Writing at the Kitchen Table

I enjoy writing because of my mom. As a continuation high school English Teacher, she took home schoolwork almost every night, labouring at the kitchen table grading papers. I was probably a typical boy when it came to writing; more interested in anything but writing. Writing ranked on the opposite end of the spectrum when compared to going out for a bike ride.

The first time I remember actually enjoying writing was when I described a summer camping experience. My mom sat with me, her papers pushed aside, and prompted me to describe the shooting stars, the sand in between my toes and the cool water of the lake. I earned an "A" and developed some confidence that I may actually be able to connect things that I really like to something as tedious as writing.


Maybe she was the one who actually earned the grade; but my report card gave me credit. She had to prompt me quite a bit, with the dictionary and thesaurus close at hand to supply assistance. Even during my first term in college, I sent a few papers home requesting her editorial advice. I'm thankful to my mom for helping me care about expressing myself in writing. "That sounded good, mom, would you say it again slowly?"

My mom has always been so sweet and patient. She pushed aside her papers and prompted me to get my ideas written down. That's not an easy task when working with a kid who just wants to play. (Mom, I'm sorry that I don't write to you more these days.)

Camp Emerson

Camp Emerson is this weekend!

4:30 pm - Tent set up begins
5:30 pm - FREE crafts and activities
5:30 - 7:00 pm - $5 per person BBQ dinner
8:30 pm - FREE movie and popcorn
10:30 pm - Gates closed and locked
11 pm - Lights Out/ quiet time! Overnight camping

Saturday at 6:00 a.m. Gates reopen
This year we are not going to offer breakfast or have a garden workday on Saturday morning

PTA Spoils Staff with Appreciation

During this past week, the PTA generously lavished their appreciation on the Emerson staff.

Treats such as bagels and cake mysteriously started appearing in the staff lounge. On Monday morning there was big continental breakfast awaiting the staff when they arrived to work. The staff enjoyed pastries, fruit salad, eggs and ham, juices and more. A variety of other gifts appeared on teachers' desks from the traditional apple to sweet notes from appreciative children.

On Friday afternoon, the savory smell of grilled onions, carne asada, pork and chicken greeted the staff as they took their lunch breaks. The tacos were "muy sabrosos!" Thank you to the entire PTA, and especially to the parents who brought in so many wonderful expressions of appreciation to the Emerson staff!

A Healthy Finish for CST

The California Standards Tests are almost over for this year. Part of California's STAR testing program, the CST are based on the grade level standards which students have been learning all year long.

The California Department of Education (CDE) releases some questions each year for students, parents and teachers to use in preparation for the tests.

This site is designed for parents: http://www.starsamplequestions.org
and this site has additional parent guides: www.starsamplequestions.org/information.html

On Thursday, May 6, most testing will be complete except for a few make up tests.

The results from the tests won't be available until mid-August. In a few days there will be "new" school rankings published, but they are based on the assessments that we took last year.

Thank you for your hard work in reducing "tardies" and sending your students ready for testing.

Sprouts Farmers Market pitched in this week to provide 800 nutritious snacks for our students during testing. The next time you go to Sprouts on Allesandro, tell the manager that you appreciate his support of Emerson during testing.

Feds Seek to Replicate Our Success

While First Lady Obama did not make an appearance at Emerson as the children had hoped, Washington D.C. did send a high-ranking official, USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Concannon, on Friday.

For students, the highlight of the Farmer's Market Salad Bar Anniversary Celebration occurred when USDA officials toured the Eastside Community Garden, sampling strawberries and listening to students expalin the benefits of having a salad bar and a school garden.

The Green Team students toured the officials around the garden, telling them first-hand how they enjoy planting, caring for, weeding, harvesting and especially eating fruits and vegetables.

Rodney K. Taylor, founder of the salad bar concept in Riverside received several awards during the ceremony including the Healthcare Champion Award from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer.

Several news agencies reported on the salad bar anniversary event, including the Press Enterprise, Reuters, and KABC-TV.

Throughout the day, students and parents inquired about whether First Lady Obama would make a surprise visit, in response to the students' written invitation earlier in the month. First Lady Obama toured a community farm in San Diego on Thursday, as part of her Let's Move! campaign, but at the last moment sent word that she was unable to attend the event at Emerson on Friday.

In the 55 year history of Emerson Elementary School, Concannon is the highest ranking official to visit the school and interact with its students. It was a tremendous honor for us as a school to be able to host the Farmer's Market Salad Bar celebration, and to be able to show off our efforts to connect health, nutrition, science and physical activity in the Eastside Communiuty Garden, especially to such a broad audience.

It was reported that USDA officials hope to replicate the Farmers Market Salad Bar program as well as school gardening projects such as those at Emerson.

Salad Bar Anniversary on Friday

RUSD Farmers’ Market Salad Bar program to be celebrated at April 16 anniversary event
The fifth anniversary of the nationally-recognized Farmers’ Market Salad Bar program will be celebrated at 9:30 AM Friday, April 16 at Emerson Elementary School. The event will feature a ceremony, garden tours and a fresh salad bar lunch to celebrate this unique program, which brings locally-grown produce to 29 elementary schools across the Riverside Unified School District. This program, one of only two in Southern California, is the largest of its kind in the nation.Since it began, more than 1.3 million salad bar meals have been served. In 2008-09, 565,134 elementary school salad bar lunches were served and the district has served 412,797 meals so far this year. Numerous local, state and federal dignitaries are slated to attend the event, including Kevin Concannon, United States Agriculture Department Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.“We are excited to celebrate this milestone with the entire community,” noted Rodney Taylor, Director of Nutrition Services for the Riverside Unified School District. “Five years ago, we began an incredibly ambitious project to bring fresh produce to as many students as possible. The Farmer’s Market Salad Bar program has allowed us to do just that. Not only do students enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, but they also get to grow their own produce, which is incredibly empowering to children as they learn to make healthier choices that they hopefully will carry with them throughout their lives.”The Riverside Unified School District Farmers’ Market Salad Bar program is based on a similar program begun in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. That program also was started by Taylor, working in conjunction with Occidental College. Occidental College Professor Robert Gottlieb, Urban and Environmental Policy Institute Director, wrote the grant that funded the pilot program in Riverside Unified School District.The RUSD salad bar program has drawn significant national attention since it began and has been featured in countless books, magazines and documentaries and has won numerous awards. Most recently, the RUSD salad bar program was the recipient of United States Senator Barbara Boxer’s Health Care Champion Award.

PTA Makes Cafeteria Quad Blossom!

Many thanks to the Emerson PTA for providing the funding for the renovation of the quad in between the cafeteria and the lunch court!

For the past few years, the areas surrounding the quad have received a few updates, but the quad never qualified to receive any updates itself. Grass wouldn't grow because the antiquated irrigation. The area was a dusty short cut from the lunch court to the next hallway. Drainage was poor and had recently flooded in the winter storms.

The PTA Board approved the expenditure of funds to update the area with both hardscaping (concrete) and landscaping.

The beautiful red flowering dicots are drought tolerant and will grow into a large flowering bed of foliage and flowers.