Principals Message

January 2012

Dear PPE Families,

I hope you will be able to join us at our Town Hall meeting on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. in the Tiger Cafe'. Your input is vital as we work together to craft our three year strategic plan.

Please join me in congratulating Miss Amanda Spry on being chosen PPE's Teacher of the Year. Miss Spry will represent PPE in MNPS' Teacher of the Year for 2012-13. --Melinda Williams

December 2011

Dear PPE Families,

I want to share some exciting news with you. PPE was recently identified as a Reward School in the state of Tennessee.

Reward schools are 10% of all ES in the state, comprised of the following: 5% highest-performing schools in the State and/or 5% highest-progress schools in the State.

Since our reward is based on performance on the last two years of academic achievement on TCAP, we are in the top 5% of highest-performing schools in the state! I would like to thank our wonderful teachers, students and parents for making this possible.

PPE recently received some other exciting news from TPAC and Disney. We have been selected to

take part in Disney's “Musicals in Schools” program. Percy Priest ES was one of five MNPS schools selected from the list of applications submitted in October. Disney has already developed its "Musicals in Schools" program in five New York City schools. Nashville, specifically the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, was chosen out of dozens of applicant cities. More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our holiday luncheon on Wednesday. I want to thank you for your patience as we provided lunch for an additional 200 adults. Your children enjoy this special day and sharing it with their families. We are already discussing how we can make improvements for next year.

Your Partner in Education,

Mrs. Melinda Williams

October 2011
From Mrs. Williams:
Percy Priest Tigers are State Champions... again! Congratulations from the offices of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and the President’s Challenge. PPE earned the highest award for outstanding achievement in physical fitness and is distinguished as a President’s Challenge Physical Fitness State Champion for 2010-2011. A big thank you to Mrs. Dysart and Mrs. Nash for leading the way.

Congratulations is also in order to you all for helping PPE keep its title as the Nashville Scene's Best of Nashville Reader's Poll " Best Elementary School"! Way to go, Tigers!

Your partner in education,
Mrs. Melinda Williams

September 2011
From Mrs. Williams
I want to thank everyone for your patience and understanding during the first month of school. There have been a few challenges with our traffic flow, but you have been understanding as we are experiencing some minor growing pains. Hopefully, we will be able to return to our regular arrival/dismissal plan very soon.

Please take time to read today’s e-blast very carefully. It contains some important information regarding GradeSpeed’s Parent Connection and new field trip requirements.

I am excited to introduce Mrs. Jenny Pankow to our PPE families. Mrs. Pankow will become Mrs. Twitchel’s job-share partner as school counselor for this school year. You can read more about Mrs. P. in this week’s e-blast.

In closing, please join me in congratulating Mr. Brad Tanner, 2nd grade teacher, as this week’s
Tennessee Titans Teacher of the Week! We are so proud of Mr. T.!

Your Partner in Education,

Ms. Williams

August 2011

Dear Percy Priest Families,
It is indeed a pleasure to welcome both returning and new students to the 2011-12 school year! The teachers and staff are excited, and look forward to sharing many wonderful academic experiences with your children.

As we partner with you, our goal is to work together for a successful and exciting school year. Please remember Percy Priest is your school, and we welcome your involvement.

Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and kind words this week as we encountered numerous challenges in preparing for the opening of school. Your support is greatly appreciated.

In closing, please review PPE’s arrival and dismissal procedures for this school year.

Your Partner in Education,
Melinda Williams

Summer 2011

Dear PPE Family,
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer thus far. It's hard to believe we will back in less than two months. Please remind your children to access Study Island this summer. All current PPE students have a login and password.

Study Island is an online standards mastery and test preparation program built from state standards and available in all fifty states. Rooted in foundational and statistical research, the dynamic self-paced program allows teachers to customize instruction to students' needs while allowing students to study in standard test format, interactive game mode, or using interactive response systems.

Study Island can be used in a variety of ways. The program is very intuitive and user-friendly. It can be as simple as just logging in and clicking Start Studying! Automatic remediation is built in with Building Block Topics. For additional support, please review Getting Started with Students. (attachment)

Due to the upcoming construction of our new library, our arrival and dismissal procedures for 2011-12 will be modified when school begins. This might be a good time to begin exploring carpool possibilities or bus transportation options. Please look for additional information later in the summer.

School supply lists for 2011-12 will soon be available on this PPE website.

In closing, have a super summer and read, read, read!

Your Partner in Education,

Melinda Williams

May 2001
The children and teachers at PPE enjoyed the successful “Field Day Activities”, a time of laughter, fun, and excitement. Your support in any form genuinely made this event a grand success. The staff, faculty, and children of Percy Priest Elementary would like to thank you for your support, kindness, and enthusiasm this day and in the future.

With less than a month until the end of this school year, we need to work together so our children can have a strong finish. Please make every effort to get your child to school on time. A pattern of arriving late negatively impacts the morning class routine for all students. We currently have 66 students with ten
or more tardies for this school year. Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation.

We hope you'll join us at Radnor Lake for Walk with the Mayor. Mayor Dean would like for PPE Tigers to lead the walk. What a fun activity to celebrate with our mothers on her special day!

Your Partner in Education,
Mrs. Melinda Williams

April 2011
Monday and Tuesday, April 4th and 5th,are the dates for our SACS re-accreditation. A team of educators from the state, called the Quality Assurance Review team (QAR), will visit PPE and interview a variety of stakeholders including teachers, support staff, students, and parents. Following their visit, the QAR team will provide PPE and its stakeholders with an oral and written report of commendations and recommendations.

The yearly achievement tests will be administered to all third and fourth grade students at PPE beginning Wednesday, April 13th and ending with make-up exams on Tuesday, April 19th. Per Dr. Register, “Test scores are just one measure of academic achievement; right now they are the most important measure. If we make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) this year, we will be in charge of our own future. If not, the State of Tennessee will make decisions for us. Everything we do until testing must support AYP.” We need the help of all PPE families to make TCAPs a success! Thank you for your help and support as we strive to make AYP.

Your Partner in Education, Mrs. Melinda Williams

March 2011
Spring is just around the corner and so is our SACS visit which is scheduled for April 4 and 5. During the process, PPE’s vision and mission statements along with our beliefs were revised.

( Click here to read.) We value your input and would like to hear from you regarding your thoughts on our updated vision and mission statements. Please email me or Ms. V. Webb with your comments. Thank you in advance.

TCAP will begin on Wednesday, April 13 for all third and fourth grade students. Please continue monitoring your child’s TCAP practice probes participation daily.

If you are the parent of a current lottery student and have a child who will be entering kindergarten in the fall of 2011, now is the time to complete the Open Enrollment form for sibling preference. These forms were sent home with each PPE family on Monday. If you have moved outside of the Percy Priest zone, but wish to remain at PPE for next year, you will be required to complete the MNPS Continuity form.

Your Partner in Education, Mrs. Melinda Williams