We hope everyone enjoyed this short but fun-filled week! Don’t forget about tonight’s Family Picnic starting at 5pm on our playground. It’s not too late to sign up to volunteer, so please check out the opening spots: HERE.

We have a lot of exciting events happening in September, so please be sure to scroll through the whole newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on some great ways to get involved and meet some of our Percy Priest community, too!

Upcoming Events

• September 9 – Fall Family Picnic
• September 12 – Tiger Cup Golf Tournament
• September 13 – Town Hall: PTO Strategic Planning and Priority Spending
• September 14 – 1st Grade Moms Night Out, 6:30 @ Greenhouse Bar
• September 20 – 2nd Grade Moms Night Out, 6:30 @ Greenhouse Bar
• September 21 – Percy’s Vintage Closet
• September 21 – Kindergarten Moms Night Out, 6:00 @ Green Hills Hilton Roof Top
• September 27 – 3rd Grade Moms Night Out, 6:00 @ Greenhouse Bar
• September 28 – 4th Grade Moms Night Out, 6:00 @ Greenhouse Bar
• October 4 – Town Hall: Helping Our Kids Cope with Big Emotions
• October 6 – Songwriters Night
• October 7-14 –Fall Break: No School

Fall Family Picnic – September 9th

School is in full swing and it’s time to celebrate! Bring the whole family to the PPE Back to School Picnic on Friday, September 9 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Grab dinner from one of our food vendors, Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, Jet’s Pizza, That’s My Dog, and Cajun Kids or dessert from Retro Snow, Layered Bake Shop, or The Friends Life Treat Truck. DJ Louie will spin all his hits while kids play on the playground, make crafts, put on temporary tattoos, or jump through the bouncy obstacle course.

All this fun can’t happen without you! Sign up to volunteer for the event HERE. Questions? Contact Patty Bea Presley (pattybeapresley@gmail.com), Erin Thomas (elpark2@gmail.com) or Amanda Woods (amandamoorewoods@gmail.com).

Tiger Cup and Mamas & Mimosas – THIS MONDAY – September 12 at Old Natchez Country Club

Registration for the First Bank 2022 Tiger Cup closes TODAY! We only have individual spots for golf available at this time. Please sign up to complete a foursome.

REGISTER NOW

Mamas & Mimosas is SOLD OUT!!!! Special thanks for Curated Homes Nashville for sponsoring Mamas & Mimosas again this year!

Thank you again to all our tournament sponsors: Pinnacle Financial, Camel Express Car Wash, Spencer Fane Bone McAllester, Premier Golf Services, and Renters Warehouse. We are lucky to have 8th & Berry Wine & Spirits sponsoring the beverage cart, Charles Hawkins, Co. sponsoring the putting contest, Osborne State Farm for Closest to the pin and Hultafors Group for the longest drive contest. Hole sponsorships have already been snatched
up by Nashville Interactive, The Leslie Hill Group, WNSL, Chanda Teas with Rodan & Fields, Bone & Joint Institute – Geoff Watson, MD and Caleb Hemmer.

For those who registered for either event, be on the lookout for an email coming this weekend with details about Monday’s event. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Kass at 443-388-0170 or via email kassbenchoff@yahoo.com with any questions or last minute changes.

Thanks! Kass Benchoff and Kimmy Peterson – Tiger Cup, Co-Chairs

Town Halls – September 13th and October 4th at 6:00 in the PPE Library

Join PTO leadership on two dates this fall to talk about important topics and provide your feedback!

September 13 – The PTO’s main goal is to support our school, and that support comes in many different ways, including financially. Come to a PTO Town Hall on September 13th to learn about the money it takes to keep our school running and provide feedback on how the PTO should allocate any excess funds we may have after we meet our budget for the year!

Your voice matters and is critical to the way we operate. Please come listen, learn and share your thoughts with us!

