PTO Newsletter 2/16
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Teacher Appreciation Week whether it was bringing treats to your teacher, contributing to the staff breakfast or treat cart, or writing notes in support of our teachers and staff. Thank you again to the Bishop Family and Hattie B’s for providing a delicious lunch for the entire staff. The week was such a success thanks to all of you! Another big thank you to Jamie Kuhlman and Vicki Lubnik for planning, organizing and hard work to make such a memorable Teacher Appreciation Week.
We hope everyone enjoys our 3 day weekend and is ready for our Used Book Sale and the beginning of Read-a-thon!
A big shout out to our very own Dr. Tina Atkinson. She has been named the National Elementary Art Educator by the National Art Education Association and will be honored at a national conference in Minnesota in April. To read more about her award, please click HERE.
Percy Priest Elementary Intent Form 2024-2025
If you haven’t already, please fill out this Survey to help our school update records for the 2024-2025 school year. The survey will only take a moment and please fill out for each student currently attending Percy Priest. This is non-binding, but it is helpful information for our budget and planning.
Important Dates
- February 12-16– Teacher Appreciation Week
- February 15– Papa John’s Spirit Night
- February 19- President’s Day (no school)
- February 20-March 4– Readathon
- February 20 – Storyteller Series: Mr. Lincoln
- February 20– Family Skate Night-Brentwood Skate Center
- February 20-22 – Used Book Sale
- February 23– Parnassus Book’s Spirit Night
- February 29 – Percy’s Reading Party
- March 2 – Spring Auction Party-Loveless Barn
- March 4– Readathon ends and reading logs are due
- March 5– No school
- March 5 -Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream Spirit Night
- March 8– Book Character Dress Up Day
- March 11-15– Spring Break
- March 21– Math Night
Field Trips
February 22– Kindergarten and First Grade Field Trip-TPAC
Upcoming Events
Auction Party Tickets on Sale Now!!
We are just two weeks away from Studio 24, an incredible night of dinner, dancing, and bidding to raise big dollars for our stellar school!
Book that sitter and buy your tickets now for the can’t-miss event on March 2nd from 6-11 p.m. at Loveless Barn. Break out your bell bottoms and sequins and dance the night away! Dressing up not your thing? Not a problem! Costumes aren’t mandatory. Tickets are $100 and include dinner & two drinks. Scan above or CLICK HERE.
Now’s Your Chance to Bid on PPE Exclusives and Buy Tickets to
Grade-Level and Parent Parties!
The auction has opened for early bidding for PPE Experiences and Teacher Outings! You may also purchase fixed priced tickets for Grade-Level and Parent Parties! All proceeds from the entire auction go directly back to our awesome school and staff. There’s something for everyone, so be sure to check out “Teacher Outings,” “PPE Experiences,” “Grade-Level Parties” and “Parent Parties” when perusing the silent auction catalog.
All remaining items open for bidding at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, February 29th and close at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 2nd. Bring your best offers!!
Whether you are attending Studio 24 or not, you, your family and friends can sign up for a CausePilot account to get in on the auction! Scan above or click here!
Support with sponsorship:
We’re looking for a few more sponsors for Studio 24. If your family or company can support us, we want to hear from you! Email Julia Stoll Saitta (percypriestauction@gmail.com) or purchase a sponsorship here
Join the auction party committee:
Email Katie Mehaffey katieelliston@gmail.com if interested in helping with party related tasks!
It’s here! The 2024 Read-A-Thon kicks off Tuesday, February 20th. This year we are traveling to Sweden and reading the classic story, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. FAQ information sheets, reading logs, and the challenge card will come home in the students yellow Pippi Longstocking folder . From Tuesday, February 20th – Monday, March 4th let’s READ, READ, READ! During breakfast, in the car, outside, under the covers! Tally your reading on the reading logs. Parents need to initial each reading log entry. Work on your challenge board. Students can come collect their badges as they complete the challenges (one button/column of challenges). Students will keep all things read-a-thon related (reading logs, challenge board, coloring sheets, etc.) in this folder and it should travel with them between home and school.
Read-A-Thon is always one of the best parts of the school year as PPE students are especially excited about reading, books, and stories! Thank-you for supporting our efforts by embracing your child’s reading enthusiasm by encouraging reading in your family’s daily routine. Below are some important dates:
- Tuesday, February 20th: Read-A-Thon begins. Start reading!
Read-a-Thon folders come home! Reading logs, challenge cards, and other read-a-thon materials are in this folder. Students will keep all things read-a-thon related (reading logs, challenge board, etc.) in this folder and will travel back and forth between home and school.
- Friday, February 23rd: PPE Parnassus Night (4:00-6:00)
- Thursday, February 29th: Percy’s Reading Party (5:30-7:30)
- Friday, March 1st: Pajama Day! Wear your pajamas to school for a day of cozy reading!
- Monday, March 4th: Read-a-thon ends. Reading logs need to be turned in to your child’s classroom teacher.
- Friday, March 8th: CELEBRATION DAY – Favorite Book Character Dress-Up Day!
Students who achieve the 100 book (Kindergarten) and 1,500 minute (1st-5th) challenge will be recognized during morning announcements and receive a certificate and prize from the read-a-thon treat cart.
Used Book Sale- February 20-22- Bring cash and a reusable tote!
