Welcome SPRING and hello 4th quarter! Can you believe the final quarter of the school year is upon us? The days start getting longer as the temperatures creep up. This quarter is also a great time for our PPE community with many ways to come together before we break for summer.

A huge thanks to our teachers for a great week of March MATHness to help bring those brains back online and celebrate the love of problem solving. Last night we had a great Math Night with our friends at Mathnasium and thanks to Elizabeth Raggio for pulling it all together.

Lots of great info below – don’t miss voting for the poetry competition where two PPE 5th Graders are in the running with their poems set to music. Thanks to Mr. Bray for his incredible coaching and support!

Important Dates

• March 26: Report Cards Issued
• March 28: Navigator Day
• March 29: No School (Spring Holiday)
• April 12: Tiger Tennis Social (Rain Date April 26)
• April 16: Progress Reports Issued
• April 17: Tzatziki’s Spirit Day
• April 26: 5th Grade Father/Daughter Dance
• April 29: Science Night
• May 3: Field Day (Rain Date May 10)
• May 5: Tiger Dash
• May 14: PTO Meeting at 6:00 pm in PPE Library
• May 17: Talent Show
• May 23: Half Day of School (dismissal at 11:30 am)
• May 24: Summer Break

Spring Field Trip Round-Up

• March 26: 1st Grade – State Capitol and Supreme Court
• March 27: 4th Grade – TN State Museum
• April 16: 2nd Grade – TN State Museum
• April 17: 1st Grade – Nashville Children’s Theatre
• April 18: Kindergarten – Nashville Zoo
• May 2: 2nd Grade – Travellers Rest

Upcoming Events

Tiger Tennis Social – April 12

On Friday, April 12th (Rain Date April 26), we’ll gather at Seven Hills Swim & Tennis for tennis, fun, a tasty lunch and light cocktails. You don’t need anything except a racquet! All skill levels are welcome.

Pick a time for tennis drills and play.  Session 1: 9:00-11:00 is currently SOLD OUT, but there are still available spots for Session 2: 12:00-2:00. Lunch will be served from 11-12.  There will also be a raffle during lunch to win some amazing prizes.

Don’t play tennis but want in on the fun? Purchase a spectator/lunch option and come to socialize, grab a cocktail and lunch, and watch some tennis!

Grab your tickets NOW!

Science Night – April 29th

Get ready for some brainy fun! Scientists from Vanderbilt will transform our Cafe into a science-packed fair with hands-on stations demonstrating microbial cities, how bouncy balls bounce, glowing brains, and more! You don’t want to miss this incredible night of science.

Save the Date: 2024 Tiger Dash on May 5th at 2:00

Come enjoy our 1 mile color run from Percy Priest down the Forest Hills Pathway and back.  This is a FREE event and we hope the whole family can join us that afternoon as we celebrate another great school year at PPE.  More information to follow in the next few weeks.

PTO Meeting – May 14

Come join us! PTO meetings are open to any parents, guardians, teachers, administrators and staff at Percy Priest Elementary School, without need for enrollment or payment of fees. They are informational and a great way to meet other parents and staff.

May 14 | 6:00 pm | PPE Library

PPE Talent Show – May 17th

Sign up starting next Friday!

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!

Roar Store

New merch alert! The Roar Store has new spring items for you to check out. Head to https://www.percypriest.org/store/ to shop spring worthy gear now.

A HUGE THANK YOU FROM THE AUCTION TEAM

A huge thank you to all who were able to attend the Studio 24 Auction Party and those that participated in the live PPE Spring Auction! We are always so impressed by how our PPE family shows up to help us raise such crucial funds that go back to your Tiger.

If you missed out on purchasing a Grade-Level party ticket for your Tiger, the last chance is NOW. If you did not see your kid’s grade/gender on the site, it is already sold out. Visit HERE for details. CausePilot – Percy Priest Elementary 2024 SPRING AUCTION – Percy Priest Elementary PTO

If you left anything behind at the auction party at Loveless Barn, we may have it. Please email percypriestauction@gmail.com for inquiry.

