Are you coming to the Holiday Lunch on 11/13? That’s a great time to check the Lost & Found.
Check out this photo gallery and see if anything looks familiar.
Happenings
2024 INVEST Campaign and Fun(d) Run
Sylvan Park’s 2024-25 INVEST Campaign kicked off this past week!
UPDATE: We are halfway to the end of our INVEST Campaign and have raised over $35K, 30% towards our goal of $120K! We are coming up on our final push to secure funds for our much needed Interventionist and we still very much need your help!
With 16 days left in the campaign we are announcing POPSICLES FOR PARTICIPATION. This event is our effort to secure 150 INVEST donors by the end of this week! POPSICLES FOR PARTICIPATION is an all inclusive, school wide celebration. If we reach 150 donors, your child will receive a popsicle during their scheduled recess hour on Monday, September 23rd. Already donated? Share with a friend or family member! Thank you!
Our annual INVEST Campaign is dreaming BIG for the 2024-2025 school year as we strive to reach our goal of $120K!
The Fun(d) Run
INVEST is the actual fundraising campaign. The Fun(d) Run was created a few years ago as a way to get the kids excited and celebrate by doing a run around the track at the end of the campaign. They’ll get a “Fun Run” T-Shirt , another popsicle and pride for lots of laps around the track. And a great playlist curated by our very own Coach Scott for a dance party to boot!
Thanks to everyone who came out to support Parnassus, SP Elementary, and the joy of Reading!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in supporting Sylvan Park Elementary while indulging in the joy of reading. Your contributions help make a difference for our school, and we are truly grateful for your generosity.
From 3-6pm on April 20, 2024, the Sylvan Park PTO received 10% of all sales made at Parnassus Books. Whether you were searching for books for your kiddos, yourself, or some amazing signed editions for gifts, it was the perfect time to visit. We hope you took advantage of this opportunity, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who participated. Your support means the world to us!
Parnassus Books, located in Green Hills, is an independent bookstore beloved by our community. Founded in 2011 by novelist Ann Patchett and her business partner, Karen Hayes, Parnassus offers an extensive and exciting selection of books, including fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, local interests, and the arts. We hope you found some wonderful reads to enjoy.
Congratulations to the SP Chess Team: 4th Place in the State!
The Sylvan Park Chess Team placed 4th of 14 in their team tournament which qualified them to participate in the state tournament in Cookeville on March 23rd, 2024.
The Sylvan Park Chess Team placed 4th in the Tennessee State Scholastic Elementary Team Finals in Cookeville this weekend. They placed higher than any other elementary school in middle Tennessee.
Congratulations Avighna, Louis, Alex, Will, & Grant!
Sylvan Park Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
Our Teachers are just ‘PLANE’ Awesome!
Thank you to everyone who helped make Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week come together… And mostly… thanks to the Teachers & Staff who do what they do each and every week.
Hattie B’s donated lunch and the teachers visited “Baggage Claim” on the last day of their travel week.
Thank you to Hattie B’s for lunch on Friday and to HERO for coffee and Donuts on Monday.
Theresa Yarber and Sarah Grace
Teacher Appreciation Team
Sylvan Park 3rd Annual International Night, March 26, 2024
Join us as we celebrate what makes us who we are!
On March 26th, Sylvan Park is hosting an International Night to celebrate the diversity in our school. International Night is an opportunity for our students, families, faculty, and staff to experience the countries, cultures, and traditions found in our community. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
International Night at Sylvan Park
The event will be held in the back parking lot of the school from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
When?
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024, 05:30 PM
Where?
4801 Utah Avenue, Nashville, TN, USA
Volunteers Needed! Are you interested in setting up a display featuring your heritage?
Dear Parents and Students,
We are looking for volunteers to host a table or trunk space! Everyone has a culture and a story to tell. Please share yours with us! Your space could feature a country, your genealogy, or your family traditions. (Please register by Wednesday, March 20th.)
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Scenes from International Night 2023
Thank you to everyone that came out for our second annual International Night! We loved seeing our school come together with such great representation.
Sylvan Park Book Week: We Love Reading!
February 26- March 1st: A whole week to celebrate books and reading!!!!
