Three cheers for Percy Priest Elementary getting a new school!!! We are excited about this next chapter at Percy Priest and know that you all are, too!

Please be sure to send a thank you note to Mayor Cooper for his historic investment in our school. You can send an email to mayor@nashville.gov or a note to:

Mayor John Cooper
Historic Metro Courthouse
1 Public Square
Suite 100, Mayor’s Office
Nashville, TN 37201

In other news, we have lots of volunteer needs this semester, several of which are detailed below. And as always, we have plenty of announcements about happenings within our school and in the community. Come jump in!

Upcoming School Events

• Feb 3 – 2nd Grade Parent Party
• Feb 9 – Kindergarten Parent Party
• Feb 14 – Class Valentine’s Parties (*details to come from room parents; attending parents must bring photo ID to check in)
• Feb 16 – 3rd Grade Parent Party
• Feb 20- President’s Day- No School
• Feb 21-23 – Used Book Sale
• Feb 24-March 8 – Read-a-Thon
• March 4 – Spring Auction
• March 10-Half day of School-3rd Quarter Ends
• March 13-17 – Spring Break – No School
• March 23 – Math Night
• April 6 & 7 – Spring Holiday- No School
• April 21 – Tiger Tennis Social
• May 1-5 – Teacher Appreciation Week
• May 5 – Cinco de Mayo & Field Day (*May 9 Rain Date*)
• May 7 – Incoming Kindergartener Popsicle Party
• May 12 – Spring Picnic
• May 19 – Spring Sing

Spring Field Trips

• Feb 7 – Kindergarten @ Nashville Children’s Theater
• Feb 10 – 1st Grade @ Nashville Zoo
• Feb 17 – 2nd Grade @ Travellers Rest
• Feb 21 – 1st Grade @ TPAC
• Feb 24 – 2nd Grade @ TPAC
• April 12 – 1st Grade (Acker / Wall) @ Warner Park
• April 14 – 1st Grade (Brumleve / Faison / Hartsock) @ Warner Park
• May 11 – 2nd Grade @ Nashville Children’s Theater

It takes lots of volunteers to make things go at Percy Priest. Please jump in as you are able with these volunteer opportunities:

Auction:

We still need volunteers for grade-level party hosts and grade-level basket coordinators. Please sign up here:

Used Book Sale:

Please sign up to help make our Used Book Sale happen Here.

Read-A-Thon:

Plans for this year’s Read-A-Thon are well underway and we need help with props to decorate the library for the theme (it’s a surprise!). Needed items are:

• a wooden platform that resembles the entrance to a barn for the Photo Booth.
• stuffed farm animals (stuffed animals like the big Melissa & Doug ones are great!)

If you can help with the platform or have animals to lend, please contact Miss Stuart (emily.stuart@mnps.org).

Workroom: 

The Percy Priest Workroom needs volunteers to help copy and sort Friday Folders. Please sign up here if you are able. This would be a big help to Cathy and Sonya in the Front Office.

Cleaning Supplies:

The cafeteria is in need of clorox wipes to help keep it clean during lunchtime. If you are able to donate any, please send it with your child.

Tutors: 

At PPE, we have the wonderful opportunity to provide some small group tutoring for our students through the MNPS Accelerating Scholars program. We are looking for parent volunteers who can help out to lead those groups. The time commitment would be 30 minutes each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Plans and materials will be provided.

Please e-mail Grace Akbari at grace.akbari@mnps.org if you’d be interested in helping with a group this spring!

School Events

Kindergarten Registration for the 2023-24 school year will kick off on Monday, January 30th.  If you or someone you know has an incoming kindergartner, please encourage them to complete registration as early as possible.  For information regarding enrollment requirements, please visit https://earlylearning.mnps.org/kindergarten.

