Lawton Families,
It’s mid-October, and it feels like we are really hitting our stride at Lawton for the 23-24 school year:
- We’ve established a new routine of having a short weekly all-school assembly on Wednesday mornings, where we announce our weekly class WAVE winners and celebrate time together as a whole school.
- Students are taking fall assessments in reading and math, and our classrooms are focused on the early units of our various curriculums. On Wednesday afternoons, as well as last Friday, our staff gather to discuss student data and progress and how to adjust instruction to develop the skills of their students.
- PTA’s After School Enrichment and our own 4th and 5th grade Wednesday Clubs and Instrumental Music have all started up for the new year, giving students a variety of ways to develop their creativity at Lawton.
Some info & reminders for Lawton families:
Morning drop off – we love seeing all the students who walk to school, and our Safety Patrol program is doing a great job at the cross walk at 27th and Elmore. Please remember that the adult at this cross walk is a Lawton parent, who is there both to supervise the students and to help with car traffic. At our peak drop off time, cars may be directed down the hill (instead of turning left or west on Elmore) in order to keep the flow at the intersection going. Thank you for your patience and understanding our process!
Breakfast – we serve it! We have seen a decline in the number of students getting breakfast from 7:40 – 7:50am in our cafeteria this year, and we want to remind students and families that we have fast, delicious hot and cold breakfast options ($2.25, or no cost for students with Free and Reduced Lunch status). Breakfast is a really important part of a successful school day, so we hope to see more students join us!
Campus Security/Playground After Hours – We feel very happy that the district has focused on upgrading campus security across all schools in the city in the last year, and you may have noticed that Lawton has new, higher fencing and gates on the playground. This change allows us to have a more secure campus during the school day, and with these upgrades, we strive to make morning drop off and afternoon pick up efficient and welcoming, but again ask for your patience.
- After 7:55am, school day entry to the building is only through the Main Office doors; playground gates are manually locked and unlocked at the start and end of school. The lock on the gate on 26th is not finished yet, so we have a work-around to open that gate during drop off and pick up until the key lock is installed.
- The school playground is currently open to the community after school and on weekends, but please do not bring dogs or other animals on to the campus or playground at any time. We’d love our families to spread the word to your neighbors about this policy too! Students often find or step in dog poop on our morning recesses, and we don’t want to have to lock the playground during non-school hours as a response. Thank you for helping us keep our play area clean and safe!
Seattle Public Schools Announcements
District statement about conflict in Israel: https://www.seattleschools.org/news/israeli-hamas-conflict/
Class adjustments: You may have seen in the local news that schools across the district were gaining or losing teachers, leading to new class/teacher changes for some students. Lawton did not receive any adjustments to our general education/classrooms, but we did get a reinstatement of one of our two Special Education teachers back to full time from part time, which is a wonderful thing. https://www.seattleschools.org/news/class-size-adjustments/
Upcoming Events
10/16 – PTA After School Enrichment Classes Start!
This is a reminder that after school enrichment classes begin this week. Please make sure to remind your child of their after school plan.
10/16 – 11/17 – PTA Direct Drive Campaign (see your email for more info, or visit the PTA website: https://lawtonpta.org/
10/20 – PTA Movie Night, 5-7pm
The Lawton PTA Presents Movie Night featuring Super Mario Bros, food trucks and cash only bake/sweet sale!
Please note: A caregiver must stay on site at all times. Children should stay under supervision at all times – if they need a movement break from the movie, the gym is off limits as a play area, but the playground IS available. Commons, gym, bathrooms and outside playground are the only parts of the school available that night.
We can always use help at our events, if you’d like to volunteer that night please sign up here.
11/3 – Picture retake day (morning only)
11/3 – Fall Festival
Lawton PTA invites your family to celebrate with us at our annual Fall Festival on Friday November 3, from 5:00 – 7:00pm.
Join us in the commons and gym for crafts, cake walk, face paint, games, dancing and more! Dinner can be purchased from food trucks on site. Baked goods and gently used Dolphin gear will be on sale as a cash only transaction.
Back this year – kids dance party! Starting at 5:45, our very own Mr. Peters will be leading the kids in fun group dances. They have been practicing in PE and it is sure to be a hit.
This event is only possible with help from our terrific volunteers. Please sign up here.
We hope to see you there!
