March 1, 2022
Dear Rowe Families,
We hope you all had a relaxing break last week. It is hard to believe that March is already upon us. Our food drive in February was a huge success! We collected over 850 items between food donations and monetary contributions. Thanks to all who were able to help support the Yarmouth Community Food Pantry.
We have a busy month ahead in March. We will be doing some activities within the school to celebrate Read Across America. Some Yarmouth School Department employees who are not based at Rowe will be coming in to read to classes as guests later in the month. We also have a national consultant coming back to do some work in classrooms with teachers and students.
The week of March 21st-25th, we will be celebrating with a Kindness in Action week. As part of it, we are collecting items for Maine Needs, a non-profit organization based in Portland who strives to assist families with their basic material needs. Here is a link with ideas for how you can help if you choose to participate. Maine Needs Donations
We are going to be having a School Spirit Week as outlined below. Please make note of the focus for each day.
Spirit Week, March 21st - 25th
Monday, March 21st - Down Syndrome World Awareness Day - On our kindness kick-off day, we will wear colorful, mismatched socks to raise awareness of Down Syndrome.*
Tuesday, March 22nd - Cool to be Kind Day! Wear your hair in a crazy style or wear your favorite hat.
Wednesday, March 23rd - Be Kind to Your Community Day! Wear Blue and White for Yarmouth Pride.
Thursday, March 24th - Be Kind to Everyone Day! Mismatch Day - Wear mismatched clothes.
Friday, March 25th - Be Kind to Yourself Day! Wear your pajamas to school.
*Here is some additional information on Down Syndrome Awareness, provided by the family of a Rowe student with Down Syndrome:
In 2006, the United Nations established the first World Down Syndrome Day, to be celebrated every year on March 21st (3/21). The date is symbolic of the 3 copies of the 21st chromosome, which is the single defining trait of Down Syndrome. The way that schools and families have celebrated WDSD is by wearing "crazy, mismatched socks". The idea behind the "rock your socks" campaign is two-fold. The mismatched socks are supposed to symbolize the idea that "even if we're different, we can still go together." Secondly, they invite a conversation, which allows people to shift the cultural narrative about Down Syndrome. For a long time, the public discourse around Down Syndrome has been shaped by fear and pity, so on 3/21, when someone asks why you're wearing wacky socks, the idea is that you have the opportunity to say "to celebrate an awesome person I know who has Down Syndrome!" thereby infusing joy and positivity into the public perception.
Parent-Teacher conferences
Many Parent/Teacher conferences are happening this month. Please be sure to sign up for a conference with your child’s teacher if you haven’t already done so.
Kindergarten registration
If you have a child who will be five on or before October 15, 2022, please call Rowe School (846-3771) immediately to register your child for Kindergarten for the fall of 2022. This step needs to be completed in addition to the registration paperwork on our website. If you have friends or neighbors who have a potential 2022-2023 kindergartener, please remind them to give us a call, too!
YGT Reminder
Yarmouth Music Boosters is excited to share that this year's Yarmouth's Got Talent will take place on Friday, April 1 and will highlight some of Yarmouth's remarkably talented students from grades K-12. Auditions will be hosted by district music teachers on Monday, March 28. If you would like to try out, fill out a YGT entry form at YarmouthsGotTalent.org. Entry forms are due by Thursday, March 17.
For more details, visit YarmouthsGotTalent.org.
Dates to note:
Friday, April 15th - Friday, April 22nd- Spring break -No School
Monday, April 25th - Students return to school
Sincerely,
Susan Lobel, Rowe School Principal
