What’s Happening

Happy Friday! Teachers worked hard this week getting classrooms ready to welcome students. Special thanks to the PTA volunteers who brightened our days with treats and love. We are looking forward to seeing students back in the building! You should have received your student’s teacher assignment via email today. If you didn’t, please email Kristina Cerise. Your teacher assignment email includes lots of important information about arrival and dismissal procedures, health protocols, and more. We’re keeping this newsletter short so that you can focus on reading the teacher letter closely. Enjoy your holiday weekend. PTA Volunteer Opportunities Interested in leading student safety patrol or another role? Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0C4EAAAA28A5F49-20222023 Upcoming Events 9/7 First Day of School (Grades 1-5), no early release 9/12 First Day of School (Kindergarten) 9/16 PTA’s Back to School Bash 5-7pm

We’re back to our routine of sending Principal Newsletters on Friday mornings. This time of year, it’s a lot of logistics and reminders to help us make the start of school smooth for students and families. We promise there will be more fun information to share once students are back in the building. Teacher Training and Treats. We are excited to welcome teachers back to school on Tuesday. Want to brighten their days with some treats? Sign up here. Transportation. SPS anticipates driver shortages that will result in some school bus routes not running this year. The transportation department has not notified families or schools which routes will/won’t have service, so we don’t yet know how this will affect Lawton families. To help reduce stress and scrambling, we encourage you to start making carpool plans

Good morning, The Lawton Elementary front office is back open and busy preparing for the year ahead. We hope you’ve had a great summer and are making the most of these final weeks. We are excited to welcome 1st through 5th grade students back to the building on Wednesday, September 7thth (first day for kindergarten is September 12th). Bell times remain the same as last year. School entry bell will ring at 7:50am, with students expected to be in their classrooms and ready to learn at 7:55am daily. School dismisses at 2:25pm except on Wednesdays when it dismisses at 1:10pm. Please remember that while all other Wednesdays in the year are early release days, the first day of school is not and students will be released at 2:25 A few nuts and bolts to help

June is such a fun month. The learning continues amidst lots of fun special events. This week: Classes redeemed WAVE tickets for frozen treats and celebrations; 4th and 5th grade students took walking field trips to rock climb, golf, and explore Discovery Park; Lawton Dolphins showcased their skills and talents in our Talent Show; and The whole school enjoyed Field Day activities. Ask your students to share which activities they most enjoyed and to think about the countless volunteers who donated their time to make these events engaging and fun. End of Year Close-Out At this point, the following should have been returned to school: Student devices and chargers Library books If you still have books or devices at home, please make sure they are returned Monday. Absences and Early Departures If you have planned

We are entering the final few weeks of the school year and they are busy weeks! Here’s a summary of key dates and what to expect. PTA Year-End Celebration – Friday, June 3rd Who: All Lawton families invited What: Zumba, face painting, tattoos, and treats. (Secret Sausage available for purchase) When: June 3rd, 5 pm - 7 pm Where: Lawton Playground and upper fields Why: To see old friends, meet new friends and gather together Library Book Returns – Friday, June 10th Please help us get our collection back by searching your home for library books that need to be returned. Not sure what your student has checked out? You can see library info in The Source. All books need to be returned by Friday, June 10th. Any lost books need to be paid for

I know we have heavy hearts after this week’s news of another school shooting. Schools should be a place for students to experience safety and joy while they focus on growing and learning. Having that expectation violated causes fear and anxiety. Our children see and hear so much, but sometimes don’t know how to interpret what they are seeing. In the aftermath of tragic events, it is important to listen when they have questions and support them to process their feelings. This looks different depending on the students and their ages, but it is important for children to have space to ask questions and process what they are seeing and hearing. Below are some resources gathered by SPS to support you as you talk about these sensitive topics at home: Talking with Children About Violence

We have reached the mid-point of the spring testing season. Students and teachers in all grades are working hard on their reading and math assessments. This is the time of year we begin to see the fruits of all the hard work students been engaged in throughout the year. Take some time to celebrate your student’s learning and growth. Health Updates Covid notifications. We sent five classroom notifications in the past week. You can find district-level information on the SPS Covid Dashboard. PTA Updates Field Day. The PTA is excited to bring back Field Day on June 10th. Please consider volunteering to help with set up, take down, and/or game stations. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0445acad2ea7f58-lawton Yearbooks. The PTA purchased yearbooks for every student this year. We will be distributing these to students on Field Day.