Lawton Families,
We’re off to a great start in the new year at Lawton! As I pop into classrooms this week, I see 3rd –5th grades starting new writing units, K-2 students finishing up the 1st book in their math curriculum, and 4th and 5th grade students having Art class with our Visiting Artist Valencia Carroll (all other grades will do Art this year as well!). Looking forward, I have lots of announcements for events coming up:
Lawton MLK Jr. Assembly – Wed., 1/15 (and no school for MLK Jr. Day on 1/20)
Lawton Book Fair – Tues. 1/21 – Fri. 1/24
The Secret Garden Book Fair is back! Book fairs raise money for the library and build excitement around reading. The Lawton fair will be held in the library and is open to families and caregivers outside of school hours. 2nd-5th grade students will be able to visit the fair during their library time and all students may visit with caregivers before and after school. It will also be open before and during Bingo Night!
The fair accepts cash, credit cards, and checks made out to Secret Garden. If you would like to send a check with your student, please make it out to the Secret Garden for the max amount your student may spend. In addition, if you are interested in donating scholarship funds for help Lawton students who request assistance for a book fair book, you can sign up here.
PTA Bingo Night! Thurs. 1/23 from 6-7:15pm
The PTA is hosting Bingo Night, coinciding with Ms. Gallegos’ Book Fair Night, in the Library on Thursday, January 23rd. Bingo runs from 6-7:15pm, the Book Fair is open after school until the end of the night, and Secret Sausage will be selling food from 5:45-7:15pm. I’ll also be on hand to connect with you (in lieu of my previously scheduled Principal Coffee this month), so come find me with questions or concerns!
From Our Counselor: Screenagers Documentary Movie Showing, Feb. 6
We are very excited to partner with Magnolia Elementary and Catherine Blaine K-8 for a showing of the NEW film Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition! This adaptation of the original Screenagers movie is updated with the latest research, expert insights and advice, specifically tailored for the students, parents and educators of elementary schools to help them better navigate this digital age. Read more about the movie below and view a trailer here.
Are you watching kids become too accustomed to using technology at too young an age? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her kids and learned that the average kid spends many hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this screen time and the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time. In Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition, Dr. Ruston takes a deeply personal approach as she explores the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction. Through insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions for empowering kids to navigate the digital world and find balance.
We hope that you’ll bring the whole family to Catherine Blaine for this movie event on February 6th at 6:30 pm (movie is approx. 1 hour in length). See you there!
Ms. Leache’s Class Community Service –
Thank you for donating your used sneakers to the Lawton 4th grade recycle campaign. We collected 465 pairs of shoes before the winter break. Our goal is to hit 1,000 pairs by the end of the school year! Please continue to bring in sneakers and deposit them in the blue bin at the school entrance. The more often you can run this the better to keep it on peoples’ minds. I will give you a monthly update with our latest numbers! Thank you SO MUCH!!
From the District –
Seattle Public Schools (SPS) will have two replacement levies on the Feb. 11, 2025, ballot. These levies are not new taxes but renewals that continue funding for essential programs, staff, and services for students and schools. They help bridge the gap between state funding and what our schools need, and they help fund special education, school counselors, multilingual programs, arts, sports, and more.
The levies also include funding for building repairs, classroom technology, and safety improvements. These investments help us meet the goal of safe and healthy school buildings. You can find information here about regional meetings about the levy in January. Visit the SPS website for more information about the levies and what they support.
Dina Clagg, Lawton Principal
