Sam H. Lawson Middle School

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Sam H. Lawson Middle School
File:LawsonMiddleSchool.jpg
Location
Cupertino, California
Information
Principal	Karl Sonntag
Grades	6-8
Color(s)	Maroon, Navy, Silver
Mascot	Lightning
Website	http://lawsnms.ca.campusgrid.net

Sam H. Lawson Middle School is a public three year middle school located in Cupertino, CA, USA. Lawson opened in August 2005 for the 2005-2006 school year. The school was named after Sam H. Lawson, founder of many events and groups in the city of Cupertino, including the Tournament of Bands, the Cupertino Lions Club and the Cupertino Historical Society. Sam Lawson also introduced the Turkey Trot and the sport of wrestling to Cupertino and encouraged the practice of sports.

In 2006, the students were mainly drawn from Collins Elementary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Garden Gate Elementary School, and Eaton Elementary School, along with students from other schools in the Cupertino Union School District. Lawson's official colors are maroon, navy, and silver. Lawson's mascot is the lightning bolt. Their first principal was former Eaton Elementary principal, Cici O'Donnell. Cici O'Donnell retired after the 2006-2007 school year ended. The current principal of Lawson is Karl Sonntag from Santa Clara Unified School District. There are 71 staff members at Lawson.

On June 15th, 2007, Lawson graduated the Class of 2007, its first graduating class, composed of approximately 250 eighth grade students. Most of those students will be going to Cupertino High School, Monta Vista High School, and Homestead High School.

Academics

Lawson is ranked in the top 10% of the middle schools in the state according to the Academic Performance Index, with a score of 966 during the 2007-2008 school year, placing Lawson third in the Cupertino Union School District and fourth overall in California. There are an average of 30 students per class. Most teachers at Lawson were previously employed at other middle schools in the area around Lawson.

Electives

Lawson Middle School offers various electives for students.

Foreign languages

Lawson offers to eighth graders a language class, Mandarin 1. This class is the equivalent of a High School language class and is very challenging. However, they allow graduates to take the second level language when they enter high school. Lawson Middle School is also the only middle school with a program called CLIP (Cupertino Language Immersion Program) This program is for 6th to 8th graders with advanced Chinese instead of just starting to learn chinese. CLIP students start school from 7:20 instead of 8:15 for more Chinese academics.

Physical Fitness

Lawson has required Physical Fitness classes for all of its students. Students do the usual activities, such as pushups, crunches, and running . There were new activities, however, such as speedball, lacrosse, and volleyball. The activities tried to promote teamwork by having students play in teams. Eighth graders also had a swing dancing unit.

Social Studies

Lawson has a Social Studies program designed to prepare students for today's global world. It teaches different cultures, histories, and geographies. The classes are filled with simulations and activities instead of having students read and memorize facts all day. Students enjoy these simulations and learn at the same time .

Mathematics

Lawson has a mathematics course designed to challenge students. For sixth graders, two courses, Math 6 and Pre-Algebra, are offered. Your placement for those classes depends on a placement test taken in 5th grade, with another test taken in 6th grade for your placement in 7th grade. Over the summer of any year at Lawson, students may take a challenge test to determine if they can skip a course in mathematics. Seventh graders take either Pre-Algebra A, Pre-Algebra AB, or Algebra I. Eighth graders will be assigned classes based on their seventh grade mathematics class, and their performance in it. Most Pre-Algebra A students advance to Algebra IA, while Pre-Algebra AB students advance mostly to Algebra I. Algebra I students will advance to Geometry in eighth grade. Lawson's Mathematics constantly involves hands-on learning, involving experiments and creative assignments.

Language Arts

Lawson has an English class that teaches students the English language. Students were engaged in making movies, radio broadcasts, doing projects, and reading books. Technology from the EETT fund also helped to modernize Language Arts. Notebook computers in the classroom allowed students to better understand the material studied in the class through technology.

