The heat is on and school is in full swing!

Today officially kicks off our annual INVEST fundraising campaign, an incredible opportunity to directly influence your child’s educational journey. This is a special time of year when we show our support, whether financially or through pledging participation, of our amazing school. Everyone can get involved including parents, grandparents, friends, and family. See below for all the information you need, along with more details coming home in this week’s Friday folders.

Another HOT item to check out is Song Under the Stars.  Tickets are now on sale!  It is a fun evening of music, food and surrounded by the best PPE community.

Keep scrolling for details on INVEST as well as more great upcoming events in our school community, including Fall Family Picnic, Tiger Cup Golf Tournament, Percy’s Vintage Closet and Songs Under the Stars!

Important Dates

• August 25 – This morning! Coffee and Conversations
• August 31 – Navigator Day
• September 1 – No School
• September 4 – Labor Day, No School
• September 7 – Picture Day
• September 8 – Fall Picnic
• September 11 – Tiger Cup Golf Tournament at Old Natchez
• September 21 – Percy’s Vintage Closet Sale
• September 28 – Songwriter’s Night

Upcoming School Events

Parent Coffee Hour in the Cafe – Friday, August 25 (this Friday morning!)

Bring your travel mug of coffee to the morning drop-off line and stay to mingle with other Percy Priest parents on Friday, August 25. We’ll be in the Cafe from 8:15-9:15. Join us for all of part of the hour!

*please note to wait in the lobby until 8:15

It’s that special time of year again when we join forces for our annual INVEST Campaign. This event is not just a fundraiser—it’s an opportunity to influence the educational journey of our children. Every contribution, no matter the amount, makes a huge difference!

This year, we’re aiming high with a fundraising target of $180,000. It’s an ambitious goal, but we are confident in the strength of our community. While we suggest a donation of $375 per student, we understand that everyone’s situation is unique. Any contribution you make will be deeply appreciated.

Supporting the PPE cause couldn’t be easier. Click GIVE NOW, decide on your donation amount, and you’ve already made a significant difference. We’ll send a friendly reminder to complete your pledge by November 17th. If you are not able to support financially at this time, your participation still means so much! Simply select “I Support PPE, but cannot give at this time.”

PERCY PRIEST DANCING IN THE STREET– September 8th 

Join us Friday, Sept. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. for a fun night of music, dancing, BBQ and desserts with the entire PPE Tiger community at our back-to-school picnic! Dance to the tunes of Mr. Steve! Snag a sweet treat from Layered Nashville, Zio Matto Gelato, Retro Sno, and King of Pops! Get your face painted too!

The festivities take place on the blacktop and adjacent field – picnic blankets and chairs welcome.

It’s Time To Order Your Picnic Dinner!

Pre Order your family meal from Martin’s BBQ by Sept. 1 and/or sign up to help make this an event to remember at the link here!

We Need Volunteers!

But we can’t pull this off without your help!  Sign up here to provide essential supplies or volunteer at the event.

Email Questions to Erin O’Brien:  erinnd2001@gmail.com or Amanda Woods: Amandamoorewoods@gmail.com

A huge THANK YOU to Osborne State Farm, Hoover Learning Group, Mathnasium of Green Hills and Brentwood, and Berns Therapy Solutions for sponsoring all of our Back to School activities including the Family Picnic!

Tiger Cup Golf Tournament – September 11th 

Percy Priest PTO’s Tiger Cup Golf Tournament is just 2 weeks away on Monday, September 11 th at Old Natchez Country Club in Franklin. REGISTRATION CLOSES TODAY!!!* Click here to register.

Special thanks for Pinnacle, MGM Industries, Camel Express Car Wash, Upside Agency, Sesco Lighting, First Bank, Hattie B’s, Edley’s Barbeque, Spencer Fane, Bone, McAllester, Nashville Interactive, and Charles Hawkins, Co., and Osborne State Farm for committing to sponsor.

Get creative

We have a hole sponsorship dedicated to Dr. Young and Ms. Temple. Consider recognizing your child or their teacher through a hole sponsorship. There are still sponsorships available so please take a look and sign up today – sponsorship opportunities.

Mamas and Mimosas, sponsored by Pretty Polished, is SOLD OUT!

We still need help

Thank you to those who have reached out to support us on the day of the event. However, we are looking for help getting donations for the raffle and contest prizes. Reach out to us at tigercupppe@gmail.com

~Kass Johnson and Kimmy Peterson, Co-Chairs

*To get you the size golf shirt that you request, we must place orders by 8/25.

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!

Songs Under the Stars – September 28th  | 6-9 PM

Songwriters’ Night is Back! Join us as we celebrate the art of songwriting under the open sky. Gather with your PPE family for dinner, drinks, and the stories behind the music. This year, our stage will be graced by the incredibly talented Joy Williams, Ross Copperman, and JT Harding! Bring a chair and we’ll bring the fun. Tickets are limited, so get them now and book your babysitter for this unforgettable night!

SEPTEMBER 28 | 6-9PM | $100 | Teacher Tickets are $25

GET TICKETS

General Announcements

First Day Forms – due TODAY

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 August 25th.

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.

After School Clubs are BACK!

If your child is attending an after school club, Metro requires THIS FORM to be filled out.

