Huge TIGER ROARS are in order for 2 big awards last week!

• Dr. Tina Atkinson received her 2024 National Elementary Art Teacher of the Year award. Years of dedication and hard work (26 years at PPE) teaching our children each week has led to this prestigious award.
• Ashley Strobel was named PPE Teacher of the Year! With an impressive tenure of 16 years at PPE, Ms. Strobel has demonstrated her dedication. She initially served as a kindergarten teacher before transitioning to our exceptional Education Department this year, showcasing her versatility and commitment to providing quality education.

Also, there are a few special DO-NOT-MISS deadlines coming up so want to highlight those specifically:

• Tiger Tennis Social is TODAY! If you have tickets we will see you there for this great fundraising event.
• TCAP testing starts next Tuesday for grades 3-5. Get your testers rested and ready and see below for more info
• Talent Show sign up: ask your 1st-5th graders if they want to sign up! This is a joyous community event to celebrate all types of talent found throughout our school and can’t wait to see the range of acts that shines through.
• Incoming Kindergartners! Do you have an incoming Kindergartner? Do you have a friend who does? Have them reach out to our Kindergarten Liaison Hayden Wilson (wilsonhaydenp@gmail.com) to get in the loop on our popsicle party!

Important Dates

• April 12: Tiger Tennis Social (Rain Date April 26)
• April 14: Ferns – last Day to Order
• April 16: Progress Reports Issued
• April 16-25: TCAP Testing Grades 3-5
• April 17: Taziki’s Spirit Day
• April 18: Papa John’s Spirit Night
• April 21: 5th Grade Mother/Son Event
• April 26: 5th Grade Father/Daughter Dance
• April 28: Incoming Kindergarten Popsicle Party
• 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

• 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

PPE 5th Grade Mother-Son Event – April 21

Strike! Don’t miss the 5th Grade Mother-Son Event for some games, laughter, and fun. Click here or scan above for more details and to RSVP today.

April 21 | 1-3 pm | Pins Mechanical

PPE 5th Grade Father Daughter Dance – April 26th

It’s a love story! PPE 5th grade girls and their fathers or special friends will be celebrating their Tiger Era in style. Are you ready for it? Shake it off with us! It will be the night of your wildest dreams: Music by DJ Louie, enchanted memories, photo ops to tell the story of us and sweets! Let’s go out in style and make the whole place shimmer.

When: April 26, 2024 6:30-8:30 PM

Where: PPE gym

Register by April 19th (1 week left)!

Don’t forget to get your commemorative Tiger Eras t-shirt!

Popsicle Party for Incoming Kindergarteners – April 28 at 3:00

Rising Kindergarteners and their parents are invited to come meet each other and enjoy a popsicle on the PPE playground Sunday, April 28 at 3:00. It’s a great way to start getting connected! Also, please go ahead and register for Kindergarten so our planning for the fall can begin! Details can be found here.

April 28 | 3:00 pm | PPE Playground

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.

April 29 | 5:30 pm | PPE Cafe

Field Day 2024 – May 3 9:30 am -12:30 pm

Get ready to lace up those sneakers and sport your Navigator or House shirt because Field Day 2024 is just around the corner! Join us for a day packed with fun and fitness as students embark on exciting activities like the 40-yard dash, can smash, and a climbing wall.

We need your help with running events for our students! Please sign-up here to bring a case of water or to help run an event. Make sure to sign-up for both the 3rd and the rain date of the 10th.  Even if you are not able to help with an event, we invite all families to join us on Field Day. But please remember that due to construction, parking on and around campus will be limited.  There will be additional parking available at the corner of Otter Creek Rd and Robert E Lee (5844 Robert E. Lee).  If possible, we ask families and volunteers to park at this location and walk to the school.  Thank you for your help.

Field Day Volunteer Sign-Up

May 3 (rain date May 10) | 9:30-12:30 (Volunteer check-in at 9:00) | PPE Front Circle

2024 Tiger Dash – May 5th at 2:00pm

Registration is OPEN!  Please click HERE to sign up for this new and fun event!

