Its back to school for Magnolia kids and this year students at Blaine will be getting up earlier.  Despite protests from some parents, the Seattle School Board voted to change start times to save on transportation costs. Blaine K-8 school will now start at 8:15a.m. like the high schools and middle schools.  Last year classes at Blaine started at 8:50a.m.  Students at Lawton will begin class at 9:05a.m.. 

With the schools back in session, the focus will be on keeping students safe.  There is a big emphasis on getting drivers to slow down on 34th Ave West this year. 

This new sign let drivers know that they need to slow down to 20mph when the lights are flashing or there are children present.

The Seattle Mariners held their 12th Annual Education Day last week visiting six local elementary schools to deliver the D.R.E.A.M. Team message.

Mariners players, coaches and broadcasters stressed the importance of education and positive thinking during a visit to Magnolia’s Lawton.

Mariner’s players David Aardsma, Franklin Gutierrez, Russel Branyan and Jose Lopez visited the school along with coaches Lee Tinsley and Jason Phillips.  

They presented the DREAM (Drug Free, Respect Yourself, Education, Attitude and Motivation) curriculum and the players sat among the students to watch a higlights video.  Each student got a picture of the Mariners Moose and a copy of the DREAM mission with signatures from the players.  
 
Thanks to Susan Ewbank for the great photos. 

Lawton Elementary School is inviting anyone who has been associated with the school over the past 100 years to attend a community celebration on Friday (3/27). 

The Centennial Tea runs from 4p.m. to 6p.m. at the school and will include historical displays and the chance for students, parents and teachers to reminisce.  The event will also feature musical performances, historical costumes and the chance to purchase old time photos of the school.

This picture shows the second building that housed Lawton school in 1930, courtesy of Seattle Public Schools and Magnolia Historical Society.

Here is the school today in its current home.  For more information about the celebration, contact event chair Phyllis Rosen at phyllisrosen@earthlink.net.

A movie about learning differences that was made in the memory of Bill Cosby’s son will be shown at Lawton Elementary School on Thursday 3/26. 

Ennis’ Gift features Henry Winkler, James Earl Jones, Danny Glover and Bruce Jenner.  Ennis Cosby was a struggling reader with dyslexia who overcame his difficulties to become a teacher so that he could help children struggling with reading and other learning differences.   Ennis Cosby’s life was cut short when he was murdered in 1997 at the age of 27.

Ennis’ Gift was produced to continue Ennis Cosby’s life’s work.  The movie begins at 6:30pm at Lawton and there is no admission fee for the viewing.  For more information click here.

The students in Shirley Rybock’s third/fourth grade class at Lawton Elementary School know that imagination goes a long way. 

For the past four years, they have transformed a school hallway into magical worlds. They use butcher paper, photos, drawings, streamers, markers and actual artifacts on loan from the Burke Museum to decorate the hallway into historical settings. The current incarnation is a Native American longhouse.

The students spent the last month learning about local tribes as part of the hallway project. Last year they created a rainforest.  Click here for more on this story from the Magnolia News.

We wanted to let you know that now is the time for school tours at our local public schools.  The tours are for parents with students who will be kindergarteners or will be new to the schools next fall.  Both Blaine and Lawton are hosting tours in the next few weeks.  We have posted the schedule in our events section. 

You can also get information on the school websites.  Click here for Blaine and here for Lawton. 

The schools also have open houses coming up. Lawton has an evening Open House on Thursday, February 5, from 6:30 to 7:30.  Childcare is available and you can call Maureen at 654-1040 to make arrangements.

Blaine has a Kindergarten Information Night on January 29 at 6:30pm with presentations by the principal, staff and PTA parents.  You can call 206-252-1920 to reserve childcare space. 

There is a Middle School Information Night at Blaine coming up on February 5, 7:00pm to 8:30 p.m. in the library. 

School starts today in the Seattle School District and it sounds like our two local schools may be seeing more students than ever.

The district has scheduled a community meeting to address school capacity in our area because population growth is outpacing the number of spaces available. The meeting is for families and community members to discuss options for addressing this challenge with a focus on the 2009-2010 school year.

The meeting is set for September 15 at 6:30pm at Blaine at 2550 34th Ave W.

So, are your student’s classrooms crowded this year?  Tell us what you saw on this first day of school.

The Magnolia CoolMoms received a $13,000 grant from the city of Seattle to promote fuel free routes to school and that means you will see these Walking School Bus signs around Blaine and Lawton this year.  The grant provides 20 signs for five routes for each school. 

The Cool Mom group is made up of moms who are concerned about the impact global warming will have on their children’s future.

The idea is to get students walking safely to school along a prescribed route.  The groups says its good for the students to get more exercise and with fewer cars coming to school less fuel is consumed.  

The grant also provides funds to put these signs at the schools to discourage drivers from letting their cars idle.  

Kirsten McCaa, Magnolia CoolMom and CoolMom.org director, said the program works because it gets the students involved.  She says her group wants to teach kids that every trip doesn’t have to begin in a car.

The Walking School Bus program started at the schools last year but they are looking to substantially increase participation this year by offering more routes and getting more students involved. Both schools are looking for parent leaders to take on additional routes.  The goal is to have the programs offered five days a week, on five routes, at both schools.

For more information about routes at Blaine, click here.  For Lawton routes, click here. 

Little Emma is ready for kindergarten at Lawton Elementary School.  She attended the Popsicles in the Park event for students who are new to the school this year.

Over at Blaine parents were checking class schedules to find out which teacher would have the pleasure of working with their kids this year. 

Blaine also hosted an open house for students who are new to the school.

School starts at Blaine and Lawton on Wednesday, September 3.