March 8, 2018

Dear Rowe School families,

We hope this message finds you ready to get back out and enjoy a bit more of winter. The children certainly embrace fresh snow on the playground. It is amazing to see the cooperation and collective creativity they utilize to build various structures with snow. At this point, we know spring can’t be too far away. Please don’t forget to set your clocks ahead on Saturday evening, March 10th.

Science in kindergarten

The kindergarten children learned about light and energy last week. They participated in four experiments, as well as a presentation and group discussion. Classroom teachers, parent volunteers, and our district science consultant, Debbie Landry, made this opportunity possible for all children in kindergarten. I was able to drop in to see the work in action. The level of interest and engagement in the room was amazing. The students had opportunities to predict, record final results, and to note their observations.

Grade 1 Footprints presentation

Karyn MacNeil and Lori Madden from Yarmouth Community Services are in the process of doing thirty minute presentations in each of our first grade classrooms. They are teaching children how to identify animal tracks they may see in their own backyards, woods, local parks, etc. The fresh snow should provide opportunities for children to try out what they learn in this presentation. They are using the children’s picture book Over and Under the Snow as a springboard for discussion and are using models of animal tracks to allow students to practice their track identification skills.

Author visit

As I mentioned previously, we are looking forward to our visit with Maine author Lynn Plourde later this month. I have worked with Lynn in the past and she is a truly amazing presenter and teacher. She shares some of her own experiences as a writer, takes children through some of the writing process, and shares writing tips or strategies. I am so grateful to our PTO for providing this rich opportunity for our children.

Rowe Show

The Rowe Show starring our first graders will be happening on Wednesday, April 11 at 6:30 pm. It will be held in the YPAC at Yarmouth High School. Student performers need to arrive by 6:15.

Bus notes and the dismissal process

If your child has varying destinations at the end of the school day, we ask that you send a bus note each day. This includes any and all after school activities. Our bus drivers need to see a note to be sure they deliver all children to the correct destinations. Thanks in advance for the help!

Technology update

Kindergarten and First Grade classes have started using the KIBO robots generously provided by the YEF. Each classroom will have one KIBO as part of learning about math and science through combining commands into programs and designing solutions to problems. For an explanation of the process of programming the KIBO robot you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_WSE3Djmc0.

News from Jill Webber, school nurse

Please follow this link for guidelines in dealing with illness.

https://docs.google.com/docume...

School spirit days

Please note that we plan to have the following special "School Spirit" days coming up in the month of March:

*Friday, March 9 - Wacky/Mismatched Sock Day

*Friday, March 16 - School Color Day (navy and white)

*Friday, March 23 - Mismatched Outfit Day

More dates to note:

March 15th       7:00 pm          PTO mtg in the YES library

March 16th       4:00               Open rehearsal at YPAC for Yarmouth’s Got Talent

    7:00               Evening performance of YGT

March 28th       6:30               Parent information night for Fall ’19 kindergarten  

April 11th         6:30               Rowe Show - First graders perform at the YPAC

Friday, April 13th-Friday, April 20th Spring Break-No school

Sincerely,

Susan Lobel, Principal