Rowe PTO News

• Saturday, May 31: Community Garden Clean Up, 9 am - 12 pm
• Sunday, June 1: Pre-K / K Playdate, 1:30-3:00 pm
• Thursday, June 5: Jump Into Learning Night, 5:30-6:30 pm (School Event)
• Friday, June 6: Rowe Night at the Sea Dogs
• Sunday, June 8: 3rd/4th Grade Playdate, 1-2:30 pm
• Wednesday, 6/11: PTO Meeting with Elections, 6 pm - Rowe Library / Zoom
• Thursday, 6/12: Field Day (School Event)
• Tuesday, 6/17: Last Day of School, 12:30 pm Dismissal

Please join us for our final PTO meeting of the year on June 11, 2025, at 6 pm. The meeting will be hybrid via Zoom and in the Rowe Library. Childcare for school-aged children and snacks provided!

We will hear briefly from Rowe’s new principal (Joe Trivisonno) and will be electing officers for the 2025-2026 PTO Board. The current slate of nominees is as follows

President: Ashley Eiler

Vice President: Jess Hsu

Treasurer: Janna Stefanowicz

Secretary: Molly Hemkens

Fundraising: Melanie Caldwell & Jay Weinberg

Community Building: Kayla Theriault & Jessica James

Enrichment: Jill King

We will take additional nominations from the floor at our June Meeting. If you would like to be involved, we still have room on the Board for positions, or you can take on a smaller role. Please contact Ashley at president@roweschoolpto.org if you would like to learn more about how you can get involved!

Come join us for some grade level playdates!

Catch the Sea Dogs in Action!

Join us on Friday, June 6 at 6:00 PM as the Portland Sea Dogs face off against the Hartford Yard Goats at Delta Dental Park in Portland, ME. Don’t miss an exciting night of baseball, food, and family fun!

Purchase your tickets by June 3 at 11:59 PM EDT. FEVO Enterprise - Ticket Sales

A huge thank you to all who participated in the May 2025 PTO calendar raffle and all the businesses who sent in items. Happy to report we had several student winners from the donated classroom bundles! We have had a few no replies from winners so please check your email or junk mail for anything from fundraising@roweschoolpto.org.

Outgoing Board Members

A huge thank you to our outgoing PTO Board Members, Audrey Bartholemew and Emily Davis.

• Audrey has served as our Secretary for the past two years, which marks her second stint on the Rowe/Hall PTO! She helped us get newsletters out month after month, and was instrumental in many favorite Rowe events like Family Science Night and Craft & Quest.

• Emily has served as the Co-Chair for Community Building for the past two years, and has helped lead the charge on so many events, ranging from Popsicles on the Playground to Pokemon Night to Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week.

We will miss having you as part of our Board, and are grateful for your service to the Rowe Community!

Volunteer Superstars

So many parents and community members have made this school year another success for the PTO! A few specific shout-outs:

• Mike Best, who so graciously planned and organized Craft & Quest in the fall, Pokemon Night in the Spring, AND contributed significantly to RoweFest!

• Amy Sweeney, who bravely and ably took on the task of leading RoweFest this year as we revamped portions to make it a weather-proof event.

• Jill King, who launched our first Enrichment Programming this year and joined the PTO Board mid-way through the year to steer this exciting new initiative. (Also thanks to Maya Lena who did some early legwork on this project).

• Molly Hemkens, who has provided graphics support throughout the year (including designing our Walk-a-Thon stickers) and who organized a very successful Happy Wheels Night! (Shout out to Steve Hemkens for serving as our Rocky on skates!)
  
  

• Steph Walsh, who provided her institutional wisdom to this year’s Board and helped with Walk-a-Thon and selling tickets at RoweFest.
  
  

• Abby Alfred & Lara Rosen, who planned a fun Community Dinner for Rowe students and families.
  
  

• Lara Rosen & Brittany Peats, who again this year kept us informed and up to date about advocacy opportunities and the 25-26 PPS Budget.

• Meg Farrell & Nikki Anderson, who led the Bus Bike and Bike/Roll to School Day!
  
  

• Rania Campbell-Bussiere, Liz Heasly, and Kayla Theriault who led the Greening Committee this year!

• Damon Yakovleff, who provided regular updates at our PTO meetings about the work of the PPS Boundaries Committee.
  
  

• Room Parents: Thanks to all of our Room Parents for helping build community and support our teachers throughout the year.
  
  

• PTO Board: A huge thank you to our entire Rowe PTO Board for the many hours and the countless ways that they contributed this year:

• Ashley Eiler, President

• Jess Hsu, Vice President

• Janna Stefanowicz, Treasurer

• Audrey Bartholemew, Secretary

• Melanie Caldwell & Jay Weinberg, Co-Fundraising Chairs

• Kayla Theriault & Emily Davis, Co-Community Building Chairs

• Jill King, Enrichment Chair

5th Grade Parents

A special thank you to the following 5th Grade Parents who have been long-time PTO volunteers and whose youngest child is graduating from Rowe this year:

• Sarah Gelinas, who is always willing to manage the timer on the bounce house during Winterfest/Springfest events.

• Amy Hayes, who has led Gardening Committee efforts for years!

• Katie Howard, who has been actively involved in the calendar raffle and fundraising efforts throughout her time at Rowe.

• Mary Labady, who has been an integral part of WinterFest/SpringFest for years (including by organizing the Teacher Raffle).

• Meghan Torrieri, who was the leader for WinterFest/SpringFest for many years and put in hours of her time to make those events a success!
  
  

• Louis Torrieri, who has helped the PTO in many, many ways over the years, including by setting up the website and helping with WinterFest/SpringFest.
  
  

• Amy Vanasse, who is a stellar time keeper during Winterfest/Springfest events and willing to take on various volunteer roles.

• Maxine Vela, who has been a volunteer during Springfest for the past several years.

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