Rowe School

June 4, 2019

Dear Rowe Families,

It is hard to believe that the 2018-19 school year is quickly coming to a close! We had a busy month in May and are looking forward to more activities and celebrations before we leave for the summer. Our May Community Meeting last week focused on ACES -All Children Exercising Simultaneously, a nationally recognized fitness initiative. Mr. Lipman and two of our learning center teachers, Mrs. Saxe, and Mrs. Flanagan hosted. We all had an opportunity to exercise together and to sing songs that went along with the theme of fitness for all.

We had Coastal Carol from Coastal Encounters here for the intertidal buffet of sea life with the kindergarten children.  This is an amazing, hands-on opportunity for the students to learn about and meet a variety of sea creatures and plants. First graders spent a morning with Carol and her assistant learning about horseshoe crabs. Both of these experiences are part of the school-wide Ocean Studies Unit. We will be taking our annual school-wide trip to Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth, this Friday, June 7th to wrap up the ocean unit.

News from PTO

Paper-Based Directory or Online Directory? Please take this 20-second poll to tell us whether you think we should continue with our second year of the online school directory or go back to paper-based. https://forms.gle/X8zNaaakPqqgXuDh6

Hannaford Gift Card Fundraiser – Due June 5, noon. The last load date of the school year! Stock up to get yourself through the summer while supporting our schools at the same time.

Ice Cream Social – June 5, 6:00-7:30 pm at Rowe School. Ice cream! Book fair! Raffle baskets! It takes a crew of people to bring this beloved event to our children and community. If you can spare an hour, please sign up at https://signup.com/go/JVQZuFp. Community service hours apply to: hanging artwork, scooping ice cream, acting as a floater/helper, setting up/taking down. (Please bring cash! Tickets for ice cream will be CASH ONLY.)

June PTO Meeting – June 13, 4 pm, YES library. We will be presenting our proposed 2019/2020 budget. Please join us!

Save the Date – We know the last thing you want to think about is next school year, but for the planners out there - save the date for our first ever Welcome Back Picnic! We invite families from YES, HMS, and Rowe Schools for a get-together in Royal River Park on Sunday, Sept 8, 12-2pm. Please bring a picnic lunch, blanket, and lawn games/toys to share. Rain date is Sunday, Sept 15, 12-2pm. OK, onward to summer!

Thank You for an Incredible Year! – Without your volunteered time and financial support, we would not have been able to provide our school community with all that is listed here. Our district is so strong, in part, because of how involved you are willing to be. We look forward to working with you next school year. Hope you have a wonderful summer!

Comments or Suggestions for Next Year? Please reach out to Jessica Raimy and Christy Hayashida at christinehayashida@hotmail.com. We welcome ALL feedback.

Message from Yarmouth Education Foundation

The Yarmouth Education Foundation Clipper Honors program is back! It is a great end-of-year gift for Yarmouth School Department employees. Donate $25 or more in honor of a special educator, and your honoree will receive a YEF certificate of appreciation, a note from your family, and a beautiful succulent plant from Estabrook’s. Place your order online, and YEF will take care of the rest. The YEF website is www.yarmoutheducationfoundation.org and the order deadline is June 7. Don’t forget teachers, administrators, support staff, bus drivers, and more! YEF volunteers will deliver your gifts on June 12.

Yarmouth March for the Ocean, June 8th

Tracy Weinrich and Merry Stuhr are hosting the second annual, school-sanctioned (non-political) Yarmouth March for the Ocean (YM4O) on June 8th!

Please see the YM4O website for details, guidelines and the RSVP form.  (You are strongly encouraged to register ahead of time so that we can keep the Yarmouth Police Department informed of the group size, and have enough snacks at the end of the March.)

Here is a quick summary:

WHEN: June 8, 2019, from 9:30 to approx. 10:30

WHERE:  Cousins Island (beginning with beach activities and displays at Sandy Point Beach), with a walk ("march") to Madeleine Point, a distance of 1.5 miles.

WHY:  To CELEBRATE and EDUCATE about our one precious ocean!

PARKING: Along Cousins Street and on Madeleine Point Road.  BEST option: We've been granted special permission to use the power plant turnaround lot on the corner of Wharf Road and Cousins Street with FREE shuttle service!  Please consider earth-friendly ways, like carpooling, to join us for YM4O.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW:

• We are trying to make this as plastic-free as possible, so please consider bringing your own reusable water bottle.

• BLUE is the color of the day, so WEAR BLUE.

• Face painting will be available (with earth-friendly face paints)!

• There will be beach activities and a beach cleanup (bring gloves if you have them).

• We will have displays and craft activities (to encourage balloon alternatives) in the Sandy Point parking lot.

• People are encouraged to wear an ocean-themed costume, create a small float (on a pulled wagon) or make some other type of (non-political) display that shows a message about caring for our ocean.

• This event coincides with World Oceans Day!

Please help spread the word to students, friends, and family! Students who are 13 years and older may sign up on the web site.  HMS students who are younger than 13 can sign up on this internal Google doc (the link is also on the HMS Library web page). Students in 4th grade or below will need to have an adult with them, and the adult will need to complete the RSVP form.

Show that you care about the ocean and join us on June 8th.  The ocean - OUR ocean - is important to our community and our world!

Merrill Memorial Library

Please check out the link for information on summer reading fun and activities at the Merrill Memorial Library on Main Street in Yarmouth. Summer Events at MML

Dates to note:

  • Wednesday, June 5th       6:00-7:30          Book Fair and Ice Cream social in the Rowe gym
  • Friday, June 7th - All day school field trip to Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth
  • Thursday, June 13th 4:00-5:00 PTO meeting in the YES library
  • Tuesday, June 18th Step -Up day for rising first and second graders
  • Wednesday, June 19th Last day of school -  *Students will be dismissed at 12:00

From all of us here at Rowe, thank you for the privilege of working with your children each day!

Sincerely,

Susan Lobel, Principal