Rowe PTO News

• Thursday, 5/1: PTO Meeting, 6 pm - Zoom ONLY!

• Friday, 5/2: Bike Bus Returns!

• Friday, 5/2: Happy Wheels Night, 5-7 pm

• Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

• Sunday, 5/4: Chalk the Walk, 2-4 pm

• Monday, 5/5: Bouquet Bar

• Tuesday, 5/6: Breakfast Buffet

• Thursday, 5/8: Hydration Station

• Friday, 5/16: Bike to School Day

• Wednesday, 6/11: PTO Meeting with Elections, 6 pm - Rowe Library / Zoom

Our next PTO Meeting will take place on Thursday, May 1 at 6 pm and will be REMOTE ONLY VIA ZOOM. Come hear an update about the principal search, and other PTO news.

If you are interested in becoming more involved in the Rowe community, we encourage you to join the PTO Board! We will be nominating officers for next school year at our May 1st PTO meeting (which will be over Zoom), with elections to take place at our June 11th PTO meeting. Please contact Ashley at president@roweschoolpto.org if you would like to learn more about how you can get involved! We have several Board openings for next year.

Save the Date - Happy Wheels Night: Enjoy a night with the Rowe community at Happy Wheels on Friday, May 2, from 5-7pm. Open to all students, families, staff, and friends. $11 admission, includes skates. A portion of each ticket sold will come back to the PTO so we can say yes to supporting field trips, classroom supplies, student clubs, and more! Happy Wheels is at 3 Chabot St, Westbrook, ME 04092. If you would like to wear a helmet, please bring your own!

Contact Molly Hemkens (mollyhemkens@gmail.com) with any questions.

Save the date for Rowe’s celebration of National Bike to School Day on Friday, May 16! Details to come. Also, look for the return of the Rowe Bike Bus later this month. We will post details on our social media pages and also flyers at the school.

Ahoy, Mateys! Join Us for a Swashbuckling Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week!

Dates: May 5th – 9th

Theme: Pirate Adventure – “Our Teachers & Staff Are Treasured!”

Prepare to set sail on a week-long voyage filled with festivities to honor our incredible teachers and staff. To make this event a treasure trove of success, we will be seeking donations and volunteer time from our community for the following themed activities. Any non-perishable items can be dropped off at school on Sunday, May 4th between 2pm and 4pm.

Sunday, May 4th 2-4pm Chalk the Walk & Donation Drop Off

Help us decorate the teacher and staff entrances with drawings and notes of gratitude to greet them when they arrive for school on Monday morning. We’ll have chalk. If you can't make it between 2:00 - 4:00pm, feel free to visit the school and decorate the sidewalk any time on Sunday.

Monday, May 5th: Bouquet Bar

What it is: A vibrant selection of flowers for our educators to create personalized bouquets.

Seeking: Donations of fresh flowers, greenery, and new or used vases of any size. We will also need volunteers to set up the flowers and assist with the bouquet making.

Tuesday, May 6th: Breakfast Buffet

What: A hearty morning feast to energize our crew.

Seeking: Contributions of breakfast items such as pastries, fruits, yogurt, and other morning delights. Please remember we do staff who are gluten free, diary free, and/or nut free. Thank you.

Thursday, May 8th: Hydration Station

What: A refreshing assortment of beverages to keep our staff hydrated.

Seeking: Donations of drinks including bottled water, juices, flavored syrups, and drink mix packets.

How You Can Help

• Donations: Sign up to donate items. Captain's Log of Volunteers

• Volunteer: Assist with setting up or managing the event stations.

Your support will ensure our teachers and staff feel valued and celebrated. Let’s come together to show our appreciation in true pirate fashion!

For questions please contact Emily Davis or Kayla Theriault at communitybuilding@roweschoolpto.org.

Thank you for helping us make this Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week an unforgettable adventure!

Thank you to everyone who has purchased tickets for May’s Marvelous Calendar Raffle! We will be in touch with the winners directly, and will also update our social media pages with each week’s winners throughout the month. A special thank you to our Calendar Raffle Chairs Melanie Caldwell and Jay Weinberg, and their dedicated team of volunteers who helped solicit donations (David Loughran, Katherine Ureneck, Katie Howard, and Jodie Ureneck).

Thank you to all who attended RoweFest and made it such a fun day! A special thank you to our RoweFest Chair, Amy Sweeney, and to the many other volunteers who made this event possible.

Our final session of before and after-school clubs for this school year is now underway.
Thank you to everyone who has participated and helped in bringing this new programming to our Rowe community. The enthusiasm has been tremendous! We plan to have many exciting club offerings throughout the next school year as well!

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.

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. The budget process is slated to conclude on June 10, 2025, when city voters decide in a public budget referendum whether to approve the school budget. Remember to vote! Look here for information on how to obtain an absentee ballot and in-person absentee voting.

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 sharing the following information; note this is NOT an event sponsored by or affiliated with the Rowe PTO, Portland Public Schools, or Rowe Elementary School

Enjoy a casual evening out for adults with music, international appetizers, and a cash bar at Bunker Brewing Co. The Foundation for Portland Public Schools (FPPS) will present the second annual Distinguished Alumni Awards and share our appreciation for the staff of the Portland Public Schools.

What: A celebration of Portland teachers / fundraiser for FPPS

When: 5:00 pm–7:00 pm, Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Where: Bunker Brewing Co. 17 Westfield St Unit D, Portland

Tickets: bit.ly/SpringforTeachers2025

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!

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