Rowe PTO News

• CANCELED 2/6: PTO Meeting CANCELED

• 2/7: No School
• 2/12: Pokemon Night at 5:45pm in the Rowe Cafeteria
• 3/4: Rowe Community Bake at Flatbread Pizza
• 4/5: Rowe Night at the Mariners
• 4/12: RoweFest (Save the Date - Details to Follow)

Due to the storm, the PTO meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 6th is canceled. The PTO will work with Superintendant Scallon to reschedule his attendance for a meeting at a later date.

Join us for the 2nd Annual Pokemon Night at Rowe Wednesday, February 12th at 5:45pm! Kids will have a chance to make a binder to keep their cards, trade cards, get new ones and more!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

We need people to help with basic set up and to act as event monitors. We won’t be able to have this event if we don’t have volunteers. Please sign up HERE or email Emily Davis at communitybuilding@roweschoolpto.org if you’re able to help make this awesome event happen.

Get ready for some action-packed hockey and help support the Rowe Elementary PTO! On Saturday, April 5th, at 6:00 PM, we’ll be running a concession stand fundraiser during the Maine Mariners Hockey Game. Not only will you be enjoying fast-paced hockey, but you’ll also be helping raise funds for our local community. And the best part? We’ve got a special discounted rate just for Rowe Elementary students and families!

Bring your friends, family, and fellow Mariners fans—let’s make it a game to remember while supporting a great cause.

📅 When: Saturday, April 5th at 6:00 PM

📍 Where: Maine Mariners Hockey Game

Rowe Elementary PTO Fundraiser at the Maine Mariners

Join the Rowe Community at Flatbread for a fundraiser for the PTO! It will be Tuesday March 4th from 5:00 - 9:00 pm. Come and get some!

If you or anyone you know works at an organization or business that wants to be a corporate sponsor for this year's RoweFest, please pass their information along to Melanie/Jay at fundraising@roweschoolpto.org. Our corporate sponsors help offset the costs to make RoweFest happen and really make this a community event with lots of fun games to be had. We have a lofty goal and would appreciate any help to get us there.

Save the date: RoweFest (formerly known as SpringFest) will be on Saturday, April 12. This is a way to celebrate the Rowe community with a fun-filled day of games and events. Look for a return of favorites like Bounce Houses, Games, Win a Cake, and the Prize Tent! If you are interested in joining the 2025 RoweFest planning committee, please contact Co-Chair Amy Sweeney at amyjosweeney@gmail.com.

Get ready for the Rowe PTO 2025 Calendar Raffle! We will be selling raffle tickets starting in April (and at RoweFest!) with drawings happening in May.

We have some great prizes lined up this year and there is still time to donate! If you or any businesses you know would like to contribute to this year’s calendar raffle please email fundraising@roweschoolpto.org.

Portland Public Schools is starting the budget process for next school year (FY26).

The School Board is holding a Public Forum on the FY26 School Budget on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 6 p.m. Members of the community are welcome to share their input on budget priorities for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year! You can attend in person at Casco Bay High School or virtually at tinyurl.com/FY26Pub

The Rowe PTO encourages families to stay involved in the process and to support a budget that supports the Rowe community. To learn more about the FY2026 budget process, click here for key dates and other information.

If you would like to receive more detailed updates about the budget process and ways to get involved in advocating for Rowe’s needs, please contact Rowe parents Lara Rosen (lara.rosen@gmail.com) and Brittany Peats (brpeats@gmail.com) to opt in to the regular updates they share.

The PTO is excited to be launching a pilot session of a new after-school enrichment program at Rowe, with clubs scheduled to begin meeting after February break. Club registration for this session has now closed and placements are being finalized by lottery this week. If you registered your student(s), you will hear from our enrichment committee soon about placements or waitlisting.

The enthusiasm has been tremendous and registration has far exceeded our capacity for this pilot session. That means this kind of programming is in high demand! But it also means not everyone will get a spot this time.

The PTO currently hopes to have a second Spring 2025 session that will begin the week of April 28th, with the hope of expanding the offerings and growing the program over time.

If you might like to volunteer to run a club in a future session, or if you have any ideas, questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to the enrichment committee at Enrichment@roweschoolpto.org.

Parents are invited to sign up for the Rowe School Directory to connect with other families. This directory is meant for social purposes, such as organizing birthday parties, car pools, and other similar activities. Please be mindful of this when reaching out to other families.

Sign up here to start connecting with fellow parents! For questions or edits, please email vicepresident@roweschoolpto.org.

Support the PTO by joining our monthly giving program and becoming a Rowe Champion! The PTO provides vital funding to our teachers and staff for enrichment programming, field trips, classroom supplies, and school safety projects. As just a few examples, the PTO last year:

• Helped fund the new fence at the school to improve student safety

• Provided Puberty Packs for all 4th Grade Students

• Funded 3d Grade field trip to Portland Ovations and Maine Wildlife Park

• Funded 2d Grade field trip to the Children’s Museum and new books

• Paid for supplies for 1st Grade classes to raise chicks and build bird curriculum

• Sponsored the Kindergarten Passamoquody guest speaker

Please consider giving $10 per month for each student you have at Rowe, and, if you have the capacity, please consider giving an extra $10 to support another student. Become a Rowe Champion today!

The PTO is sharing the following request from a group of parents/educators who are not affiliated directly with Portland Public Schools, Rowe Elementary School, or the Rowe PTO:

We are a small but dedicated group of Portland parents and educators (Rowe and King parents, and Deering and Casco Teachers) committed to fostering a healthy learning environment by supporting thoughtful cell phone and technology policies in Portland Schools. We are advocating for 100% phone-free campuses for students in all Portland Schools. Specifically, in the short term, we support successful, consistent enforcement of current middle school phone-free policies district-wide, as well as the development of a phone-free plan for all Portland high schools.

To better understand community interest and enhance our efforts, we invite you to fill out this brief google form. Your participation will be invaluable in shaping our initiatives and growing our community!

Please click the link below to share your thoughts and be in touch.

Link

We look forward to hearing from you and we value your perspective!

Check out the Rowe PTO calendar for 2024-2025 here.

The Portland Public Schools News and Calendar for 2024-2025 is here.

Each year we raise approximately $30,000 (about $65 per student) to support classroom supplies, books, field trips, families in need, ad more.

You can help by:

Make a direct donation

Join Rowe Champions by setting up a monthly donation

Buy spirit wear

Use PTO Clynk bags for cans and bottles

Support our fundraisers

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