to contribute to the Emerson community in the background (within your busy schedule) while remaining connected to Emerson Staff and the PTA leadership!
Claremont Middle School Seeks Community Participation
Are you planning to send your 5th-grader to Claremont Middle School next year? The CMS PTA is pulling together its board for the 2021-22 school year and we want YOU to join the fun. There are a range of roles to fill, with something for everyone depending on your interests and availability.
To learn more, please email Leslie Ayers at ayersleslie72@gmail.comor call/text (415) 260-1490.
The Oakland Unified School District is Now Providing
Free Home-delivered Meals to Families.
The district has made millions of meals for students during the pandemic, but up until now families have had to pick up food at school campuses. School leaders decided to shift to the delivery option in order to better support students in distance learning, and because some families don’t feel comfortable going to a school campus.
To qualify, households must have at least one student enrolled in a district-run school and must provide that student’s OUSD identification number. But all children in a qualifying home will receive meals, even if they’re not enrolled in OUSD schools. The once-a-week deliveries will include a week’s worth of ready-to-eat meals for every child in the home: seven breakfasts, seven lunches, and five suppers. And twice a month, the delivery will also include a box of fresh produce.
From Emerson Librarian Jennifer Vetter Message to Families!
Hi Emerson Families!
Introducing SORA for Ebooks and Audiobooks!!
OUSD students now have access to ebooks and audiobooks through an app calledSora by Overdrive. Sora is easy to use and has a great selection of books. In addition to accessing OUSD content, kids can get to Oakland Public Library ebooks and audiobooks through the Sora app without using a library card!
Kids sign into Sora using their OUSD student username and password. Kids can sign in through Clever, a browser, or the Sora app. Want to know more? Visit theSora Resource Page or click this link: Sora Introduction Video 1:46 HERE
Give it a try!
As you explore Sora with your child, look for "eReadalongs" at the top of the cover image -- these are both ebooks and audiobooks at the same time. Your child may have already listened to Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews during library class, and possibly a few pages from Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, but we didn't have time for the whole book. I hope you will enjoy these books together, and discover other books your children are excited to read!
If you have any questions or would like some reading recommendations, please contact me. I would love to hear from you!
Happy reading!
Jennifer Vetter
https://soraapp.com/library/ousdca
The Oakland Public Library
Free Online Tutoring Available through Oakland Public Library
Oakland Public Library is happy to now provide access to tutor.com, a trusted resource for students and adult learners that offers live and FREE one-on-one tutoring in a variety of subjects. Live one-on-one assistance is available everyday from 12pm (noon) until 12am (midnight). You will need an Oakland Public Library card and a computer, smartphone, or tablet with internet access to get connected to a tutor Click HERE for OPL Tutoring information.
Support Reading at Home!
Book + DVD Bundle InformationHERE.
A number of OPL locations that offersidewalk pickup servicehave bundles of new books and DVDs for check out. No reservations necessary. These bundles offer books and videos selected by library staff for your enjoyment. Ask if your local branch has new bundles available, drop in, and check out at the curb!
Sidewalk Pickup Service InformationHERE.
Sidewalk book pickup has been expanded with extended hours and more locations! In addition to Rockridge, the Temescal branch is now open!
Sign Up for a Free Library Card OnlineHERE.
Any member of your family can have their own library card, no matter how young, and then you can request materials online and pick them up when they're ready at the branch that's most convenient for you.
If you need help accessing library materials, go to oaklandlibrary.org or call 510-238-3134.
Bundles of picture books (at Rockridge Library curbside pickup spot) about firefighters, bears, bicycles... holiday themes, early readers, graphic novels, the first few books in a popular series, new books just published this year...
Membership dues are $5 and must be renewed each school year.
Supporting Emerson Families in Need
If your family is in a position to support Emerson families in need, please consider making a donation below. Currently we are prioritizing support to families that are homeless, are newcomers (and not eligible for unemployment, or stimulus checks), and/or families that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
Upcoming Meeting Dates: 2nd Thursdays of Jan, March + May.
Must be a current member to vote!
Join the Emerson PTA for $5 at the next meeting or click the button below to join online.
Dues must be renewed each year. Please click the "Join the PTA" button below to renew now if you have not done so already!
Submit Your Items to the Cheetah Check-In! News deadline: The 25th of the Month. News publication date: The 1st of the Month.
If you have photos, Emerson related announcements or flyers to add, please send them to our Parent Newsletter Editors,Karen + Myra.
