What’s Happening

April is National Literacy Month and at Lawton our staff and students have been highlighting books and poetry in lots of fun ways – from a book character scavenger hunt around the school, our dress like your favorite character day, to our wonderful “caught reading” photo bulletin board. Adding to this theme, next week we celebrate National Library Week. We are so grateful to have Audra Gallegos as our Lawton librarian at Lawton! She is dedicated to keeping our collection fresh and relevant for students, teaching research and inquiry skills, and developing our students’ love of reading. Your plans for next year (K – 4th grade families only) It’s the time of year when we are planning for the year ahead. Please complete the green form coming home with your student today and return it

Our hallways are filled with book characters, the trees in the loading zone are in full bloom, students are excited about their WAVE store purchases, and Carol McKinney is making beautiful watercolors with 3rd – 5th grade students (K-2 students will work with our artist in residence in May). All in all, it’s been a joyful send off for Spring Break. We’ll look forward to seeing you all again on Monday, April 17th! Volunteer Needs Roller blade helpers. Mr. Peters and Ms. Collis would love parent help getting the equipment from our roller blade unit sorted and stored for next year. If you’re able/willing to help match skates, create bags of pads, and flag equipment that needs repair, please email kmcerise. Looking for help the week we return from break. Monday and Tuesday After School

Spring is a time of renewal and hope; the sun comes out and we can feel the possibilities. I’ve appreciated watching possibilities become projects in the past few weeks. It’s inspiring. Ms. Jessica, our COVID support and lunch/playground supervisor, noticed the reader board was fuzzy and green in places it shouldn’t be and the next thing we knew she was scrubbing it clean and trimming the branches that were making it hard to read. A Lawton student leader brainstormed the possibility of a movie night and now, with the help of our PTA, plans are moving forward for a community event on April 28th. This is how the magic happens. People see a need and we work together as a community to meet it. Thank you for being part of our team! Wanted: Caught Reading

There was plenty to celebrate at Lawton this week – a bit more daylight, third graders performing at Benaroya hall, students rollerblading in the gym, leprechauns causing mischief in downstairs classrooms, and heaps of fun STEAM activities, culminating in our fun and interactive assembly and class visits from the Pacific Science Center! I want to thank all the families and Lawton staff who helped us make our 1st ever Pi Night such a fun and tasty evening! It was so wonderful to see students playing games with each other and with families, and we appreciate all the delicious pies that were contributed! Looking to continue the science, tech, engineering, art, and math fun at home? Try to memorize The Pi Song, do the math to double your favorite recipe, or choose a science or math-themed

The period between Mid-Winter Break and Spring Break is one if our longest, uninterrupted stretches of learning and Lawton students are doing exciting things with this time! Students are engaging in research, collaboration, and creative problem-solving all over the school. Kindergarteners have been doing activities related to the 100th day of school. 1st graders have been creatively exploring gymnastics stations in PE. Second grade’s great conversations about Black History in February have transitioned to Women’s History in March. You can now ask a Lawton 3rd grader for PowerPoint tips – they’ve been learning to make well-designed and visually attractive presentations to share their research on animals. 4th graders are researching countries and making persuasive and well-supported arguments in essay form. And rumor has it that our 5th graders will be presenting music videos on dividing