We have so many great books for the Used Book Sale this year! Dog-Man, Magic Treehouse, Wings of Fire, Harry Potter, Beverly Clearly, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, etc. Set the reminders in your phone to send money with your child on February 20-22 before all the good books are gone! Books are $1 each and on the 22nd, the books are buy one get one free! If your child is planning on getting more than 3 books each day, consider sending a reusable tote with them.
Read-A-Thon is right around the corner, so let’s stock our kid’s at-home libraries with “new” books to read!
Please reach out to Gillian Stewart gstewart0707@gmail.com or Avery Van Pelt avery.t.vanpelt@gmail.com with any questions.
Percy’s Reading Party-February 29th 5:30-7:30pm
Percy’s Reading Party is set for February 29th, 2024 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm in the PPE Cafe and Library. Let’s LEAP into reading and word games, a storybook walk, and a special storytime in celebration of the ReadAThon and the love of reading. We can’t wait to see you there!
Tiger Tennis Social – April 12
Mark your calendars for the 3rd Annual Tiger Tennis Social! On Friday, April 12nd (Rain Date April 26th), we’ll gather for tennis, fun, a tasty lunch and light cocktails. All skill levels will have fun; just bring a racquet! More information to come!
PPE 5th Grade Father Daughter Dance-April 26th
Save the date for the Father Daughter Eras Dance in the PPE Gym from 6:30-8:30 pm. A special night for PPE 5th grade girls and their fathers or special guests. More information to come!
PPE Talent Show-May 17th SAVE THE DATE
We are excited to announce the first PPE Talent Show! Please mark your calendars and get ready to be entertained as our students dazzle us with their talent and creativity. More information to come, but please reach out to Annie Pons (akpons@gmail.com) with any questions or ways you can help out!
Small Fundraisers
Family Skate Night- February 20
Join us for Family Skate Night on Tuesday, February 20 from 4:30 pm-7:00 pm!!
Brentwood Skate Center
402 Wilson Pike Cir, Brentwood, TN 37027
Admission fee: $8.00
Skate fee: $4.00
Entry fee for non-skating adults: $3.00
**NO OUTSIDE SKATES ALLOWED**
(A percentage of all admission fees goes back to the PPE PTO.)
Parnassus Books Spirit Night-February 23
Are you excited and ready for this year’s Read-A-Thon?!
Join our amazing community at the beloved Parnassus Books (3900 Hillsboro Pike #14) on Friday, February 23rd between 4:00 pm-6:00 pm to get your tiger some new reading material. 10% of all purchases will be donated to the PPE PTO.
General Announcements
Check out the progress! Concrete has been poured on one of the sections of our NEW School.
Mrs. Baxter (and her friend Kelso the Frog) have been visiting Kindergarten and 2nd grade classrooms introducing Kelso’s Choices. Students have learned that they are strong enough and smart enough to handle “small problems” with friends and classmates. They can try 2 choices from Kelso’s wheel before asking an adult for help. This is a great strategy to use at home when kids have minor disagreements with siblings or neighbors!
Ms. K-B has enjoyed talking about choices and second chances while reading “Oh No, George!” by Chris Haughton.
Counselor’s Corner – Percy Priest Elementary
A Message from PPE’s Advocacy Center
In lessons with Mrs. Tanner this week Kindergarten through 2nd grade students learned the value of positivity and optimism, as well as how they can rewire their brains. They learned simple things they can easily do to spread positivity to others.
3rd through 5th grade students learned about their brain’s negativity bias and the amazing neuroplasticity of their brains. They learned why it is so much better to seek out the glimmers in life rather than the triggers and participated in some amazing glimmer-ful art.
Watch for more information about these lessons and the books used on Instagram @percypriestadvocacy!
Green Tip from the Green Team
Celebrate Valentine’s Day sustainably by purchasing fair trade or recyclable cards, or consider making your own. Gift a living plant instead of flowers or an experience such as a visit to a museum or cooking your Valentine’s favorite meal.
Clorox Wipes and Lysol Spray Needed
The Cafe and Front Office are in need of some clorox wipes and lysol spray to keep surfaces clean. If you are interested in dropping some off to the front office, it would be most appreciated.
Order Your YEARBOOK
MNPS Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-25 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.
PPE Kindergarten Readiness Camp: July 9-10 REGISTRATION OPEN
Calling all Rising Kindergarten girls and boys for 2024-2025 school year. Save the Date for July 9-10 for our Kindergarten Readiness Camp. You can register HERE!
Join Mrs. Murray Dick & Mrs. Amy Patterson 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!
For any further questions regarding Kindergarten, please contact newfamiliesppe@gmail.com
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!
How to Volunteer
We need your help to make next year the best year 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.
Publix Partners will donate $250 to the Percy Priest Elementary PTO for every $37,500 spent cumulatively by our school’s participants. To support Percy Priest, join Club Publix. If you’re already a member, log in to your account and select My Publix Partner to search for the school of your choice. Remember to pay with the Publix app or enter your phone number at checkout each time you make an eligible purchase. Parents do have to re-register annually.
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), go to www.percypriest.org/?post_type=tribe_events&tribe-bar-date=2022-02-01&ical=1
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%3D2022-02-01%26ical%3D1
Social Media
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https://www.facebook.com/percypriest/
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