What’s Happening

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 9:01 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - November 13, 2020 Each year when November comes and the days get shorter, colder, and wetter it can be difficult to maintain enthusiasm for new learning. This year presents several additional challenges – including Remote Learning. I encourage you and your students to be strength spotters. Take time to discuss with your students what they see as their own areas of success, academic and social. You will learn a little more about what success looks like from their perspective and can use those conversations to support them to apply what works across settings.  Fall Virtual Book Fair on Now Shop online or in person at Secret Garden Books between now and November 20th. Click HERE to shop. Enter code LAWTON into the coupon box at checkout if it isn't automatically

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 at 9:01 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - October 30, 2020 Today’s Principal Newsletter has lots of information. Please read on for updates about curriculum night, fall conferences, Thanksgiving meal support and internet safety.   Dolphin Curriculum Connection and Fall Conferences This year, Lawton Elementary is hosting Curriculum Night asynchronously on Flipgrid. We invite you to learn more about our teachers at Lawton and what they are teaching at each grade level this year. This is also where you’ll be able to sign up for conferences. Step 1: Click this link and watch welcome video. Step 2: Go to the “View 8 Topics” dropdown menu to browse videos by grade level. Please note that some grade levels tackled curriculum by subject, and you will learn from each teacher. Remember to watch our support staff videos too! Step 3: Sign up for a parent-teacher conference using the links

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 9:01 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - October 23, 2020 I continue to be amazed by the learning happening at Lawton in our online spaces. From Kindergarten students practicing letter formation and identification – showing their work on the screen as well as in Seesaw – to 5th grade students articulating what mature throwing is in PE and then demonstrating using socks, plastic bags, and even rolled up paper. Remote learning is hard (as Ms. Barry reminded us this week) and at the same time has brought out the innovator in each of us. The Lawton community continues to be dedicated to serving our students. If you missed Ms. Barry’s Parenting in a Pandemic presentation, you can review a summary of the strategies she shared here: Parenting in a Pandemic Handout.docx.   Last Call for Veterans Day Assembly Pictures

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Oct 16, 2020 at 9:02 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - October 16, 2020 This week saw students and teachers learning about Indigenous People’s Day. Students are learning about contemporary Native Americans and Washington State tribal history. For more information, please feel free to check out these resources on the SPS website. In the coming weeks all families in Seattle Public Schools will be asked to complete a survey sharing their experiences with remote learning. Please share your feedback to help our school and district leaders plan for how best to support students and families during remote learning.  New Meeting Links & Expanded Tech Center Hours Your teachers have likely sent your student new meeting links. We are responding to tech staff guidance that refreshing links periodically will reduce glitches and increase functionality. To support students and families with

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Oct 9, 2020 at 9:02 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - October 9, 2020 Thank you for sharing your students with us for another great week of remote learning. Last Friday’s whole school library and packet pick up day was a success. Students now have library books for the next month as well as musical instruments for applying their new music knowledge at home!  This week, Lawton 5th graders Talia Wilson and Naomi Haddad were featured in a Seattle Times article. Inviting and amplifying student voice is a key feature of the work our teachers put into designing engaging instruction for students across content areas. While your students are enjoying a well-deserved day off today, teachers at Lawton are spending time learning from Dr. Doug Fisher - an educational expert in the area of distance learning - so that they can

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Oct 2, 2020 at 9:02 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - October 2, 2020 Thank you for another great week of partnership in supporting students at Lawton. Teachers and staff at Lawton continue to take opportunities to learn and grow so that we can provide high quality learning experiences for all students. How we interact and encourage students affects their attitudes toward learning. A positive/growth mindset is the difference between a student giving up because they’re “not good at math” or engaging in a productive struggle that yields growth. A growth mindset allows students to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. Students with a growth mindset recognize that they are tackling hard problems, charting new courses, and working on important skills, even when they aren’t getting the results or mastery they want yet. YET is a

From: Allison Deno <andeno@seattleschools.org>Date: Fri, Sep 25, 2020 at 9:02 AMSubject: Principal Newsletter - September 25, 2020 We’re doing it! Learning is happening. Friends are connecting. Students are bonding with their teachers and having those “ah-ha” moments that make learning so fun. Thank you for the critical role you are playing in these successes! Next week Lawton will have our first spirit day of the school year. Please join us in wearing tie-dye!  Productive Struggle – Why it Matters Thank you for partnering with us to help students learn and grow. You know your own children better than anyone and this year you are getting a bird’s eye view of them as learners. Learning is the construction of new understandings. Productive struggle, a key component to this construction, occurs when we question the what and how of new concepts or