Rowe August Update

Wednesday, September 3rd, is the start of early dismissal Wednesdays.
Students will be dismissed at 2:30.

Hello Families!

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year at Rowe! We are excited to embark on another year of learning, growth, and community together.

Please find our 2025-2026 Handbook linked below. We ask that you take a moment to review this document, as it contains important information about our school policies and procedures. In particular, we would like to highlight a few key areas that we believe are especially important for all families to keep in mind:

At the elementary school level, students are strongly encouraged to leave their devices at home, as there will be no dedicated device storage in the school. Should a student bring a device to school, it must be kept off and inaccessible in the student’s bag in their cubby throughout the school day.

Regular school attendance is essential to academic success. Because the process of education depends upon exposure to subject matter, continuity of instruction and class participation, absence from class is detrimental to student learning. The interaction of students with the tour staff and with other students contributes to mastery of content, critical thinking, and development of effective communication and social skills. Frequent absences and/or tardiness causes children to miss the full benefits of planned educational activities. Please make every attempt to have your child at school on time. Your child should be in their classroom by 8:55am for a 9:00 am start.

Parents and legal guardians are responsible for school attendance of students who are under 17 years of age. You are expected to notify the school office if your child will be absent, tardy, or dismissed early from school.

Please email rowemainoffice@portlandschools.org if your child will be absent or has any changes to their dismissal arrangements.

We LOVE honoring students on their birthdays and for other special achievements, which we do consistently at Rowe.

We have decided not to have any food or gifts in our classrooms for celebrations during school hours.

This does not mean that our children will forgo class celebrations. Instead of food, students have made craft projects during celebrations, like birthday crowns. Some teachers wrap their desks like a present or assign special privileges, like being the line leader for the day. We have seen many creative ways to honor students on “their special day” without putting pressure on parents to send expensive cards, treats, or gifts.

We want our school to be a safe and comfortable environment for all students, and we have done this for several reasons, which reflect our value of respect for all:

1. To make classroom celebrations more equitable and minimize disruption to the teaching day

2. To minimize non-nutritious foods being brought into school and allow individual parents the opportunity to control how much and which foods their children eat during the school day

3. To increase the sensitivity of our community to the needs of our students who have health issues that affect their food intake - this includes students who have diabetes, as well as those students who have severe food allergies or celiac disease

8:35 am Playground supervision begins

8:35-8:50 am Arrival and morning recess on the playground for all students

8:50-9:00 am Children enter school and their classrooms

9:00 am Student learning day begins

3:30 pm - Dismissal

Chrissy joins Portland Public Schools after years of working as a nurse in Endoscopy, Anesthesia Recovery and Pediatric Intensive Care. Before becoming a Registered Nurse, she spent seven years working in environmental education at Teton Science Schools in Wyoming, leading immersive, place-based learning experiences in the outdoors. Her time as an educator instilled a deep appreciation for curiosity, connection, and resilience—values she brings into her nursing practice every day.

Chrissy enjoys mountain biking, skiing, sea kayaking, and growing vegetables in her garden,. She is excited to join the Rowe Elementary School community of students, families, teachers and administrators.

Our morning supervision begins promptly at 8:35. Please do not drop students off before this time to ensure a safe and organized start to the school day.

Please park your car and walk to the school grounds to pick up/drop off students.

Please do not pull up beyond the red line on the right-hand side of the parking lot when dropping off or picking up by car.

Please be respectful of the pre-k-only spots in our parking lot. These designated spots allow the families of our youngest learners to load in/out of their vehicles.

Adults waiting for students at the end of the day should wait on the basketball court. Waiting in front of the entrance causes a lot of traffic jams for the lines of students walking out to the buses.

Students are expected to depart school grounds or be supervised by a parent/guardian.

Please do not park on Purchas Street during these times. The congestion is creating unsafe conditions for walking students, and we need to ensure a clear path for them. Additionally, the Rowe back gate must remain clear and accessible for any deliveries.

To help with this, we will place orange cones as a reminder not to park in these areas. We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain a safe and smooth arrival and dismissal for all.

Your partners at Rowe,

Mr. T and Mrs. Richard