Lawson R-XIV School District

On Monday, February 13, seventeen singers in grades 6-11 traveled to Missouri Western in St. Joe, where they rehearsed all afternoon with students from schools in the Northwest region. The MS students were under the direction of Jazz Rucker, a very dynamic music educator from the Kansas City area. The HS students were under the direction of Dr. Chris Marple, the Visiting Professor of Choral Music Education at MWSU. Both groups put on great performances after just a few hours of rehearsal.

Please help us celebrate National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. Our crew of excellent drivers, monitors, and managers keeps the wheels on the buses rolling. In a single school year, our drivers will log over 130,000 regular route miles each year, picking up and returning over 750 student riders safely home each day. They will also log around 25,000 miles and 1700 hours to ensure our students have safe transportation to and from 100s of athletic and activity trips. To say our bus drivers are SUPER CARDINALS is a fact, and we thank them for all they do daily. #WeAreLawson.

Please help us welcome Mr. Kevin Keeton! He has been selected to serve as the Middle School Assistant Principal/Activities Director for the 2023-24 school year. See his full story: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gn20cnhlQoXy7Q5pMIgXWk2CseV_PagQ/view?usp=share_link

Southwest is ready to welcome new Kindergarteners and their families TOMORROW from 5-6pm in the SW Cafeteria! In addition, our kindergarten teachers will be there to schedule screenings, our PTO will have information available, and Durham Bus Services will be there to answer questions!

Notice is hereby given that The Lawson R-XIV Board of Education, by affirmative vote of a majority of the whole Board, voted to authorize the sale of the following listed properties through a sealed bid process during their Closed Session Meeting on February 15, 2023. Lakeview Lot – 18 Lakeview Lot – 19 Lakeview Lot – 20 Lakeview Lot – 21 Lakeview Lot – 22 Lakeview Lot – 23 The surplus real properties are located on Shephard Road, east of the District Maintenance Building and High School Softball Field. The individual lots currently have survey stakes to see the lot lines. Click Link to access the complete Request For Bid: https://5il.co/1pf0a

Mrs. Green, Southwest Librarian/Reading Teacher, Announces Retirement. See her full story: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o_LdzZjKOLaEKK-Kt-I8L1bKLSgYVo55/view?usp=share_link

February Board Spotlights: Our February student "Board Spotlight" was on several students. To begin, the Board spotlighted Lawson Middle School students Kaydence Hyatt and Caitlyn Cline for their state-qualifying FCCLA State Star Event presentation, “Road Safety.” Next up was Lawson Middle School students Josie Holman, Mariah Jones, and Ella Ripley for their FCCLA state-qualifying “Stand up and Speak Out” project. Our final student spotlight of the evening was on Lawson High School students Kadance James and Allison Hochwender for their state qualify FCCLA Star Event, “Every Penny is Hope” project. We also celebrated Lawson HS/MS Media Specialist Mrs. Katie Berger for her selection as an MFA Oil Foundation Grant recipient. Mrs. Berger plans to utilize the funds from the grant to add new books to our district library collection. The Board of Education congratulates our February spotlight recipients for their accomplishments and for representing the Lawson community with class.

Just a reminder - we have a four day weekend! No School this Friday for a scheduled Teacher Collaboration Day and No School Monday, Feb. 20th in observance of Presidents Day!

Mrs. Nutter's 5th graders spent a few days analyzing player data from both Super Bowl teams. They compared strength, weight, speed, agility, catch radius, and throw velocity between opposing players. They made their predictions and then designed a Super Bowl hat for the team they believe has the best players based on player stats.

There will be No School today, Thursday, Feb. 9, due to weather and road conditions. Stay Safe.

Please join us for a blood drive at Lawson High School on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the LHS SPAC. Community members please check in via the office first, then head to the SPAC. Visit the link below to schedule an appointment: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=LawsonHS&cid=siebel&med=email&source=bdc_email&utm_source=siebel&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=bdc_email

Mark your calendars for our Spring Concert Series! Any and all are welcome!

National School Counseling Week 2023, “School Counselors: Helping Students Dream Big,” celebrated Feb. 6-10, 2023, focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights school counselors’ tremendous impact in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February

Lawson Middle School 7th & 8th grade Character Crew members sponsored an event titled "I Won't Be Blue". The week long activity focused on NOT being a person who makes others feel blue - in other words, treating others with respect. Character Crew decorated the hallways "blue" and put together several activities for 7th and 8th graders to promote showing respect. Character Crew members from 7th & 8th grade are: Wyatt Covey, John Dobson, Lukas O'Sullivan, Ella Ripley, Teddy Thomas, Dyanna Willoughby and sponsored by Mrs. Edwards.

We would like to show our appreciation to our outstanding school counseling staff! Thank you Ms. Smithmier, Mrs. Edwards, and Mrs. Schmidt for meeting the needs of our staff and students daily! National School Counseling Week 2023 (Feb. 6-10), sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), highlights the essential contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems and the tremendous impact they have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. School counselors help students in more ways than you may know. This week we celebrate them as a part of National School Counseling Week 2023. Take a moment to thank your local school counselor(s). Learn more about the role of this essential profession: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/role

Congratulations to sophomore Madisyn Nutter on earning honorable mention for her January Photo of the Month competition entry to MIJA (Missouri Interscholastic Journalism Association), the state student journalism organization. Yearbook staff members submit entries each month and then we select the best from those to enter one in the state monthly competition. Below is the link to the page where her photo is located on the MIJA site (scroll to the bottom and click into the honorable mentions). https://mipajournalism.com/4828/contests/january-photo-of-the-month-winners-announced-3/#modal-photo

The High School is joining in on the fun!! Announcing the Lawson School District Super Bowl Spirit Week! #WeAreLawson #LetsGoChiefs

The Lawson Middle School Academic Team is in the middle of their season and so far are undefeated. In order to add a little fun to practice, the Academic Team members had to complete 6 challenges spread throughout the building. The winning team was made up of: Barrett Krieger, Ben Mayne, and Wyatt Covey.

Middle School is going to show that Super Bowl spirit next week!

Check out what's happening in your Lawson Schools. January Cardinal Connection should have hit your mailbox in the last couple of days. https://issuu.com/lawsoncardinals/docs/jan._2023_cardinal_connection-lawson Additional copies are available in each building office.