PPE PTO Newsletter – May 22nd, 2026
Important Dates
Note: Dates are subject to change. The BEST way to stay updated is with our PTO Google Calendar – view and subscribe here!
- August 11th – First day of school!
SCHOOL UPDATES
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 5TH GRADE GRADUATES!
To our graduating 5th grade class and their parents:
Thank you so much for the last five years you’ve spent with Percy Priest. This graduation is especially meaningful to our school because these fifth graders were Dr. Young’s very first kindergarten class as principal at PPE.
They began their school journey in the middle of a pandemic. They wore masks over their tiny faces while learning to make new friends and adjust to school life. They experienced virtual learning, returned to the classroom, and then went virtual again. Navigating kindergarten and first grade during such an uncertain time was no easy feat.
Yet through it all, these students persevered. Even with the distractions and challenges that came with learning from home, they stayed resilient, adaptable, and committed to learning. And parents, you faced incredibly difficult decisions during COVID, balancing safety, education, and family life in ways none of us could have imagined. We are deeply grateful to every family who stayed with Percy Priest through it all.
It has been such an honor to watch this class grow and reach this milestone. What a resilient group of students and parents you are. We cannot wait to see all the amazing things you accomplish in middle school and beyond. Please don’t be strangers!
DUCK DERBY
Congratulations to Liam Griffin on being the Grand Quack Champion of the Duck Derby! Even with very low creek water (thanks drought) the PPE community had a terrific time cheering for the ducks while amazing volunteers helped escort them down the race course. Good clean fun was had by all!
Full list of winners:
Grand Quack Champion – The Griffin Family (Duck 165)
Tail-Ender – Kaiser Family (Duck 7)
Flock Leader – Karpinski Family (Duck 68)
Lucky Duck – Chew Family (Duck 33)
Mighty Mallard – Robb Family (Duck 258)
Lucky Waddle – Eubanks Family (Duck 58)
Waddle Warrior – Hermandorfer Family (Duck 18)
APPROVED PTO BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2026-2027
| ROLE | NAME |
|---|---|
| PRESIDENT | Melissa Smithson |
| CO-VICE PRESIDENTS | Grace Bryan & Gillian Stewart |
| SECRETARY | Susan Horton |
| TREASURER | Eva Frasca |
| ASSISTANT TREASURER | Hayden Wilson |
| FUNDRAISING CHAIR | Rachel Kevehazi-Schultz |
| COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR | Annie Rivera |
| COMMUNITY EVENTS CHAIR | McKenzie Kleinhenz |
FUNDRAISERS
FIRST DAY SCHOOL SUPPLIES – IT’S NOT TOO EARLY!
Hi Parents! We know that sometimes there’s a large amount of emails from 1st Day School Supplies that also has a random man named Michael listed as the sender, so we just wanted to clarify that this is an important, legitimate fundraiser for the school! It’s a GREAT way to rest assured that your kid has all the supplies they need on the 1st day and it really takes the pressure off of you in late July. And, again, you have the added bonus of knowing that you are contributing fundraising dollars to PPE through this program. And…it is true…teachers love how easy it makes things! THANK YOU!
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Paint the Rock: grab your brushes, we have an exciting new opportunity! Paint the PPE rock to share your Tiger’s special event!
Sign up here:
How to Stay Connected
Email Lists
New families – Be sure to sign up for our school newsletter, which includes grade-level information each week. Register today.
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), click here.
For Google Calendar, click here.