October 30, 2020
Dear Rowe Families,
October has flown by and we can certainly feel the change in temperature as we approach November. Our addition to the back of the school is coming along nicely and will open in late December if all goes according to schedule. This will allow us to remove the portable classrooms behind the school. The first grade classes currently housed off the atrium will be moving to the new addition so that art and music can return to their original spaces. A number of other staff will move, such as our learning center staff and our occupational therapist. This will take place over the holiday break, again, if all goes according to plan with the completion of the construction. The remainder of moves to the new addition will happen at the end of the school year.
Dressing for the weather
The cool air certainly arrived suddenly this week! Please be sure to send your child with a warm coat and a lighter layer in case it warms up. We are also opening windows in the classroom when possible and a light layer for inside is helpful. Please be sure to write your child’s name on the inside of coats, hats, mittens, along with boots and snow pants once all of that gear is needed. This will allow us to return items that end up in the lost and found in a timely manner. Names on lunch boxes and water bottles is a good idea, too. Thanks for your help!
Reminder: Fundraiser for the Rowe School library on Sunday!
Our local bookstore, Royal River Books, is hosting a fundraiser for our school library on November 1, 2020. Please read on for the details from Amy McNaughton, Yarmouth resident and owner of Royal River Books.
On Sunday, November 1st, 20% of all sales at Royal River Books will go directly to the Rowe School library.
The store will be open from 10 am - 5 pm.
Masks required. Please limit your visit to 30 minutes or less.
Limit of 10 customers in the store at a time.
We offer books, unique gifts (many made in Yarmouth), cards, calendars, puzzles, holiday items and more! Please come check out our inventory.
Thank you for supporting your school library and your local bookstore!
Royal River Books
355 Main Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096
NOTE: On street parking and parking behind the building is available.
207-846-8006
Picture retakes
We are excited to be able to offer the opportunity for ALL your students to have a school picture, so we have scheduled an OPEN RETAKE DAY!
The date will be November 14, 2020 at several locations throughout our school communities from 9am-3pm by appointment only. Please see attachment for details.
The facilities do have strict COVID19 guidelines for safety of all; to reduce the risk of contact between individuals. If gatherings are too large, we will unfortunately be forced to end this event. Please adhere to these rules:
-Please remain in vehicle until your scheduled appointment time
-Only one person allowed in building with student
-If you are not present at your scheduled time, we will not be able to accommodate your appointment.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kathy Pelkey
Account Coordinator
Geskus Studio & Yearbook Publishing
Important dates to note:
Wednesday, November 11th -Veteran’s Day, No School or remote learning
Wednesday November 25th - Friday, November 27th - Thanksgiving holiday, No School
Wednesday, December 23rd - Friday, January 1st - No School, holiday break
Please read on for more information from the Yarmouth Community Food Pantry, Yarmouth Community Assistance Network (YCAN), and the K-8 PTO.
Thanksgiving Meal assistance from the Yarmouth Food Pantry
Attached please find a form for requesting a Thanksgiving meal from the Yarmouth Community Food Pantry. This year we will be providing a gift card for families to purchase their own turkey at Hannaford. We are also providing a choice of in-person socially distanced, and mask required pick up or home delivery. The attached form outlines the details.
This form is due back no later than November 12, 2020 via email. You can email it to the contact below. Don’t hesitate to let her know if you have any questions. She has provided her home email address in case you need to reach her.
Contact: Anne Ball
Assistance for the December holidays from Yarmouth Community Services
The Project Holiday Committee has started preparing for our annual event. Please see the attached 2020 application form to Yarmouth parents. We are accepting applications from Monday, November 2 through Friday, November 20.
PTO News
Hannaford Gift Cards (HGC) – Next load is Tuesday, Nov 17 by 12 pm. Forms will be sent home with YES and Rowe students, or you can print one: HGC Form. HGC is a fundraiser in which you buy a Hannaford gift card, receive the full amount, and the PTO receives 5% of your gift card amount. Easy and free to you!
Teacher Appreciation – We asked for your help in celebrating Yarmouth K-8 staff, and you responded so generously, raising over $4,300! Thank you! This was enough to give each staff member a gift card for lunch at either Bruce’s or Clayton’s. This year, given the above-and-beyond asks of our bus drivers and crossing guards, we included them as well. We will have enough funds left over to provide additional support to staff and will be discussing with principals any staff needs and wants. All leftover funds will go to staff, as opposed to other PTO initiatives. We’ll keep you updated!
Make It Take It Craft Fair – As you’ve probably guessed, due to social gathering restrictions, we cannot hold our annual craft fair this year. We didn’t want to leave you completely empty-handed, so we compiled a few gift ideas that students can make for family and friends. We hope your children enjoy making these simple crafts: Make-It Take-It - At Home: Craft Ideas. We look forward to gathering next year!
School Directory – The PTO is waiting to receive data from the administration in order to create the PTO School Directory, which will contain the contact information of opt-in families. Opt-in families are those who agree to share their information with the PTO. The information of families who do not opt-in will not be in the PTO School Directory. Digital forms that will allow you to opt in if you wish to do so will be coming to you soon. This year, we will again provide both an online and printed directory. The printed directory will be $6 or $7 depending on the number of orders we receive. This is not a fundraiser but a service we provide to parents. We’ll keep you posted on next steps to take once we receive data from administration.
PTO Meeting – Please feel free to join us at our next meeting on Thursday, Nov 19 at 7 pm. A link to the virtual meeting will be on our Facebook page and website closer to the date.
Questions about any of the above can be sent to Christy Hayashida and Jessica Raimy at yarmouthpto04096@gmail.com. We check email daily.
Sincerely,
Susan Lobel, Principal
