Principal Communication

Lawton Families, This year I plan to continue sending this email every two weeks, and this version is really the 9/23 message.  Because we have some timely info that I want you to have today, I’m sending it off-cycle; my next email will be Oct. 7, followed by Oct. 21, etc.   I also will be sending you a separate email with PTA info and news today, as the PTA has just transitioned to a new communication platform called Konstella, and has stopped sending Dolphin Tales. I also want to share that this morning one of our staff members experienced a medical emergency and we did call SFD and EMTs for assistance.  During the time that they transported

Lawton Families, First - welcome Kindergarten Families!  The students are doing great in their classes, and we are so happy to have you join our school! Next - Our PTA-run Safety Patrol program will start on Wednesday, and when the Patrol students are present at drop off, we ask that all adults and students follow their signs, movement and directions.  This applies to people in cars as well as people walking to school. Additionally, here are some reminders and tips about having a safe and efficient morning drop off at Lawton:   1. Drop off is between 7:40am and 7:55am.  There is no staff supervision of students who are dropped off before 7:40am, and that is a safety risk

Lawton Families! After a classic PNW Labor Day weekend, we hope your first through fifth grade students are ready to start school on Wednesday, Sept. 4!  Please note that this is a full school day, with no Early Release. Our Kindergarten families will meet with their teachers next week, and then we’re excited to welcome all 65 new Kindergarten students on Monday, Sept. 9! New staff, staffing updates  Academic Intervention Specialists – Over the summer we have hired Hannah Hansen, former 3rd grade teacher at John Hay, as an AIS.  She will work with small groups of students to strengthen literacy and math skills at all grade levels this year.  Hannah joins Audra Gallegos, our School Librarian, who also

Lawton Families – This is the last Family Newsletter for this school year - please remember that tomorrow is a holiday with no school, and on Friday we release 1 hour early at 1:25pm! Paper report cards come home June 21, and you can also view progress reports and spring assessment results on the Source in July. Lost and Found will be donated the last day of school! Poster for Lawton Family Outdoor Work Party 6.2024.pdf on Sunday, June 30th, from 9am to 1pm. Let's come together to weed, prune, and beautify Lawton. While most tools will be available, feel free to bring your preferred gloves and trimmers. Looking forward to seeing you there! Summer reading Flyer 5-31.pdf

Lawton Families, This week I have news and information related to the end of this school year, and next week I will send a final family newsletter with information about summer activities and the new Fall 2024 school year. Device Collection – all school devices must be at Lawton starting this week. We check them back in for the summer and your student will have a new device issued to them in the fall. Staff Updates - While I am delighted that the vast majority of our staff are returning next year, we do have some staff leaving us in order to pursue new opportunities: Erica Collis will be the PE teacher at Cascadia next year, and SLPs

Lawton Families, As we head into June, we are wrapping up testing and heading into field trip season. All of our grade levels will head out into the community in May and June for experiential learning, from as close as Lawton and Discovery Parks, to as far as a state capitol tour in Olympia. Our yearbooks have also been printed, and we will aim to hand them out on June 7. If you did not pre-order a yearbook for your student, the PTA will sell them in person at Lawton the week of June 10 (more details to come). June is a fun month at Lawton, so check out the events list below to keep track of it

Lawton Families, Last week was very exciting around here, with our staff spoiled by delicious food, and lovely thoughts and gifts (thank you so much to our students, families and PTA – and a special shout out to Mikelle Newer for coordinating the wonderful buffets). Our students got lots of exercise biking/walking/rolling to school on Wednesday and doing the Move-A-Thon on Friday too! This week we return to our focus on academics, with some of our classes starting state testing, and others starting final units in math, ELA and science as we start to head into the last 6 weeks of the school year. 5th grade promotion – June 18, 5-6pm This event has been on our Family

Dear Lawton Families, I want to start with a big shout out to our amazing School Counselor, Erica Barry, for organizing last week’s fun and well-attended Career Night and Volunteer Appreciation event – and to all the Lawton family members and PTA Board, who gave their time to share details about their careers with our students! On Friday, May 3 our School Spirit theme is College or Career wear! Also on May 3 - Lost and Found items will be donated on this day, so please give the racks a check this week! SPS Artificial Intelligence Policies SPS recently published information about how we use AI, and teach in the new AI reality. This work is new for

Lawton Families, Welcome back from Spring Break! With no inclement weather days so far this year (hooray!), and our last day projected for June 21, the spring brings us so many fun events to look forward to – including field trips for many grade levels, Career Night (and Volunteer Appreciation) on April 23, the PTA Move-A-Thon fundraiser on May 10, and of course, Field Day on June 14. Lawton Career Night (and PTA Volunteer Appreciation!) Please join us on April 23rd, from 5:30-6:30 pm, for our second annual Lawton Career Exploration Night! We are so excited to showcase the jobs and careers of family members in our Lawton community. This is an all-ages open-house event with activities for

Lawton Families - It's April already (no fooling!). In March we celebrated all things STEAM, and in April we highlight reading, poetry, and literature at Lawton. We’ll have poetry readings by Library Leaders in a variety of settings (whole school and in classrooms), a Spirit Day to dress like a favorite literary character, and Library lessons will focus on developing a joyful appreciation of poetry. Library Leaders are part of our 4th/5th grade clubs, and this month we also have our Lawton Student Union (club) visiting K-3 classes to teach about Ruby Bridges, our Capoeira club teaching us about the practice at an assembly, our Newspaper club just published their 2nd "Lawton Times" edition, and our Book/Movie club