Greeting Southlawn Parents/Guardians,

Thank you for supporting your students during the first week of school.  I am so proud of our students as they are beginning to get into the school rhythm. As Ms. Allen, our Assistant Principal, and I visited classrooms this week, we were so pleased to see the excellent teaching and learning taking place in our classrooms and the excitement our students have about learning!  

SCHOOL SAFETY IS KEY!  Thank you for voting YES on our recent Bond and Mill Levy.  Your support for our school district has allowed us to have a School Campus Supervisor-Sam Mangrubang and a School Resource Officer-Officer Ricky Evans. We are thrilled to have both Sam and Ricky at Souhlawn helping to keep our students safe.

Last Friday we practiced school safety by practicing a Tornado Drill.  The students did an amazing job leaving their classrooms and safely and quietly getting to a safe space in the building.  We will have another Tornado Drill in the Spring.  Next week we will practice our first Fire Drill of the school year and then practice this safety procedure once every month. 

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend our Southlawn-Back-to-School Night on August 30th from 4:00-6:00 PM.  If your last name begins with A-M please attend our 4:00-5:00 session; if your last name begins with N-Z please attend our 5:00-6:00 session.  There will be a Principal Presentation from 4:00-4:20 and 5:00-5:20.  Our students and teachers have been working hard to create a community of excellence and belonging and we are excited to have you tour our building.

Shout-Outs and Celebrations!  I am super excited to announce that our 5th grade students from last year had the highest growth percentile in Reading/Writing AND Math when compared to all elementary schools in 27J! 

Also thank you to our AMAZING PTO for welcoming teachers/staff back by providing them on Friday.  What a great way to end the week! We sincerely appreciate your kindness and generosity!

A Few Reminders (Revised):

Arrivals at Southlawn

• 7:30-7:50 Breakfast 

  • West entrance (by the playground) or the main entrance.

  • If students do not want to have breakfast, they will be supervised outside on warm weather days and inside on cold days.

• 7:40-7:55 Soft Start of the Day-students go into classrooms

  • 4th and 5th-grade students can enter through the North entrance of the building.

  • • Kdg-3rd grade students can enter the building using the Main Entrance

    • Kdg and 1st can also enter the building using the south entrance

    End of the Day Dismissal

    • 3:25 Bus Riders will be dismissed from classrooms.  Kdg-1st grade students will be escorted by an adult to the buses. Outside supervision will be present for students transitioning to the busses

    • Kdg-5th Grade students will be dismissed from the back of the building.  Parents, please do not block the exit doors as students exit the building

      • PK will dismiss students from the PK classrooms/area

      • Kdg students will line up on the grass turf by the fence

      • 1st-5th Grade students will line up by the Four Square Games on the concrete 

      • 5th Grade students will line up by the cafeteria

    No Visitors in Classrooms

    • For safety reasons, we do not allow visitors in the halls or classrooms during the school day unless special arrangements have been made with the classroom/school/principal. 

    • If you would like to have lunch with your child, you are welcome to do so. Please make sure to bring a valid driver’s license and check in at the front office.  If you have lunch with your child, please only bring lunch for your child/children.  Families may be asked to eat at the Family Table in the Cafeteria

    Lunch Times:

    • 1st Grade-10:50-11:15

    • 3rd Grade-11:20-11:45

    • Kdg           11:50-12:15

    • 2nd Grade-12:20-12:45

    • 4th Grade- 12:50-1:15

    • 5th Grade-  1:20-1:45

    Upcoming Dates:

    • August 22nd First Fire Drill

    • August 23rd First Day for Pre-School Students

    • August 30th Back-to-School-Night 4:00-6:00 pm

      • Last names A-M 4:00-5:00 

      • Last names N-Z 5:00-6:00

    • October 2nd-6th Parent/Teacher Conferences

    • Thank you for all that you do to support your child in being a successful human for college, career, and beyond.

      Sincerely yours,

       Candice Degrafinried, Principal