Come enjoy our 1 mile COLOR run from Percy Priest down the Forest Hills Pathway and back up Otter Creek Road.  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.   We are partnering with the Forest Hills Pathway Project’s Spring Lemonade Walk, so plan to browse the tables that will be setup on Priest Road. Bring a towel and clothes you can get messy!

May 5 | 2:00 pm | PPE and Forest Hills Pathway

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

It’s TALENT SHOW time! Sign up now to be an act (grades 1-5 only please) or to be on the crew (grades 4 and 5 only please). We can’t do this without parent and guardian help and volunteers as well. Help these stars shine at PPE’s very first Talent Show!

May 17 | Time TBD | PPE Cafe/Stage

Sign up STUDENTS to be in the show or crew here.

Sign up PARENTS to be volunteers here.

Small Fundraisers

Elan Month of Giving – April 1- 30

During the month of April, Elan Skin will be donating 10% of all in-person sales for treatments, products and/or gift cards back to the PTO with the mention of PPE! This is a great opportunity to take advantage of your favorite products or treatments. And Mother’s Day is just around the corner if you need gift cards! Thank you!!

Market Fresh Ferns – Order by April 14

If you want the biggest, healthiest Fern on the block and you love Percy Priest be sure and buy your ferns now (by April 14). 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

Taziki’s Spirit Day – April 17

Join us for a Spirit Day with Taziki’s in Green Hills (2190 Bandywood) on Wednesday, April 17th between 11 am-9 pm!  Taziki’s will donate back to the PTO 15% of all orders placed online or in-person using the unique code PPE. This applies to both lunch and dinner! Thank you for your support!

Papa John’s Spirit Day – April 18

PPE friends and family, take the night off from cooking and feed the family while supporting the school! Use our unique code PPES when ordering from Papa John’s and the PTO will receive 20% of all orders placed using that code. You can pre-order days in advance just make sure to select the appropriate date and input our unique code.

Nashville Sounds – April 20 and 21

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

Detailed testing schedule with durations found here

3rd – 5th Grades TCAP Testing Schedule: April 16-25th

Testing will begin promptly after morning announcements, so please ensure that your student arrives on time during our testing dates. Tardy students will be held in the front office as to not disrupt the testing environment and will have to take their test at a later time.

As TNReady testing approaches, a reminder that electronic devices including smart watches and cell phones are not permitted in the testing area. Our preference is for students to leave their electronic devices at home during testing. If students bring these devices to school, they will be required to turn them off and store them in their backpack. We ask that you please help us with this, so we can avoid any test irregularities.

Thank you for your support in helping us create an optimal test environment for students.

JT Moore Prospective Parent Sessions – April 22 | May 2nd

Current JT Moore parents and the JTM PTO would like to formally invite 4th and 5th grade parents from the feeder schools to a Q&A session with current JTM parents and administrators/teachers to learn about all the wonderful things this school has to offer!

When: Two dates to allow for flexibility in your attendance: April 22nd and May 2nd from 5:30 to 7

Where: Community Foundation Building; 3421 Belmont Blvd

What: Conversation with other parents and a panel discussion with Q and A session

RSVP: Please RSVP ASAP for planning purposes

Vote for Dr. A for Educator of the Month

Our own Dr. A was also nominated for statewide Educator of the Month but she needs your votes! Follow the link and click on Dr. A’s photo to cast your vote. And come back often – you can vote once every day! Educator of the Month – Tennessee Lottery

Tiger Tales Podcast – Latest Episode 104

Join the Percy Priest Podcast Club as we talk about school events and happenings in our school. In this podcast we have two new segments, Construction Junction and Sports Talk. We also have some other fascinating interviews. Tiger Tales, Episode 104

Volunteers Needed – Artsy PPE Volunteering!

Calling all retired teachers, creatives, or *anyone* who likes to keep their hands busy! We really need your help to make all the end-of-year art magic happen. Email kelly@kellyterrellart.com TODAY for artsy PPE volunteering!

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.

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.

Lands’ End will donate 3% of all qualifying Standard School Attire (SSA) purchases to Percy Priest. Its catalog has a large selection of SSA and PPE logo clothing. Visit Lands’ End to place your order! Be sure to select the Percy Priest Elementary PTO by linking your account to our Preferred School Number: 900121294

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