Kindergarten Readiness Camp: July 18-19

Calling all Rising Kindergarten girls and boys for 2023-2024 school year.  Save the Date for July 18-19 for our Kindergarten Readiness Camp.  Join Miss Murray Benson & Mrs. Bitsi Condra to get a “Sneak Peek” at a day in the life of a kindergartner!  Your child will have the opportunity to meet new friends, engage in hands-on learning experiences, Tour the school, playground, visit ‘kinder’ classrooms, and so much more!  Registration coming soon!

After School Clubs for 2023!

After school clubs are back, thanks to the hard work of our teachers who put every detail of these together! Scroll down for details and registration forms – just a few spots left!.

• Builders Club –The Builders Club is for K-2nd grade students and is filled with problem solving, imagination, self-expression, math skills, spatial sense and motor abilities, creativity, and social and emotional growth. There are a few spaces left in the Tuesday and Thursday Builders Club. If your child would like to join, please contact laura.faison@mnps.org or or terri.wall@mnps.org.  Few Spots Remain Click Here for Details

Spring Auction – March 4

Huge thanks to all those who are already buying tickets for the Spring Auction and stepping up to volunteer. We still have a few spots left for Grade-level Baskets and Party Hosts so check it out at the links below.

Nab your tickets, secure your babysitter, and watch for outfit help coming soon! We won’t leave you hangin’ without ideas on how to show up fly so stay tuned.

Used Book Sale – February 21–23 – Donations and Volunteers Needed!

It’s time to start gathering your used books for the annual used book sale, happening next month! We welcome books that are appropriate for Kindergarteners through 4th graders, and we especially need chapter books.

This event will happen about a week ahead of the Read-A-Thon so the kids will get excited and have “new” books to read. Donation bins are on the PPE front porch!

Please sign up to help make our Used Book Sale happen Here

Valentine’s Cookie Kits from Sugar Drop – Order deadline February 9

Order your Valentine’s cookie kits from Sugar Drop for a great activity to do with your kids and to enjoy as a family! The link to order is here. Pickup will be immediately following dismissal at the PPE playground on February 10 until 3:30. If you are unable to come at that time, please email MeganLCallender@gmail.com to make other arrangements or have a friend pick up for them.

Be a Friend of the Read-A-Thon and help make it better than ever! Visit www.percypriest.org/get-involved/sponsorship/ and select your desired level of participation. Read-A-Thon has a small budget from the PTO and your additional dollars will help offset expenses such as:

PROPS: One of the best parts of Read-A-Thon is generating excitement with the kids by using props and decorations to make the library extra special and fit the year’s “theme”. We are creating a barnyard/country fair scene in the library for this year’s theme.

LANYARDS: This year each student is receiving a blue lanyard with a laminated Reading Tag at the end. When they earn buttons, they will be pinned onto the lanyard.

PRIZES: Students have the opportunity to earn button pins for their lanyards by completing the various challenges.  If they complete all of the challenges, they’ll earn a medal which will be added to their lanyard on the Read-A-Thon celebration day.

*We also have sponsorship opportunities for Field Day (May 5) and Spring Family Picnic (May 12) if you’d like to support those Community Events.*

Yearbook and Submitting Photos

Order your yearbook today! Order your PPE 2022-2023 yearbook ($25) here. The last day to pre-order the yearbook with personalization, icons and accessories is Jan. 27. Yearbooks will be delivered at the end of the school year.

Jostens is once again producing our yearbook and this year we need your help with photo submissions! Submit your photos online by logging into http://images.jostens.com and entering Login ID 0och6VEOTX2tCcLzFfas6Tw. Last day to submit photos is February 3rd!

Inside the Art Room

From Dr. A: Artsonia.com is our online art gallery.  Students photograph and upload most of their finished artwork. If you follow the link to our online art gallery and you do NOT see your child’s artwork, you may not be registered as a parent for your child. If you do not see your child’s work in the gallery, please complete this form, and I will add your email to the site. You will receive an invitation from Artsonia to register as your child’s parent or guardian. Registration is completed for each artist, not per family, so if you have more than one artist, you will receive an email and register as the parent of each artist. Our goal is to register 100% of our Tiger Artists, so please make sure you are seeing your child’s work in your in-box as well as on the site!

