PTO Newsletter 1/17/25
On Monday, there is no school as we honor Martin Luther King Jr., a leader who dedicated his life to equality and justice for all. His message of peace continues to inspire, and this national holiday is a time to reflect on his legacy and the lessons that remain meaningful today.
Curious about getting involved in PTO leadership? Join us this morning for casual conversation and coffee to learn more! Next year will be a big year in a new building so we are starting to look for interested leaders early. Terms start in July and there are great ways to get involved! Email us anytime (PresidentsPPE@gmail.com) with questions or interest, or join us for coffee to learn more: TODAY, January 17, 10am, Hill Center Starbucks (by Whole Foods).
Teacher Appreciation week is coming soon!! The Teacher Appreciation team will be showering our teachers with love the week of February 3-7 so watch for ways to sign up to help. Thank you SO MUCH to Jamie Kuhlman and Vicki Lubnick who have been leading our Teacher Appreciation committee for several years. You both are amazing!
Important Dates
Note: Dates are subject to change. The BEST way to stay updated is with our PTO Google Calendar – view and subscribe here!
- January 17: Coffee & Learn (about PTO Leadership opportunities)
- January 20: No School (Martin Luther King Jr Holiday)
- January 31: Navigator Day
- January 31: Talent Show (now one night!)
- February 3-7: Teacher Appreciation Week
- February 8: Belmont Basketball Game Fundraiser
- February 10-14: Used Book Sale
- February 14: Valentine’s Day Class Parties
- February 17: No School (Professional Development Day)
- February 18: Read-A-Thon Begins!
- February 21: Read-A-Thon PJ Day
- February 23: Parnassus Spirit Night
- February 25: Family Skate Night
- February 27: Percy’s Reading Party
- February 28: Navigator Day
- March 3: Read-A-Thon ends
- March 7: Half Day (Dismissal 11:30) and Read-A-Thon Celebration
- March 6: Arts Night
- March 10-14: No School (Spring Break)
- March 17: Back to School!
Upcoming Community and Fundraiser Events
Come support our 2nd-5th grade kiddos! Want to get involved and volunteer? Sign up here!
We are still accepting book donations! We welcome books that are appropriate for Kindergarteners through 5th graders, and we especially need chapter books.
This event will happen about a week ahead of the Read-A-Thon so the kids will get excited and have “new” books to read. Donation bins will be on the PPE front steps.
We will need volunteers to help during the sale in February, so be on the look-out to sign up for that in the future. Feel free to reach out to Gillian Stewart, gstewart0707@gmail.com, or Avery Van Pelt, avery.t.vanpelt@gmail.com, with any questions!
Get ready for one of our favorite community events of the year – Percy’s Reading Party (Feb 27)! We are busy planning a great night of activities, reading, Percy the Tiger appearances, themed fun and special snacks. Want to be part of the planning crew? Email Megan Gesell to help out meganmgesell@gmail.com.
Spring Auction: March 29th at Richland Country Club
Save the date for the best night in the Spring to have a ball. There will be music, food, dancing and fun items to bid on to help support our school.
Auction Volunteers Needed!
It’s time to get working on the biggest party of the year – the Percy Priest Spring Auction – and we need your help NOW! Join the Auction Committee to get our incredible catalog of silent auction items secured. It’s an easy job you can do from home, and we’ll provide you with contact information plus scripts for calling/emailing potential and repeat donors. The more people we have contributing their time to this important PTO fundraiser, the easier the task! Please email percypriestauction@gmail.com.
General Announcements
PPE Chess Program – new spots open!
The PPE Chess Program and Team has a few open spots on a first-come, first-served basis. The Program meets on Wednesdays after school until 4:20pm. Please email Coach Igor at igorzhislin@gmail.com for more information.
PPE Yoga Club
Spots remain for K-2 grade classes (Tuesdays) and 3-5 grade classes (Thursdays) so sign up today. The fee includes a yoga mat and 10 sessions led by the Small World Yoga team. Sign-ups will close on Friday, 1/24!
Wonderful Wednesday
Teacher sponsor: Condra/Dick
Date: We will meet each Wednesday beginning January 22nd -April 2
Time: Dismissal 4:00
Grade Level: K & 1st
MORE INFO and PERMISSION SLIP
Join us for coffee on Wednesday, January 22, right after drop-offs! Share your favorite gadgets, apps, providers, and camps—or come to learn from others. Let’s collaborate, empower each other, and start the year strong as caregivers to children with unique abilities. Sip, share, and leave inspired! RSVP to ppecares@gmail.com. Location: 1134 Sewanee Road
We are a UniCycle partner! Once our closet is full of what we need here, we’ll share any extras with @unicycle.nashville to get to another school’s closet or a specific student in unstable housing through their close work with @mnps_hero. All sizes needed, and coats and NEW underwear are welcome, too!
Brrrr! Cold weather is upon us so don’t forget to bundle the kiddos up! Layers are great since room temperatures fluctuate. And don’t forget to check lost and found if items don’t make it home.
Watch this space for updates, FAQs, important information and more.
For now – we need your stories! Parents and students, send us either your FAVORITE MEMORY of PPE so far or WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST with the new building. Email these to PresidentsPPE@gmail.com and we will start featuring a “GOODBYE” (fave memory) + “HELLO” (future memory) every week in the newsletter!
Update 1.17.25
Our new building construction is on track! Teachers will move into the new building over summer and our back to school “sneak-a-peak” will be a brand new experience for everyone. Demolition of our current building will start over summer. The Spring PTO event will involve a tribute to our current building for all the great memories and years it has supported our students, teachers, and staff. This will be a big event so if you are interested in being part of the planning crew, follow this link and click “Spring Event/Tiger Dash”.
FAQ 2: When will I get to tour the building? Some special 2024 Auction winners are taking their VIP tours over the next few weeks but we have great news. The General PTO meeting was moved from January to March 18 so that we could offer a sneak-a-peek! Stay tuned for more information about our March meeting that will be all things “Navigating Transitions” and will include a peak in the new building.
Fundraisers
Belmont Basketball Game Fundraiser
Come cheer on the Bruins and support our school Saturday, February 8 when Belmont takes on Missouri State. Purchase tickets here and Belmont donates money back to PPE!
Get Involved!
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!
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.
Small Fundraisers Spotlight
For a list of all of our ongoing small fundraisers, please visit our Small Fundraisers webpage.
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.