May 15th, 2020

Dear Emerson Families,

I hope you are well and in good health.  It’s hard to believe there are less than two weeks left of school.  We are tremendously sad that we do not get to close out the school year, together as a community.  Yet, we recognize that continuing to shelter in place is necessary for the overall health and wellbeing of our community.  

In exciting news, Mr. Limata was recently interviewed by Ellen, based on his daily “Story Time with Mr. Limata”.  Huge congratulations to Mr. Limata for this amazing recognition!  We are all celebrating with you.  Check out the clip here:  

https://www.ellentube.com/video/first-grade-teacher-moved-to-tears-by-gift-for-school.html

To close out the logistical end of school, we have designated two days for families to pick-up children’s belongings, and hand in materials borrowed from Emerson.  

In the next few weeks, our teachers are leading closing activities, remotely for students and families.  I encourage you to participate in these as best you can.  Closure is important for our children to get a chance to say good-bye, share appreciation, and come together virtually for end of year celebrations.  There is so much that is challenging about this time, but there are also many bright spots and needless to say our children offer many of the bright spots.  Join us, in celebrating our students together.  

Picking Up Personal Belongings

Below you will find a schedule, by grade-level, for families to pick-up items from Emerson.  Every child will have a bag, with their name labelled on it with personal items, including the child’s work that the teacher has compiled.  The bag will be ready at our front entrance at Emerson where an Emerson staff person will assist you.   

Returning Materials to Emerson

We ask that the following items to Emerson are returned (if applicable):

• 5th Graders - Return Loaned Chromebooks (laptop and power chord)
• 5th Graders & 4th Graders - Return Instruments
• 5th Graders - Return Emerson Library Books

Books

We are intentionally allowing students to keep library books from Emerson at home over the summer.  Please support your child to read regularly over the summer, with books, and our online reading apps that will also still be available over the summer.  When we return to school, we will collect borrowed books with a safe and clear process.  

• We ask that you return borrowed classroom books, during your designated time.

Note: if your child is not returning to Emerson next year, please return all borrowed books.

5th Graders

5th Graders will receive their Promotion Certificate & T-Shirt upon return of borrowed items.  We are celebrating our 5th Graders with a Virtual Promotion on Wednesday May 27th at 10am.  We will share more information about this soon.    

We recognize that there may be families who are not able to come to the school during this time period. If this is the case, please email your child’s teacher, and we will try to make arrangements that work with your schedule.

For Families - Social Distancing at Pick up

Please remember that during pickup, social distancing is important. While I know that your children may be excited to see each other, for safety reasons, we ask that you keep at least 6 feet of space between your family and others’.  The CDC recommends “wearing face masks in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.”  We ask that you follow this recommendation and wear some kind of face covering during workbook pick-up.   

If you drive, please stay in your car until a staff member comes and checks in with you.  If you walk, there will be a place for you to line up. Please honor the 6-foot of distance rule. 

If you or a member of your family are experiencing any symptoms for any illness, such as fever or respiratory issues, please remain at home and email heather.palin@ousd.org, or your child’s teacher to make alternative arrangements. If you are over the age or 65 or have a compromised immune system, we encourage you to stay home.

During this event, the campus will be accessible only to volunteer staff members so tables will be set up in front of the school. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during this incredibly difficult time.