Each day students are encouraged to dress up to show their love of reading and books.
Monday Feb 26 – “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover Day” – Everyone wears their clothes inside out!
Tuesday Feb 27 – “Crazy Sock Day” – We love books from our heads to our TOES!!! Wear crazy socks to show your book love.
Wednesday Feb 28 – “Read ME Day” – Wear shirts, socks, buttons, stickers, anything with school-appropriate writing that can be read by everyone during the day.
Thursday Feb 29 – “Snuggle Up with a Book Day” for DEAR Time (Drop Everything And Read) – Wear pajamas to snuggle up with a book for “DEAR Day”. Classes will ,Drop Everything And Read for 20 minutes during the day.
Friday March 1- “Book Parade Day” – Come to school with your favorite book. Everyone is encouraged to dress as a favorite book character. We will parade out back around the track starting at 8:10.
Book Parade
On Friday March 1st everyone will bring their favorite book to show in the Book Parade. Students are encouraged to dress as the book character in the book they are carrying! It is not necessary to buy Book Character outfits, be creative and use items in your home like scarves, hats, or paper in new ways.
The Book Parade will be outside around the track behind the school. Families are invited to come to the parade and share in our joy of reading!
If you are coming to see the parade, please sign-in at the tables at the back of the school. 5th & 4th grades will lead our Book Parade starting at 8:10am, each grade level will join in, circling around the track. We anticipate the Book Parade ending around 8:30am.
Other Book Celebration Activities
At school we will have book riddles, a favorite book display, and more to celebrate the week.
Questions? Email Sylvan Park Librarian Kelly.Bulbulkaya@mnps.org
February 8th, 6pm: Diversity Night Speaker Series
February 8th, 6pm: 3rd Annual Diversity Night Speaker Series brings a panel discussion about LGBTQ+ Identities: How to support young people through their journeys.
This support starts with educating and supporting the parents/caregivers and educators about these identities so children feel comfortable to talk about their own process as well as their peers’ process.
Date: 02/08/2024 (Thu.)
Time: 6:00pm – 7:00pm CST
Location: Childcare in the gym/Event in the library
This is a sign-up for Sylvan Park Diversity Night childcare/pizza. Childcare will be available for elementary-aged children at least 5 years old in the gymnasium.
What is Diversity Night?
Diversity Night is an opportunity for the EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) chairs on the PTO Board to invite parents/caregivers and educators at Sylvan Park Elementary to educational discussions around diversity and inclusion. This occurs one night per year and childcare (and pizza) is provided. We believe it is important for parents/caregivers to come to a space where they can learn with an open heart and be part of discussions with minimal distractions.
Previous topics in the series include:
- The Value of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in School-aged Children Learning Environments
- Understanding Neurodiversity in Learning
Student Work from the School Wide Seminar on “ish”
We had our second school-wide seminar right before Thanksgiving break.
Each class read the book ish by Peter Reynolds. The story is about a boy who loves to draw until he is mocked for his drawings and loses his confidence and joy in creating art. The ideas and values discussed were perfection, improvement, joy, motivation, and confidence.
For our post seminar activity, students created a drawing to show how ‘ish‘ thinking may bring you joy and the feeling of confidence and success. We created a school-wide crumpled art gallery to showcase our ish pictures.
The next time you visit, check it out! It is located in the hallway near the cafeteria.
Save The Date: February 29th Sylvan Park Annual Social
We are excited to announce that, after a brief hiatus, our annual parent social has returned! Save the Date for Feb 29, 2024.
Every single parent, teacher and staff member is invited. During the social, we will be having a charity auction to help raise funds for our wonderful teachers and school. Any contribution you make, be it time, goods and services, or money, will have an impact on our children.
What: Food, Drinks, & Silent Auction
Where: 14Tenn Event Venue
When: Thursday, February 29th, 2024
We do need your help!
We are in need of items for the charity auction. We’re looking for restaurant gift cards, vacation homes, staycations, photography sessions, big items, small items, anything you can think to contribute! Do you have an air bnb you’d be willing to donate? Sport memorabilia? Sommelier skills? Season tickets to Bridgestone or Nissan? Soccer tickets? Do you have friends who own businesses in town that might want to contribute? You can talk to your room parent or email pto.spark.fundraising@gmail.com.