Science

Lawson's science classes teach students about the world surrounding them. Students participate in hands-on experiments and activities to gain a deeper understanding of their curriculum. Students in sixth grade learn earth science, while students in seventh grade learn biology. Eighth grade students learn a wide variety of subjects ranging from electricity to astronomy to physics. The curriculum for eighth grade students is designed to prepare them for the high school science courses.

Music program

Lawson has a choir, three bands (beginning, concert, and symphonic), and three orchestras (beginning, string, and chamber). Students must be in a previous class to be eligible for a more advanced class; however, a student who demonstrates ability can audition for a higher class. All advanced music classes take an annual trip to Disneyland, to perform in a studio.

Lawson's music program makes many performances during the year for both the student body and parents. The students participating in the music program practice year-round for these performances.The first performance is the Lawson Boosters Concert. Beginning band and orchestra don't participate. It is mainly to help the music program earn money. The year's first official performance is usually the Winter Concert, followed by a Pops Concert. The last performance is the Spring concert.

Journalism & Yearbook

The Current

Lawson's school newspaper, The Current, won first place in the 2007 Scholastic Corporation Press Association Contest. They were one of the three middle schools in the United States to win this special award. The Current is published by seventh and eighth grade students in the Journalism class. Originally an after-school club with fourteen members and one issue a year, journalism became an elective course in 2006-2007 and published three issues that year. Recently in the 2007-2008 school year however, journalism became an after-school club once again, with one circulation that year.

The Bolt

The Lawson Yearbook, first produced in the 2005-2006 school year by the Yearbook club, is entitled "The Bolt". Yearbook became an elective class in 2006-2007. The Lawson yearbook is separated into 4 sections that cover the different aspects of the school year: Student Life, People, Sports, and Academics. It is published by Herff Jones.

The Lawson Yearbook staff produced a Video Yearbook for the first time in 2007. It will be in DVD format and a supplement to the regular yearbook, which was in full color that year. Due to technical difficulties, the Video Yearbook was not available for sale as planned, however, the video was broadcast over the school and each member of the yearbook staff received a copy.

Lawson Yearbook Themes

2006 - First Impressions [Thought: This was Lawson's first year of being a school]

2007 - The Secret's Out [Thought: People knew that Lawson was a good school, and the secret was out]

2008 - 3's a Crowd [Thought: This was Lawson's third year in being a school and it was more crowded than though so]

Daily life

The Lawson Student Store, pictured at night after the Graduation Party

Daily Life at Lawson is mostly the same as that of other schools. School starts in the morning throughout the week at the same time, except that on Wednesdays school start is delayed approximate one and one-half hours, due to teacher meetings. The six periods last from 40 to 50 minutes each day, and cover the student's selected Electives Class, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education, Language Arts, and Social Studies. Students have two periods in the morning before a 20 minute break known as Brunch, and two more periods before a 35 minute lunch. The remaining two periods take place before dismissal in the afternoon. Twice a week, the Advisory Class takes place after brunch for approximately 30 minutes. The Advisory class is unique to Lawson, where students "talked about their lives, played life games, and did group activities", according to the Second Edition of the Lawson Yearbook. Also, advisories did fundraisers and activities like the Pep Rally. They participated in Hoops for Heart, a program to raise money for the American Heart Association.

Lawson Student Store

There is also a Lawson Student Store, open on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the student body. It sells three items to the students: Water Bottles for $1.50, Keyholders for $0.75, Lanyards for $4.00, and Smencils (Pencils that smell like different things) for $0.50. The student council members manage the store.

Socials and dances

Lawson has various socials and dances to reward students for their hard work. Because of the small population of students at the middle school, all students including sixth graders are permitted to attend school dances. To be eligible to attend, you must have your Lawson Student Identification card, and have no U's in citizenship, which is graded by Lawson. There is usually one dance per month, held on a Friday most of the time. Various themes of dances include Mexican Fiesta, Lu'au, and the Valentine's Dance .

W.E.B.

