Sylvan Park Paideia Elementary School

Dear SPE Parents, 
The interest from SPE has been too great to allow so many smart kids to sit out from chess club! The school has agreed to allow us to add a second group in the library from 3:05-4:05 pm on Thursdays.
You can register on our website here – the cost has been pro-rated for 9-weeks. We will end on May 4th now, because of today’s “inclement weather” day. Students will be checked in at PNA or you should plan to pick them up in the front of the school at 4:05 PM. 

Black History Month Spirit Week begins today!

Join us for restaurant night at Nicky’s Coal Fired on Wednesday, March 8th. There will be designated tables for SP families and bottles of wine are half off. Nicky’s is generously donating 10% of sales to our school!

You are invited to attend the West Arts Fest on March 9th from 6-9 p.m. at The Cafe at Thistle Farms. There will be delicious food, beverages, music and a phenomenal silent auction. Money raised will go toward funding a full time art teacher, enrichment experiences, and increased resources for West End Middle School. Buy your tickets here.

Please join Principal Goetz for her quarterly check-in via Zoom on Friday, February 24th from 8:15-8:45am. This casual meeting is a great chance to share feedback or ask any questions about Sylvan Park Elementary. Join the Zoom meeting here.

Join us Thursday, February 23 from 6-7 p.m. for an insightful discussion of Disney’s Encanto. Encanto has been praised for its positive representation and reflection of diversity. Upon its release in 2021, it generated a social media wave. Numerous posts showing videos of children overjoyed at the sight of a cartoon character that looked like them, their parents, grandparents, and community appeared on the internet. People of all ages continue to share how they feel represented and uplifted by seeing, finally, themselves, their noses, curls, and skin tones in a major Disney film. The movie’s success underscores the importance of giving both voice and image to the true diversity of the world in which we live. Free babysitting for potty trained children ages 3-12 available; sign up here.

Sylvan Park Paideia Elementary recognizes that February is Black History Month. We would like you to join us today and everyday in acknowledging accomplishments and contributions Black people have made for our society, and how many Black influencers and contributors continue to move our society forward.

This year the theme of Black History Month is Black Resistance. Resistance of historical and current oppression, in all of its forms.

We at Sylvan Park stand with our neighbors and teach our students to live for *liberty and justice for all!*

It was great seeing everyone that came out for a great seminar on Neurodiversity last Thursday. Huge thank you to Verity Rodrigues for her time and expertise!

Help us show our teachers and staff some LOVE this month! Sign up here to help us stock the Teachers’ Lounge on February 15. Our Sylvan park staff loves this showing of support – thank you for your contributions!

Join SP families to root on the Belmont Bruins Men’s Basketball Team on Wednesday, February 22nd at 6:30. The Kids Zone will be open and $5 of every ticket will go back to our school. Click here to purchase discounted tickets for $12.

Thanks so much to everyone who donated to our January Stock the Lounge Teacher Appreciation event. Our staff loved it!

We will be working to clean up the school’s garden in time for spring! On Saturday, February 25, we will be removing the existing garden soil from each bed, relining the beds with garden fabric, and then filling the beds back in with garden soil and compost. We will provide coffee and donuts for everyone. Hope to see you there – sign up today!

Chess club will be held on Thursdays Chess from 3:05 – 4:05 PM and will run for 10-weeks on the
following dates:
February 2, 9, 16, 23
March 2, 9, 23, 30
April 13, 20, 27

Registration coming soon! Visit www.ncc.clubexpress.com/ or email nashvillechess@gmail.com for more information.

NSU soccer will meet on Thursdays after school and is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 9. Visit http://www.clubhenry.com/in-town-1 for more info and to register.

Please join us this Thursday for Diversity Night from 6-7p in the school auditorium. We know this will be a special evening and we hope you can be there! Free pizza and childcare for elementary aged children 3+ will be provided by the PTO. You can sign up for childcare here.

We are delighted that the very talented Verity Rodrigues will be presenting about “Understanding Neurodiversity in Learning“.  Through her experiences and training as a school psychologist and licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Rodrigues specializes in providing coaching and professional development to educators and school administrators on utilizing evidence-based assessment and intervention practices for students on the autism spectrum. At TRIAD, the Autism Institute at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Dr. Rodrigues works across TRIAD’s school-based professional development team supporting educators in autism evaluation and leading the development of professional learning content on autism and mental health. Dr. Rodrigues has served as an advisory board member on the Mental Health and IDD National Training Center and is currently the Tennessee Children’s Mental Health Champion through the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.