October 4 – A.K. Tanner, our Advocacy Center Coach, will lead a conversation at PPE about helping our kids cope with big emotions. She will talk about the Advocacy Center and her role as Advocacy Coach in supporting students as they gain control of their own feelings and emotions, to create a more successful education experience.

Percy’s Vintage Closet – September 21st – deadline for donations is September 14th

One Tiger’s outgrown shirt is another little Tiger’s treasure! We are collecting pre-loved PPE logo clothing for our inaugural Percy’s Vintage Closet sale now through September 14!

Please drop off any PPE clothes you’d like to donate in the bin on the school front porch. This fun sale will be a great opportunity to stock up on some heavily discounted PPE clothing with all proceeds going back to our school! Be on the lookout for more information in your child’s Friday folder in the coming weeks!

Mom’s Night Out:

Calling all PPE Moms! Come meet and mingle for a casual evening with other Percy Priest Mom’s to build community and friendship. Grade level dates and locations have been set, so please mark your calendar! All dates are listed at the top of the email.

Saddle Up for a Night of Hot Chicken & Country Music!

Songwriter’s Night is back and we want you there!! Join us for an intimate gathering under the stars with Grammy award winning artists Josh Osborne, JT Harding and our very own PPE parent, Ross Copperman. Enjoy beer, wine, & comfort food from local breweries, restaurants, & artisans. Bring your own chair and we’ll bring the fun! Doors at 6, show starts at 7.

Tickets are on sale today – get them before they are gone!

https://www.percypriest.org/get-involved/fundraising/songs-under-the-stars

We have several opportunities for sponsorship, we would love to help support your business while supporting Percy Priest. Reach out to Emily Bristow with questions Emilynbristow@gmail.com

Save the Date for GrandFriends Day – Nov. 3rd and 4th

Save the date for this year’s GrandFriends Days on November 3rd (kindergarten and first grades) and November 4th (second, third, and fourth grades)! More information to follow in the coming weeks.

We know there are many grandparents, family and special friends of PPE students who would like to be involved. You can keep up with the latest news by signing up for the PPE Grandparents, Family & Friends List here.

A huge THANK YOU to Osborne State Farm for sponsoring all of our Back to School activities. Sponsorships help us underwrite the costs associated with things like kindergarten totes, new family yard signs, the popsicle party and the Family Picnic, and we are so grateful for the support of Osborne State Farm!

If you or your company would be interested in sponsoring the PTO event or fundraiser, please contact Margaret Crane (magsuga@yahoo.com).

General Announcements & Community Events

Ari Davidson Photo Family Sessions

It’s time to book your family photos with our own PPE mom, Ari Davidson. Limited spots are available, so please book today! A percentage of each session will go towards to Percy Priest PTO. Available dates are October 7, 8, 22, 23, 28 and 30. Ari’s website is aridavidsonphoto.pixieset.com/familysessions/ and sessions can be booked by emailing her at aridavidsonphoto@gmail.com.

Pumpkin and Mums Fundraiser – deadline October 1st

Support Percy Priest Elementary PTO Budget while getting Fall Festive with mums and
pumpkin stacks from Market Fresh Produce. These are the prettiest, most impressive
mums and pumpkins around, and all proceeds go back to the PTO to provide additional
staff and materials to the school which impacts every child.

– Mums (variety of colors) $20
– Pumpkin Stacks (three pumpkins) $25

Pick up is at the PPE Playground during dismissal until 4PM on 10/05. If you are unable
to pick up that day during that timeframe please email MeganLCallender@gmail.com to
make alternate arrangements. Orders not retrieved by end of day 10/07 will be donated
to the school. Order today: https://www.percypriest.org/product-category/fall-sale/

Charleston Wrap – deadline September 30th

Shop online and invite friends, too! Share our fundraiser with your friends and family near and far to help reach our fundraising goal! Our fundraiser features over 2,500 gift items including Ultra-Heavy gift wrap, accessories, exclusive kitchen and home goods, holiday décor, personalization items and gifts, fragrant candles, high fashion bags, delicious gourmet foods and more. To order, visit registercw.com to access your participant dashboard and unlock your participant link. Our organization code is 24825