Like every good art museum, Artsonia has a gift shop which is great for creative Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gifts that feature your favorite artist’s work! Faces and full names are not permitted on the site to protect your child’s privacy.

Community Events 

Last chance for families to enjoy the Lion and Dragon dances for Lunar New Year! This is a free festival this Saturday!  For more information, click here.

Toyota Dream Car USA Art Contest for Kids

Looking for free student art contests? Parents can enter their children in the Toyota Dream Car USA Art Contest for Kids ages 4-15. Deadline to submit artwork submissions is Jan 31, 2023.  Students can win up to $750! Visit this website for more information.

Donate to Unicycle!

Do you know all of the items you can send in to school to donate to UniCycle?! More than just polos and khakis! Help us to keep our school closet full as you clean out outgrown items this winter. Anything that we don’t need here is sent to the UniCycle hub, where it is distributed to more than 100 other MNPS UniCycle Closets and direct to students in the HERO Program.

General Announcements

Green Tip from the PPE Green Team

Switching to LED lights can save you money. Once you switch to LED lightbulbs, you could see up to an 80% reduction in your lighting-related energy costs.

Volunteer Spotlight

Name: Laura Corrigan

Children’s names and grades: Adelaide (4th – Allen) and Oliver (2nd – Zeller)

Volunteer Role: Social Media

Why Percy Priest: PPE is a special place and plays such an important role in the lives of our children. We have been blessed each year with incredible teachers who have met our kids where they are. We consider ourselves fortunate to be part of this strong community. Percy Priest has an army of volunteers working to support the staff in making it a wonderful place to be and I’m grateful to play a small part in those efforts.

Name: Lindsay Moore

Children’s names and grades: Isla (3rd grade), Aiden (Kindergartener)

Volunteer Role: Social Media

Why Percy Priest: Thinking about our sweet school brings such a smile to my face. The faculty and staff at Percy Priest work diligently to create an inspired and positive atmosphere for our children. My children are thriving in this environment and feel encouraged and supported. I also feel that there are many different ways  to get involved and that we each have something special to offer.

Come Have Lunch!

Parents, grandparents and special friends are welcome to eat lunch with students! To help us with space and accommodating guests, we ask that visitors sign-up to come eat lunch using the bookings link below. Please be sure to select the correct grade level and teacher. When signing-up, we also ask that you only sign-up for one day at this time. Thank you for your help and we hope to see you for lunch soon. Sign up to come eat lunch with your student! Menus can be viewed on the Meal View App or here.

We need your help to make this spring the best yet at Percy Priest! Dedicated and engaged parents are a key ingredient to making our school the great school that it is. There are big and small volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Please check out our volunteer form and let us know what things interest you. We’ll be in touch with more information.

If you have questions of any kind, please contact us at presidentsppe@gmail.com. Thank you!

Small Fundraisers Spotlight

For a list of all of our ongoing small fundraisers, please visit our Small Fundraisers webpage.

Just Glass will donate $3 per month, per subscription, to the Percy Priest Elementary PTO. Subscribe by clicking the link and receive bi-weekly pick-ups of your recycled glass, while supporting our school!

How to Stay Connected

Add PPE happenings to your calendar automatically!

You can subscribe to our PTO calendar and have all of our events show up on your calendar, so you never lose track of important dates! Following the links below will prompt you to subscribe to the calendar via your preferred calendar app. Any time the PTO updates an event through the website, it will update on the calendar of all subscribers (how often your calendar pulls updated info will be based on your individual personal settings – every 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 week, etc).

For Calendar Apps (apple calendar etc), go to: webcal://www.percypriest.org/?post_type=tribe_events&ical=1&eventDisplay=list

For Google Calendar, go to: https://www.google.com/calendar/render?cid=webcal%3A%2F%2Fwww.percypriest.org%2F%3Fpost_type%3Dtribe_events%26tribe-bar-date%3D2022-08-31%26ical%3D1%26eventDisplay%3Dlist