WEEKLY WONDERS

Week of January 13, 2025

Pictured above: Before winter break, lower elementary students harvested the potatoes they planted in the school garden.

Important Dates

January 11- SCCPSS Choice Program Application Window Opens

January 15- School Council Meeting

January 18- PTA Squeaky Clean Improv Night

January 20- Dr. MLK Jr. Day- No School!

January 25- Family Engagement Meeting

January 31- Donation Dress Down Day

January 31- SCCPSS Choice Program Application Window Closes

January 31- Deadline to contact Ms. Lisa about 8th Grade Yearbook Ad

View the SCCPSS Academic calendar at this link.

View the SCCPSS Assessment calendar at this link.

2025-2026 Pre-K Lottery

You can find more information about the SCCPSS Pre-K program and lottery on the SCCPSS website.

2025-2026 SCCPSS Choice Program

The SCCPSS Choice Program application window for the 2025-2026 school year will be open January 11-31, 2025.

If you have a Pre-K student at Ellis this year, you MUST apply for your student to attend kindergarten at our school next year.

If you have an 8th grade student who wishes to attend a Choice program for high school, you must apply for those schools/programs during this time.

More information can be found on the Choice Program page of the SCCPSS website.

If you have questions specific to our school, you may contact our Choice Program coordinators Ms. Patrice (patrice.prince@sccpss.com) and Ms. Ava (ava.woodie@sccpss.com).

School Council

The next School Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 15th, at 3:30pm in the media center.

School Council meetings are open the Ellis community and minutes from previous meetings can be found on the Ellis website.

JC Lewis Mobile Health Service

The J.C. Lewis mobile health care unit will be at Ellis on Monday, January 27, from 8:15am-11:15am.

Pre-registration is required. Completed forms are due to Nurse Chris (Christine.Oboyle@sccpss.com) by December 17th.

You can find more information (including PDF copies of the required paperwork) on the Ellis website.

PTA Night at Front Porch Improv

Front Porch Improv is hosting a squeaky clean (family friendly) improv show on January 18th at 5:30pm.

Tickets are $12 and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Ellis PTA!

The Ellis PTA wants to thank our sponsor, Tremble Productions, for making this event possible.

You can purchase tickets at this link.

Boosterthon T-Shirt Survey

**Last Chance**

The Ellis PTA, through the generous donations of business partners, provides every student with a FREE t-shirt to wear during the annual Boosterthon Fun Run event (in February).

To ensure that your student gets the best size, the PTA needs parents/guardians to fill out this brief form for EACH of their students.

Thank you for your help with this.

School Counseling

We are excited to begin the 2025 year and welcome all students and families back to Charles Ellis Montessori Academy! If you have not already seen the School Counseling January Newsletter, please click here. There are some exciting events happening in the coming weeks:

Saturday, January 11, 10am-3pm- SCCPSS Student Success Expo at the Savannah Civic Center + Choice applications and PreK applications open
Saturday, January 25, 10-11am- Family Engagement workshop in our media center focusing on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Friday, February 7 - Career Speaker Day! Please consider volunteering for this special day. Speakers will share brief (15 minute) career presentations in classrooms. They are encouraged to bring tools of their trade/visual aids to enhance their presentations. if you would like to register, please fill out this form.

Ms. Rebecca

912-395-5470 x71201

rebecca.burkhart@sccpss.com

Ms. Ava

912-395-5470 x71243

ava.woodie@sccpss.com

8th Grade Yearbook Ads

Grace & Courtesy Focus

Throughout the school year, Ellis has a school-wide focus on certain positive character traits. Each teacher may choose to highlight these "Grace & Courtesy" emphases differently, but as a school we follow a general common curriculum.

From December 16-January 17th, our school-wide Grace & Courtesy emphasis is UNITY/LOYALTY.

The language for identifying/naming UNITY/LOYALTY from the "Self-Awakened Child" series by Jonathan Wolff:

Unity

When I think that all animals, birds, bugs, plants, and people are all part of Earth's big family, I am thinking about Unity.
When I look at all the ways people who look and talk different than I do are like me, I am thinking with Unity.

Loyalty

When I choose to be your friend and I am your friend forever, no matter what happens, I am being Loyal.
When whatever I do or say helps our friendship grow closer and better and I never purposely do anything to hurt you, I am being Loyal.
When my words and actions are the same as the love and truth of my heart, I am being Loyal to myself.

PTA Membership Drive

Join the Ellis PTA at this link.

Questions?

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. You have resources available to you:

Your student's teacher
SCCPSS website
Ellis website
Fellow school community members (via "Charles Ellis Montessori Academy PTA" Facebook group- search for it and join!)