If you have not picked up your auction item, please email percypriestauction@gmail.com to arrange a pick up.

If you had the best time at the party, do not forget we have this every year in March. It is a wonderful chance to “party with a cause” and hang out with PPE parents away from the kids. We hope you can make plans to attend next year’s event.

Thank you again for your generous support and to our party sponsors.

Small Fundraisers

Market Fresh Ferns – Order by April 19

If you want the biggest, healthiest Fern on the block and you love Percy Priest be sure and buy your ferns now. Pick up will be at the Forest Hills Pathway from 2:30PM until 4PM April 19th. If you are unable to pick up in that time frame please ask a friend for help or email Marcy Burridge. The funds raised from this event will be used to support the PTO budget which provides our school with additional staff, software and supplies. Thank you so much for your support!

We have two types of ferns available:

Boston Fern (10” and thrives in shady environment) $32

Kimberly Queen (10” and thrives in a sunny environment) $24

Nashville Sounds Tickets

Spring has sprung and it is time to play ball! Join your PPE community at a Nashville Sounds game on either Saturday, April 20th at 6:35 PM or Sunday, April 21st at 2:05 PM! $5 of every ticket sold at the link below will be donated back to the PPE PTO. Come have fun with friends and take yourself out to the ball game! Get your Sounds/PPE Tickets here.

General Announcements

Brain Blast – March 23

In honor of Brain Awareness Month, every March Vanderbilt Brain Institute neuroscientists gather at the Nashville Public Library’s main downtown branch to join in on the worldwide celebration of the brain that brings together scientists, families, schools, and communities. We aim to have fun and inspire future scientists young and old!

Poetry Contest – Vote Now for PPE 5th Graders Cora and Liam

Two PPE 5th graders, Cora Servais and Liam Osmundson, are finalists in this year’s Belmont Poetry Contest. Their original poems, about favorite animals, have been set to music by local songwriters and they need your votes by April 12th. Follow the link, listen to their creations, and vote at the bottom of the page. Liam’s song is “Charlotte’s Web” and Cora’s song is “Madeline Finn and The Library Dog.” Congrats to Liam and Cora!

Join the PTO Board: Asst. Treasurer Nominations are Open!

Are you interested in getting more involved at our school?  Meeting new parents and families?  Supporting our teachers and staff? Then join the PTO Executive Board!

Planning is already underway for the 2024-2025 school year and we are accepting nominations through April 5th for the position of Assistant Treasurer. This is a 2-year position (this position will, ideally, spend one year as the Assistant Treasurer and then will roll up to the Treasurer role for the second year), some daytime flexibility is needed, and attendance at monthly PTO board meetings is required.

Do you know someone who would be a great fit?  Do you think YOU would be a great fit?  Self-nominations are encouraged.  New faces are welcome! Watch for more information to come via email next week.

Please submit nominations and send any questions to presidentsppe@gmail.com. Thank you!

Missed our February Parenting Series speaker? View our recording of Gunner Goodlad, PhD, from Southeast Psych discussing Healthy Choices with Video Games. Click to view here:

PPE Parenting Series_ Making Healthy Choices with Video Games – Gunner Goodlad, PhD-20240307_193253-Meeting Recording.mp4

The password is Wellness24.

*All recordings are for the PPE community only. At the request of our guest speakers, please do not share, download or post any portion of the recordings outside the PPE community.

New Building / Gym Update

We are thrilled to announce that we reached our $5 million fundraising goal and our new school will be built with a full-size gym! Read more about this incredible milestone made possible, in part, by the generosity of our families and grandparents.

Construction Progress Photos

Check out the progress in just a few weeks!

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.

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.

Mabel’s Labels will donate 20% of all proceeds generated by label orders for your child’s clothing, accessories and bags, so anything they lose is easily returned to them. Simply go to www.campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search for Percy Priest Elementary PTO. Purchase your labels and they will ship directly to your door. This is a perfect way to keep your child’s outwear out of the PPE Lost and Found!

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: 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