W.E.B. (Where Everyone Belongs) is an orientation program for new sixth grade students. Each student is assigned a WEB Group and a WEB Leader, who were originally in the first year teachers, but now eighth grade student volunteers. WEB Groups meet to discuss the new student's experiences about once a month for their entire first year. This program is designed to help sixth grade students transition from elementary school to middle school.

Lawson Student Council

The Lawson Student Council consists of 6-10 elected representatives who control a variation of things at Lawson. The Student Council is advised by an eight grade teacher, and the members of the Student Council are volunteers who attend Lawson themselves. The Student Council organizes dances and socials, controls the school budget, holds events, and helps make major decisions at the school. The Student Council represents the student body, and helps to decide what is best for all of the students.

Talent Show

Approximately around the end of the year, a talent show is held where Lawson students can express their talents and passions to Lawson with the necessary props. The talent show is a great way for students to truly reveal their backgrounds. Although it is held earlier in many other schools, Lawson's Talent Show becomes the spice for the average school routine.However there was no talent show in the 2007-2008 school year possibly they have never had this before,rumors have went of about that its first year will be the 2008-2009 school year

Lawson Idol

During the last week of school, students and teachers are given the chance to participate in an event called Lawson Idol, modeled after the popular TV show American Idol. Lawson Idol is not a singing event, however, as students and teachers lip synch and winners are selected by a vote of the student body following the event.

Sports

Lawson has been successful so far in the field of sports. They play schools such as Cupertino Middle School, Kennedy Middle School, Hyde Middle School, Miller Middle School, Columbia Middle School, Blach Middle School, Egan Middle School, Graham Middle School, Crittenden Middle School, and Sunnyvale Middle School. Lawson has teams in the following sports: Cross Country, Track and Field, soccer, basketball, wrestling, volleyball, tennis, and softball. In the 2006-2007 school year, Lawson won its first Cross Country Championship. Additionally, in the same school year, three of Lawson's volleyball teams made it to the finals. Two of which being the 6th-7th and 8th grade boys, as well as the 6th-7th grade girls. The 8th grade boys that year also placed 2nd in the track and field sectionals and only lost by 1 point. In the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year, the 8th Grade Boys Volleyball team won their first-place Championship in the VJHSAL, with an undefeated record of 11 wins and 0 losses.

School trips

Lawson Middle School has many school trips, for students who behave well and commit themselves to academic study during the year. These include:

Yosemite

Every March, eighth graders have the opportunity to take a 1 week trip to Yosemite National Park. They leave on Sunday and return on Saturday the following week. The trip begins planning in the winter of the year, and students who wish to go on the trip must attend a series of meetings. The cost for the trip is $600, however, financial assistance is provided to those who cannot afford the cost. To be eligible, students must exhibit good behavior.

Washington D.C.

Starting with the Class of 2008, eighth graders will have the opportunity to take a trip to Washington D.C. during the summer, led by an eighth grade social studies teacher.

Disneyland

Every year, members of the advanced Band and Orchestra get the opportunity to go to Disneyland and participate in the Magic Music Days program there. Also included in the fee is a visit to Medieval Times (a Medieval themed restaurant), and a 2-day park hopper pass at Disneyland.

University of the Pacific

Beginning Band and Orchestra members take a trip to UoP once a year to visit the Lawson Band teacher's University and have a 2 to 3 hour session with the UoP conductor.

Demographics

Ethnic/Racial Percent

African American (not of Hispanic origin)           0.4
American Indian or Alaska Native                    0.2 
Asian                                              69.9 
Filipino                                            0.9 
Hispanic or Latino                                   .3 
Pacific Islander                                    0.0 
White (not of Hispanic origin)                     26.8

Parent Education Level

  Percentage with a response                        185 
  Of those with a response:   
    Not a high school graduate                    33
    High school graduate                              25
    Some college                                     44
    College graduate                                  74
    Graduate school                                  61

External links

• Official Page
• PTA Website
• Sports Boosters Website
• EETT