• 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. Tuesday is Full but there are spots left for Thursday.  Click Here for Details

• Wonderful Wednesdays – Enjoy stories, art, STEM activities, painting, loft, group games, building with Miss Benson and Mrs. Condra on Wednesdays. Click Here for Details
• Mr. & Mrs. T’s Game Club – Game Club is hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Tanner, and includes games of all kinds. Your child will be playing board games, video games (including vintage Nintendo games), whole group and small group games, and indoor and outdoor games. This is a great opportunity for your child to work on their social skills and have a lot of fun while they’re doing it.  Click Here for Details
• SEL + STEAM CLUB:  Calling all K-2nd graders to spend an afternoon with Mrs. Strobel and Mrs. Lester.  Develop & encourage independent learning, spark imagination, creativity, exploration, socialization & SO MUCH MORE!  FULL STEAM AHEAD…    Click Here for Details
• Book Club– Sign you 4th and 5th Grade Girl up for Book Club with Miss Stuart reading Harriet the Spy.  For 10 weeks, your girl will enjoy an afternoon of reading, crafts, snacks with their friends.  Click Here for Details

• Chess Club – The PPE Chess Program will begin on Wednesday, September 6th. The flyer with details on registration, times and additional information will be in next week’s Friday folder.  For any questions, please contact Coach Igor at igorzhislin@gmail.com.

Dad Bod Run Club

When: Saturdays +/-6:45am

We know it’s early, but your kids will be up at 5:07am anyway.

Who: All ability levels are welcome! In the past, we’ve even been accompanied by strollers, pets, and brothers-in-law, too. Sometimes (not always) Clay brings coffee for post-run recovery.

Routes: We run in one or two groups along the following routes:

+/- 3 miles to Radnor and back to PPE

+/- 5 miles through Radnor and back to PPE

Interested? Join us for Happy Hour Aug. 29 at 5pm at 1200 Vintage Pl.

Download GroupMe App & join: PPE Dad Bod Run Club 

Questions:  Lewis Agnew at Lewis.agnew@gmail.com or 615-712-4318

Clorox Wipes Needed

The Cafe is in need of some clorox wipes to wipe down tables and help keep it clean.  If you are interested in dropping some off to the front office, it would be most appreciated.

Grandparents and Special Friends Email List

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.

Workroom Volunteers Needed

Calling a few good grown-ups to help print and sort for our Friday folders! The front office could use help on Thursday mornings throughout the year and would love to have a dedicated, small team who does this all year long. If you’re interested in volunteering, please Sign Up – PPE Workroom Volunteers

Green Committee News!

Help the Green Tigers implement more sustainability practices at PPE. If you choose, there will be a bin at the front steps next week, to collect the Kindergarten Welcome signs. If your child is a bus rider or the sign is tricky for them to bring in, e-mail PPEgreentigers@gmail.com and we will arrange for the sign to be picked up.

Unicycle Donations

Families, we’re a UniCycle School! That means you can donate your students’ outgrown school clothing items in the collection basket on the PPE front porch, and we’ll fill our UniCycle Closet so that it’s ready to be used by any student here who’s had a summer growth spurt or could use an extra shirt or two. If we collect more than we need, we send it to @Unicycle.nashville and they get it to another school closet or direct to a student experiencing homelessness in the @mnps_hero program. Keep your closets cleaned out and we’ll make sure your items go on to live their next best life – it’s a win-win for all!

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!

Elementary Cross Country

Hey 4th & 5th Grade Parents! We are going to do Elementary Cross Country again this year, coached by Maddie Bledsoe and Zac Smith!

We will have two, 45-minute practices a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting the week of 8/21. There will be four meets in September that are tentatively scheduled for September 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th. At each meet, the runners will run a mile race!

If your child is interested, please email both Maddie (Madison.Mason@MNPS.org) and Zac (Zac.Smith@MNPS.org) by next Friday, August 18th.  However, there is limited availability and we can only accommodate 20 runners! Once we have everyone signed up we will send out more logistical information.

The Roar Store is a wonderful way to show Percy Priest Spirit. Students can wear Percy Priest Spirit wear shirts any day to school in place of collared shirts. They can wear the spirit shorts/skorts on Fridays. This gear, along with PPE accessories, can be purchased through the Roar Store. The Roar Store shop will be open on the following back to school days:

• September 8 – Fall Picnic

Green Hills Park Festival-September 9th

Come and enjoy this Free event on September 9th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm at Green Hills Park. There will be great family-friendly activities, including face painting and a movie as the sun goes down.  For more information: https://www.greenhillsparkfest.com/

Volunteer Spotlight 

Name: Courtney Keller 

Children: Daughters Campbell Keller (1st) & Blane Keller (PPE Alumni | 6th @ JT Moore) | Husband, Chris Keller

Volunteer Role: 1st Day School Supplies and Room Parent

Why Percy Priest:  Percy Priest is such a special school 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: Mary Lockett Hamrick (9),  3rd grade; Adeline (13), PPE graduate/alum

Volunteer Role: 1st Day School Supplies

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!

Small Fundraisers Spotlight

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

Kroger will donate 4% of the total dollars spent in their stores to PPE. To participate, click on this link, create or login to your account and select Percy Priest Elementary PTO as your Community Rewards Organization.

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.

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