Seaton families-
I hope everyone has had a great first week back at school! I’m Swathi, this year’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president and parent to Jai (3rd grade) and Navya (1st grade). I want to welcome all parents, old and new, to Seaton’s PTO. The PTO is dedicated to improving the educational experience for all students at Seaton. We host schoolwide events, organize afterschool clubs, provide support for teachers, fund field trips and supplies, and more. Some of what we did last school year is recapped here. The PTO is 100% free to join, and all parents, teachers, and staff are automatically members. You can read more about the PTO, see our budget, read minutes of past meetings, and learn about our 2026-2027 executive board on our website: https://seatondc.org/
Apologies in advance for the length of this email. The TLDR is: 1) we’ve got a lot of fun events coming up, 2) check out our website for updates on modernization and look out for more information on potentially renaming Seaton, 3) try to send your kids to school in a uniform, buy a PTO tshirt if you hate white shirts, and 4) reach out if you’re interested in learning about volunteer opportunities!
What’s Coming Up
This year is a big one – after many years of planning, our long-awaited modernization is underway and we are that much closer to our beautiful, brand-new building. I have been so impressed with how our teachers, staff, administration, and families have made the move to swing space feel seamless. Our little Stingers seem so happy at Seaton @ KC Lewis and I’m so proud of them for taking the transition so well.
This year, we are focused on building and strengthening our community during this transitional time, recognizing that two different drop-off and pick-up locations means we may not see as much of each other in passing. We have some fun back-to-school events planned for families to meet each other and reconnect, and we are kicking off our PTO events schedule with our popular Fall Movie Night later in October.
- Back-to-School Playdate: Sunday, August 30, 10 AM – 12 PM – Seaton @ KC Lewis Playground. Juice and snacks provided!
- Back-to-School Family Brunch: Saturday, September 5, 12 – 2 PM – Lulu’s Wundergarden. Lulu’s Winegarden (owned by a previous Seaton family who remain dear Seaton friends) has reserved the front patio for a family-friendly brunch! No need to make a reservation, but if you could let us know you’re coming here, we can make sure there’s space for everyone. They are also donating 15% of the proceeds to the PTO, so please use code SEATONPTO at check-out.
- PTO Meeting: Thursday, September 10, 5:30-6:30 PM (agenda to come). The meeting will be held in the music room (201), on the second floor of the building. Child care and pizza will be provided. There is also a virtual option, here.
- Fall Movie Night: Friday, October 23, 6 – 8 PM. Mark your calendar for our annual Fall Movie Night. We’ll have the big screen out on the playground at Seaton @ KC Lewis, along with popcorn, hot chocolate, and glowsticks.
- Talent Showcase: Thursday, November 12, 5:30 – 7 PM. Get your Stingers working on their acts, more details to come closer to the event! Open to all students from PK3 – 5th, live and pre-recorded acts are fine.
- Winter Wonderland Dance: Friday, December 11, 7 – 9 PM. Our annual winter dance for 2nd – 5th graders features desserts, drinks, a photo booth, and the chance to dance the night away on a sugar high.
We are also planning some restaurant nights and happy hours for the fall, details TBD. We do our best to keep the school calendar up to date, and you can now sync it to your own calendar. You can find that here:
https://seatondc.org/calendar/
Modernization and a New School Name
As many of you know, the modernization process has been ongoing for the last year. We have completed the concept design and schematic design phases, and we have a rough sense of the layout of the site space and classroom spaces within the building. The latest site plans can be found here:
The next phase of the modernization process kicks off this fall. Seaton’s School Improvement Team (SIT) will meet later this month to learn more about the proposed interior design elements of the school. You can stay up to date on developments on our page, here: https://seatondc.org/
As for our swing space, we expect that the final touches to the playground should be complete in the next week or two, including permanent fencing. You may have noticed that there is ongoing construction on the KC Lewis field to the south of our swing space, which is a separate DPR property. That project had just started and will be complete this winter, with the field ready for the spring. The PTO is investigating how we can use that space during our time at Seaton @ KC Lewis, including for afterschool programming and school events.
Finally, as part of getting a new building, our community has been asked to look at whether Seaton should get a new school name. I’m looking forward to engaging in a community-wide discussion about this issue, and we will send out more details about this process in the coming weeks.
Uniform Policy
Seaton has a uniform policy, and all students are expected to come to school each day wearing a uniform. Seaton’s uniform is:
Tops: white polo shirts, white shirts, or any Seaton logo t-shirt.
Bottoms: Navy pants, shorts, skirts, or jumpers (below the knee).
Footwear: any closed-toe shoes. No open-toed sandals or flip-flops.
The PTO sells uniform-compliant tshirts throughout the year, including at our first PTO meeting of the year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and restocked this last week! We also host uniform swaps. We’ll send details about the first one of those soon!
How You Can Help!
Our PTO does so much to support Seaton and our students, and we’d love your help! There are a lot of ways to volunteer. You can join any of the committees listed on our website, take the lead on an event, help us solicit corporate donations or identify grant opportunities, organize donation drives (like coats or shoes), or just pitch in to take a shift on one of our events. If you’re curious, please reach out and I can help you figure out what might work! We also always welcome donations, which are tax-deductible and can be made here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/seaton-elementary-parent-teacher-organization.
That’s all for now, and I hope to see many of you this Sunday at our playdate!