Thank you, as always, for all your help.
The PTO Holiday Gift Guide: Fantastic, personalized gift ideas that also support Sylvan Park.
Need Ideas for Christmas That Will Leave Everyone Impressed?
Hate shopping? Never know what to get a few folks on your list? We’ll be sharing some gift ideas in our socials in the coming weeks so if you don’t follow us, go check out our account @sylvanparkpto!
Please share this with friends and family as well. The more that participate the more the school raises plus you get a nice discount too.
Everyone has the folks on their Christmas list that are near impossible to shop for. They have everything… hard to impress… you know the drill. We have some ideas below that will be sure to make them smile.
BONUS: use FUNDRAISESYLVANPARK at minted.com/holiday you get 20% off PLUS 15% goes back to Sylvan Park. Win win!
Magpie’s Children’s Clothing
Magpie’s curates the very best in baby, children’s, tween clothing, decor and beyond with a goal to bring JOY.
Use FUNDRAISESYLVANPARK in store and online to get 10% off PLUS 10% goes back to Sylvan Park. Valid 11/16 through 12/23.
Minted: Unique Art, Home Decor, Holiday Cards
Use FUNDRAISESYLVANPARK at minted.com/holiday you get 20% off PLUS 15% goes back to Sylvan Park. Win win!
Custom Art:
Minted has TONS of these but cool way to lock in a milestone memory, trip or guaranteed win for all the moms/grandparents out there.
Framed Lyrics:
First dance, favorite song, lyrics from your annual grade performance, T Swift song from Era’s tour or movie. So many options for a cool gift here!
Framed Campus:
Meet your spouse at college? Graduate just pick a college? Get that MBA or do a special course? This is perfect to memorialize that big milestone moment!
Gratitude Journal:
Life can be hard. Gratefulness helps. Good for anyone! There are recipe journals and even kids journals in here which we’ll highlight next week!
Personalized Tote:
Put a magazine, favorite book or pretty journal for a special gift! TONS of patterns and sizes online
Good to be Kind
Nice with a charitable donation in someone’s name or in a kids room by their give/save/spend jars!
Belle’s Library, Personalized:
Just in time for the book fair, create a reading nook with books from book fair the week of the 13th with fun new art!
Pouch Link:
Great for those teenagers and or something fun to give a gift card in!
Photos from 2023 Trunk or Treat
Thank you to everyone who helped to make 2023’s Trunk or Treat a success!
Trunk or Treat was held in the school parking lot on Thursday, October 26th from 5:30-7:00. Thank you to all of our volunteers and our incredible teachers!!
Related Arts snagged the coveted “Best Costume” award for their portrayal of “The Addams Family.”
2023 INVEST Campaign: We Made It!
We started this year with the most ambitious fundraising goal that we have ever had… And we made it!
Thank you so very much, we could not have made it without the generous support of each and every member of our Sylvan Park Elementary Community. Your generous donations have helped to fund the instructional interventionist, a position which provides crucial support for students who are not at grade level, and benefits all Sylvan Park students.
Special thank You’s to Jenn Morse, Jamie Hess, Ashley Ryan, OscarAnderson, Leah Monica and Jon Wright for a STRONG INVEST campaign
A huge Thank You to all our business sponsors:
Photos from National Walk to School Day
Thank you to everyone who made Walk to School Day on October 4th, 2023 Amazing!
Special thanks to Holly Hixson and Kimberly Linfert for their organizational prowess. 🙂
Thank You to Our Generous Walk to School Day Sponsor: Shakti Power Yoga
They are offering their best discount ever just for Sylvan Park families, good for 10 classes for only $120. Just use promo code “walktoschool” in checkout.
Thank You for Meeting up at Hero Doughnuts!
Thanks to everyone who came out and had a pastry with us on Saturday, September 9th HERO DOUGHNUTS & BUNS. Events like this offer space to meet outside of school, support local businesses, and raise money for our school.
Much thanks to Hero for donating a percentage of all sales to Sylvan Park PTO
Visit them at https://www.herodoughnutsandbuns.com/
