Principal Newsletter – September 23, 2022
As we close out another week, I want to thank everyone who participated in our Curriculum Night Open House. We enjoyed meeting families and watching students show you around our building. Events that bring home and school together to support and celebrate student learning are a powerful reminder of the great partnerships we have at Lawton.
Our week was also brightened by everyone’s adorable picture day smiles. If you forgot to order pictures, it’s not too late. You can order online here.
A few reminders to help get the year off to a smooth and healthy start:
- Submit student questionnaire. Thank you to the 100+ families who completed this already. If you haven’t had a chance to do so – either
After School Enrichment Classes
The Lawton PTA is excited to announce that enrichment classes are back! 
Review the informational flyer below for more information. You can scan the QR code or CLICK HERE to be taken to the registration site.
Registration begins on Wednesday, Sept. 28th at 12:00 AM.
Fall sessions will go from October 17th to December 16th.
Picture Day – Thursday 9/22
Class and individual school pictures are happening Thursday and Friday. All students will be photographed for school files and the yearbook, regardless of whether families choose to order photos. You can find your specific class schedule below. To request a school photo scholarship, email kmcerise@seattleschools.org.
Preorder photos here: https://prepaysystems.com/view/9_bs5ybW/lawton-elementary. The link closes on Sunday, September 25th. You may choose to wait and see your student’s photo in the online gallery after picture day before ordering, but Packages A-F are available as pre-orders only
Photo suggestions. Solid colors in medium to dark tones photograph well. Avoid Green, all white, pastel, neon and busy prints-they draw
Fall Festival – Our Lade of Fatima Parish School
Our friends at Our Lady of Fatima Parish School have invited Lawton students and their families to participate in their Fall Festival on Saturday, October 8th at 6PM! All are welcome!
Back to School Bash
| Our annual Back to School Bash is rescheduled for Friday, September 30, from 5-7pm. Join us on our Lawton playground for fun activities and food for purchase. This is a fun event and a great way to meet and connect with our community. All are welcome! |
Principal Newsletter – September 16, 2022
A smooth start to the year allows us to better support your students and you. Please help us by:
- Completing a get-to-know-you questionnaire
- Joining us for Curriculum Night
- Loading your student’s account if they plan to eat school lunch
- Returning all first day packet forms
- Considering volunteering for Safety Patrol
Detailed information on each of these things follows…
Help Us Get to Know Your Student and Family
You are the expert on your child(ren). Please share some of what you know to help us connect with them and
Important Start-of-Year Links and Updates
Bargaining News
Seattle School District’s contract with the teachers’ union, Seattle Education Association (SEA), expired on August 31, 2022. Negotiation on a new contract has been ongoing for months.
For SPS updates: https://www.seattleschools.org/news/sps-and-sea-bargaining-updates/
For SEA updates: https://www.seattlewea.org/contracts-and-bargaining/2022-bargaining-updates/
If a tentative agreement is not reached by September 7, the start of school will be delayed.
School Lunch
SPS will again charge for school meals this year. The new prices are $2.25 for elementary breakfast and $3.25 for elementary lunch.
We encourage all eligible families to submit a new application for free and
Principal Newsletter – September 2, 2022
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
Principal Newsletter – August 26, 2022
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.
Principal’s Welcome Back Updates
The PTA regularly posts Dr. Deno’s Principal newsletters here on the PTA website. However, these back-to-school announcements warrant their own post!
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
Lawton Elementary School PTA
Registration for fall After School Enrichment opens this Friday September 18 at 7am! Browse class options via the link in our bio.
ASE is made possible by our Lawton PTA - if you haven’t joined the PTA yet, you can do so now via the link in our bio!
🦗tinyurl.com/m57scye7
🐬ch2v-324.givebacks.com/shop/items/1205121
Lawton Elementary School PTA
We’ve hit our $60k goal prize and unlocked a Popsicle Party for all our Lawton Dolphins! 🍡 Details to come, but our kids will be enjoying their treat soon. ☺️
🗓️ There’s only TEN days left to donate to our 2026-2027 Direct Drive! If you haven’t already, please donate to support the work our Lawton PTA is doing!
🪩 Once we hit $100k, our kids will earn a School-Wide Glow Party!
Register and donate via the link in our bio.
Lawton Elementary School PTA is at Lawton Elementary School.
Our first School Spirit Day of 2026-2027! Thank you, dogs and Dolphins, for showing your Lawton pride! 🐬
Lawton Elementary School PTA
Friday Sept 11 is our first School Spirit Day of the new school year! September’s theme is Lawton Dolphins! 🐬 Show your Lawton pride by wearing our school colors (blue, teal, green), blue tie dye, your favorite Lawton merch, or some fun dolphin gear!
Lawton Elementary School PTA is at Lawton Elementary School.
Lu had such a fun morning with our new classes of Kindergarteners! 🐬 Welcome to the pod, Dolphins! 💙
Lawton Elementary School PTA is at Lawton Elementary School.
Attn Kindergarten parents: We can’t wait to show you how much we love our school! 🩵 Please join us for Coffee with Ms Clagg at 8am on Tuesday Sept 8 (first day of school)! ☕️ See you there, and welcome to the pod! 🐬
Lawton Elementary School PTA
We’ve hit 25% ($30k) of our Direct Drive fundraising goal! 🥳 Our kids have earned a Pajama & Stuffed Animal Day at school - details to come! 🙏 A GIANT high-five and a mega THANK YOU to everyone who has already donated! You are absolutely amazing! ⏳ We only have a couple of weeks left to smash our grand total goal of $130,000, so let’s keep the momentum going! 🚀 Pro Tip: Don’t forget to check if your employer offers a company match! It’s basically like a real-life money multiplier spell that stretches your dollar twice as far! Let’s power
Lawton Elementary School PTA
Kids’ hoodies are back in stock! 🛍️ Check out our Spirit Wear Fundraiser on Custom Ink and load up on Lawton gear for back-to-school!
www.customink.com/fundraising/lawton-spirit-wear-fall-2026
Lawton Elementary School PTA
We are SO back, Dolphins! 🐬 School is in and our PTA has already launched our 2026-2027 Direct Drive to fund this year’s budget! 60% of our annual budget covers staff salaries, including front office staff, recess and lunch monitors, and academic interventionists for all grade levels. If you’ve been following the negotiations between SPS and SEA, then you already know what a hot button topic this already is. We’re proud to have such an active and invested community, passionate about making our school the best it can be for our kids. Please register and donate what you can to
Lawton Elementary School PTA is at Lawton Elementary School.
We’re ready when you are! Happy back to school season! 🍎✏️🎒
The Lawton PTA remains neutral during contract negations. We encourage all parties to continue doing the hard work of contract negations in good faith.
(Thank you to our friends at Whitman Middle School PTSA for crafting this message!)
