Rowe PTO News
November 2021
Important Dates
November 18 -- PTO Meeting
November 20 -- Book Swap and Winter Gear Drive
November 22 -- Winterfest Planning Meeting
December 2 & 3 -- Conferences (Students released at 12:30pm)
Book Swap and Winter Gear Drive
Join in on the fun, we'll have a lot going on! There's going to be a Book Swap, Donation Drive, and Treasure Hunt! The 5th Graders are holding a Bake Sale, and there will be free popcorn for all! Cap it all off with free Hot Cocoa generously donated by Rwanda Bean!
Book Swap!
Do you have some books or games your family has outgrown and is ready to pass on to the next generation? Bring along any children's books, board games, or puzzles you've enjoyed that are in good condition to give to a fellow Rowe student. Then bring your student along to stock up on free books or games for the winter!
*you don’t need to bring a book or game to pick one up for free!
Donation Drive!
The PTO is kindly requesting donations of clothing and non-perishable food to give to the School Nurse and Social Worker. Check out the list below for some items requested to help our Students feel their best and coziest this winter. If you are able to pick up, or have gently used items at home, please drop them by at the tent from 2-4pm on Nov 20th.
Mittens & Gloves
Winter Coats (all sizes)
Winter Boots (all sizes)
Snow Pants (sizes 7-14)
(No hats at this time)
Zipper sweaters (Med/Large)
Girls T-Shirts (All Sizes)
Boys Jogger style pants (all sizes, especially 12& up)
NEW underwear (all sizes)
NEW socks (kid's sizes)
Boys Youth Sneakers (sizes 5 & up)
New refillable Water Bottles
Lunch Boxes
Reusable Bags
Backpacks
Boxed Mac & Cheese
Single serve Mac & Cheese
Cereal
Pop tarts
Pancake Mix & Syrup
Ramen Noodles
Pasta Sauce
Granola Bars / Breakfast Bars
Popcorn
All kinds of snacks are welcome and appreciated!!!
$5 & Up: Grocery Store Gift Cards to Shaw's, Market Basket or Hannaford would be wonderful!
Treasure Hunt!
Rowe adventurers can grab a treasure map and search the playground for some hidden snowflakes! Collect them all and win a great prize!
Bake Sale!
Come help our very own Rowe 5th Graders raise money to celebrate their graduation (and enjoy some yummy baked goods!)
We still need a few volunteers, so if you are able to help out, check out our sign up or reach out to Emily & Kayla at communitybuilding@rowepto.org with any questions.
Saturday, Nov 20, 2021, 02:00 PM
Rowe School
Treasurer's Corner
All your generous donations - how exactly do they help?
At the beginning of the year we gave each teacher a small stipend for use in supplementing learning materials in their classrooms. We’ve asked them to share how you helped!
First up, Ms. Rank, our Art Teacher…
“I used my PTO funds to purchase extra soft clay to use with PreK. I also used PTO funds to purchase dot dabblers to create Yayoi Kusama inspired pumpkin art. So much fun in art!”
Generous Donation for Kids in Need
Winterfest Planning
Does your child love Winterfest? Do you like planning events? Do you like volunteering? If yes to any of these questions, please join us for a Winterfest Planning meeting on November 22 at 7pm via zoom. We will discuss some ideas to reimagine Winterfest as an outdoor-only event, and we want to know your ideas as well. Please join Kayla Theriault on this zoom call.
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 941 7699 6647 Passcode: 997162
Mark Your Calendar: March 4 Stargazing at Rowe
The PTO is excited to help support an evening "Stargazing" event on Friday, March 4 at Rowe that was initiated by Outdoor Art Teacher Jonathan Graffius. The event, led by Maine author and illustrator Jamie Hogan, will be the culmination of a school-wide author reading and celebration that will include student art and astronomy activities.
While planning is in the early stages, we want to get this event on your calendar now and enlist the help of any volunteers who are interested in being part of the organizing committee. Please email president@roweschoolpto.org to learn more.
PTO Shout Out
This month we are featuring a “historical shout out” to the artist who created the Rowe School logo, our very own Rowe dad Todd Henry. Henry, who has sons in second and fifth grade, designed the logo in 2018 with the opening and naming of our new school building.
The design was inspired by The Maine Arts Commission’s description of the school’s strong sense of community and sense of nature. Rowe draws from the largest geographic area of schools in Portland, and it sits near Capisic Brook and the Portland Trail network.
“I ultimately decided on the unique abstract sunburst (sense of nature) constructed from people (sense of community),” said Henry. “The colors blue and green represent those found throughout the school and echo Maine's four seasons.”
Henry, an artist who also possesses a “left brain” skill set, has provided crucial behind-the-scenes IT support to the PTO over the years as well. We appreciate his many contributions to Rowe School!
Record Breaking Walk-A-Thon
Thank you to all our Rowe families for making this year’s Walk-a-Thon such a huge success. Thanks to your generosity, we raised $14,087 to support our school!
A special thank you goes out to Brie O’Malley for helping to prep and oversee the event, and to all the parents who signed up to cheer on walkers and keep everyone safe. We especially enjoyed the festive hats worn by this year’s volunteer crew.
We are incredibly grateful to Gym Teacher Rene Custeau for all his time and effort to help coordinate the event, collect and tally pledges, and get students enthused for walk day.
We are pleased to announce this year’s Walk-a-Thon winners:
- PreK–2 Individual Most Laps - Ariel Pindu (Ms. Humphrey), 15 Laps
- Grade 3–5 Individual Most Laps - Colin DeBree (Mr. Forrest), 12 Laps
- PreK–2 Class with Highest Average Laps - Ms. Chambers's Class (7.06 laps/student)
- Grades 3–5 Class with Highest Average Laps - Mr. Forrest's Class (7.21 laps/student)
- Individual who collected the most donations – Lucinda Waring (Ms. Greene), $500
- PreK–2 Classroom that collected the most donations - Ms. Levesque's Class ($1,265)
- Grades 3–5 Classroom that collected the most donations - Ms. Dowdy's Class ($995) & Ms. Mirisola's Class ($992)
Congratulations to all and thank you families!
Rowe PTO has a new Instagram!
November 18 PTO Meeting
Please join our next PTO meeting on Thursday, November 18 from 6:30-7:30 via Zoom.
We’ll hear from Principal Fletcher, discuss ways to improve the PTO’s mission of inclusivity, and other updates. We’d love to hear your input, or you can simply join and listen.
If you have any topics or questions that you’d like Barb to cover, please email them to president@roweschoolpto.org. We hope to see you!
Here is the Zoom information:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82216838727?pwd=RWRuRCtrclJnYVN2dW1rTmJBVXhOQT09
Meeting ID: 822 1683 8727 Passcode: 2fWc90
In case you missed it, here is a link to the minutes from our last meeting.