Personalized Sophie Blackall Books

Exciting news! Percy Priest students have the unique opportunity to purchase personalized books by two-time Caldecott winner, Sophie Blackall. Sophie will be at Parnassus on Friday, September 16th on her tour for her new book, Farmhouse. Mrs. Bray (PPE 3rd grade teacher) and Miss Stuart (PPE librarian) were chosen to spend a weekend at Sophie’s farm in upstate New York and experience the wonderfulness that is all things Sophie Blackall and her new book. Watch Sophie tell the story of Farmhouse and you will understand why Mrs. Bray and Miss Stuart consider it their new favorite picturebook.

If you order through PPE & Parnassus, the books will be personalized with your child(ren)’s name by Sophie.

Look for the form in this week’s Friday folder or click here to order them online. Books will be delivered to PPE and sent home with students. Questions? Contact Miss Stuart at emily.stuart@mnps.org.

Mom’s Thrive – September 23rd from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

All PPE Moms are invited to attend this non-school-sponsored parenting talk. Mom’s Thrive is put on by fellow PPE moms who want to help develop community and encourage and equip moms with tools that lead to grace-filled parenting. Please note all speakers will be coming from a biblical worldview. This month we will be hearing from Eleanor Wells, a personal development coach, talking about “Mom Burnout? Let’s get a G.R.I.P.P.!” Contact gdolezal@gmail.com with any questions.

Parent Talents & Resources

We know our Percy Priest family has a wide range of talent and expertise, and we would love to know about you and if you are willing and able to contribute in a unique way to our school. Please share with us so we can get a better understanding of these different talents and resources in our community. Our online form is available here.

First Day Forms – due September 9th

At the beginning of each school year, we send home several documents that MNPS requires parents and caregivers to review, sign and return. These forms have been sent home and need to be returned to homeroom teachers by September 9.

Parents must also complete certain required MNPS forms online through the MNPS “Permissions Portal”. To do so, visit the MNPS Student-Parent Handbook page. Scroll halfway down the page and you will see the “Permission Forms” section and a blue button to the right that says “Permissions Portal”. Click there to begin.

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.

We particularly need returning parents who are willing to be “buddies” for new Percy Priest families, simply serving as a friendly face and a point of contact.

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.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of all money spent on their site. Link your Amazon account to the Percy Priest Elementary PTO by clicking on this link and then connecting Percy Priest to your account. For future Amazon shopping, you must use the site smile.amazon.com in order to give Percy Priest the 0.5%.

The funds raised from this event will be used to support the PTO budget which provides our school with additional staff, software and supplies to our school.

Volunteer Spotlight

Name: Courtney Keller
Children: Daughters Campbell Keller (K) & Blane Keller (PPE Alumni | 5th @ JT Moore)
Volunteer Role: 1st Day School Supplies
Why Percy Priest: Percy Priest is such a special place and we feel very fortunate to be a part of it. The faculty and staff are top notch, and the parent involvement is just the icing on the cake. What a great group of people! Without a doubt, I know that the needs of my children are being met. Volunteering my time and joining committees such as 1st Day School Supplies is the least that I can do to give back.

Name: Mary Caradine Hamrick
Children’s names and grades: Mary Lockett Hamrick,  3rd grade
Volunteer Role: First Day School Supplies and Room Mom
Why Percy Priest: Percy Priest is a jewel of a school! The teachers and staff support our kids with so much love and support every day. Being a part of First Day School Supplies allows me to give back in a way that helps make sure our teachers have the exact supplies they need to help our kids be successful on the first day of school. Purchasing school supplies through First Day also benefits our PTO monetarily, allowing us to continue providing exceptional support to our staff and students.  It’s a win/win volunteer opportunity!

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