Emerson Elementary
4803 Lawton Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
July 23, 2015
Dear Emerson Family:
We are excited to welcome you to Emerson Elementary and we want to take this opportunity to tell
you about our school and give you some important information about what comes next.
Community Play Dates are every first Saturday of every month from 11AM to 1PM on the
Kindergarten playground, all ages welcome. Our next Play Date is August 1st. This is great
way to meet other families and find out more about the school.
New Family Welcome Event on Saturday, August 15th from 10am to noon on the
Kindergarten yard. Come meet the Principal, the TK and Kinder teachers, see the classrooms,
have a snack, meets some other families and ask lots of questions!
Balanced Beginnings is a program for kindergarteners that allow teachers to know and assess
their students before permanently placing them in a classroom. This process usually takes one
week. All kindergarten families will be receiving information about this process.
Mandatory Registration August 18th through 20th. The office will be open Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday. Please come between 9a - 12p or between 1p - 3p. You must have
filled out all paperwork and submitted all forms to complete registration. Your student will not
receive their classroom assignment or be allowed to attend class until all paperwork has been
completed.
Class assignments will be posted on www.EmersonSchool.net website for two days prior to
the start of school, and on outside the office on the first day of school. Your child will appear
on this list only if registration is complete.
Our Newsletter and Website are the BEST ways to keep up with all things Emerson. Our
website: www.EmersonSchool.net is fully updated with great information on back-to-school,
how to get involved, and has a calendar that is up to date. From our home page you can also
sign up for out monthly digital newsletter – which has updates on what is happening month to
month at Emerson.
We are excited to welcome five new teachers this year and lots of new support staff!
1st Grade – TBD
1st Grade – Peter Limata
2nd Grade – Melissa Frost
5th Grade – David Kessler
Science & Technology Teacher – Kasondra Walsh
Restorative Justice Coordinator – Yari Sandel
School Culture Coordinator – Alex Walton
Common Core Teacher Leader – Maureen Whalen
With murals on the walls, halls filled with art, music on the stage, and a vibrant, caring community,
Emerson is an enriching space for kids to grow. Our fabulous group of teachers is well known for
how well they work together. They are constantly learning from each other, sharing best practices,
and looking for ways to build community among the students of Emerson.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a core component of our school culture. Research shows that
social emotional skills are critical to being a good student and citizen. Additionally, when SEL skills
are infused into a child’s life, risky behaviors can be reduced and even prevented. One main pillar of
support for SEL is Restorative Justice, and we are working intensely with highly trained staff to
implement Restorative Justice school wide. This work will focus on positive goal making, empathy
for others, fostering and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible choices. Our goal
for the students and families at Emerson Elementary School is to build a strong culture of socialemotional wellness. This will be recognized through improved adjustment in the classroom, less
emotional distress, and more positive social behaviors and peer relationships.
Emerson administration, along with staff and community have also introduced a new Positive
Behavior Plan which outlines the model and expectations for our students around campus. The
motto is “Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful.” With Principal Palin’s guidance and the support
of ALL school staff, we will be teaching kids how to be successful in each area of school to create a
positive and safe environment.
Caring School Communities is a school-wide community-building program that teaches nonviolence skills to our students; facilitates cross-age buddies and weekly class meetings; and helps us
build a tight-knit community. As part of our effort to create a school culture that welcomes and
celebrates diversity, Our Family Coalition had led trainings with our teachers in their Welcoming
Schools Program. Welcoming Schools addresses family diversity, gender stereotyping, bullying and
name-calling, specifically for elementary school age children.
Emerson expects excellence in academics. We were one of the first schools in Oakland to pioneer the
Balanced Literacy curriculum. The Balanced Literacy approach incorporates many reading
strategies in order to meet the varying needs of all students. One core component is a well-stocked
classroom library where the students can choose books that interest them at their reading level.
Because this emphasizes reading for pleasure, Balanced Literacy helps our students develop a love of
reading that will last them a lifetime. In addition to our rich classroom libraries, our welcoming and
well-stocked school library welcomes children for browsing and checkout.
Emerson also offers a full slate of fantastic enrichment programs and physical education, helping
every kind of learner find their best way to connect with school. With choral music by Cantare Con
Vivo every week (TK-2) all our students learn to read and write music by second grade. For our third
through fifth graders, Cantare Con Vivo teaches music that brings history to life. In Orchestra class,
fourth and fifth graders study horns, strings, and more in our band program, which provides a great
musical foundation and many students go on to excel in middle school and high school bands.
Emerson Elementary is located just one block away from Studio One Art Center. Every year, our
students participate in an art elective at Studio One focusing on a specific discipline (like ceramics,
sculpture, painting, public art, cartooning, or animation).
We have a school-wide poetry program – California Poets in the Schools which empowers
Emerson students to express their verbal creativity, envisioning imagination, and intellectual curiosity
through writing, performing and publishing their own poetry.
Full-time coaches from Hero Inc., are on hand to provide structure and get kids moving during
morning drop-off, recess, and lunch. During weekly PE classes and after school, Hero coaches teach
our students to play a variety of sports and games.
Emerson is in bloom with three garden projects: a kindergarten vegetable garden, an upper grade
fruit and vegetable garden, and a fruit orchard. Our garden teacher works school wide with each
class to build environmental literacy and encourage healthy habits. Our whole school has access to
fresh produce through our salad bar courtesy of a Whole Foods grant.
Next to our garden is our dedicated Science Classroom. Each class has a dedicated hour of science
instruction and hands-on projects. For our older students, this time also includes learning to use
technology and getting comfortable with computers.
We have a few after-care options for working families. Umoja Village is for families needing fulltime
care, onsite, and is free of charge. This program is available for first grade and up. Umoja Village
offers tutoring, supervised play, sports training, gardening, special programs and more. Needs-based
aftercare is also provided for children at our Early Childhood Education Center. Other choices for
our families with full or part-time options are nearby Studio One Art Center and Mosswood Rec
Center. Both of these off-site programs pick up in the classroom and offer financial aid.
Our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is a welcoming group of parents and grandparents,
teachers and administrators that organizes school-wide events, funds field trips and enrichment
programs, works to beautify the school, and supports the teachers and administration at Emerson. We
welcome your input and excitement; you can help shape our school!
Sincerely,
The Emerson Administration and Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).
* If you are not planning on attending Emerson in the 2015/2016 School year, please let the office
know right away at 510-654-7373 so we can adjust our records accordingly.