WEEKLY WONDERS

Week of February 3, 2025

Pictured above: Erdkinder students use watercolors to paint a landscape during a field trip to Oatland Island Wildlife Center.

Did you know that Ellis Erdkinder students go to Oatland on a regular basis as part of our "Child in Nature" partnership?

Photo: Ms. Tiia

Important Dates

February 1- Family Engagement Book Study/Discussion

February 7- Career Speaker Day

February 13- PTA Boosterthon Fun Run Kick-off

February 14- SCCPSS e-Learning 1/2 Day

February 17- Staff Planning Day

February 21- PTA Boosterthon Fun Run

February 27- PTA Zoom Meeting

View the SCCPSS Academic calendar at this link.

View the SCCPSS Assessment calendar at this link.

Please join us on Saturday, February 1, at 10am in the Ellis Media Center for the next family engagement book study/discussion.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Ellis PTA, there are some copies of the book The Anxious Generation available for check out through the school library. If you would like to borrow a copy, contact Ms. Lisa (lisa.odonnell@sccpss.com) and she will set up a community account for you to check out the book and send the book home with your student.

Annual Carnation Sale

Coach Lesley is now selling carnations for Valentine's Day delivery. The flowers will be delivered to the recipient(s) of your choice on Thursday, Feb. 13th (Valentine's Day, Feb. 14th, is a district e-Learning/remote learning day.).

If you would like to purchase a carnation for your student, student's teacher(s), etc., you can do so at this School Cash Online link. **Make sure you also fill out the Google Form linked on that page as well.**

JC Lewis Mobile Health Care Service

The J.C. Lewis mobile health care unit will be at Ellis on Monday, March 10, from 8:15am-11:15am.

Pre-registration is required. Completed forms are due to Nurse Chris (Christine.Oboyle@sccpss.com) by March 3rd.

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

PTA Board Nominations

**The PTA still needs your help!**

The Ellis PTA needs volunteers for a nominating committee to search for PTA Executive Board members for the next two-year term (2025-2027) for the following positions:

Co-President

Vice President/Co-President

Secretary

Treasurer

If you are able to help the PTA by joining the nominating committee, please complete this form.

If you are interested in running for one of the open positions yourself, please fill out this form.

There will be a PTA Zoom meeting on February 27th to elect the nominating committee for the PTA's 2025-2027 Executive Board.

PTA Culture Fest

Join us on Thursday, March 7, from 5-7 PM at Charles Ellis Montessori Academy for our Cultural Festival! Let’s come together as a school community to honor and celebrate the rich diversity of our families.

Families are encouraged to showcase their culture and heritage in any form—music, dance, literature, food, fashion, or other creative expressions. Share your favorite dish, set up a tent to teach a skill, or simply come to enjoy the festivities.

The PTA committee is open to ideas from all Ellis families willing to participate and we're happy to help you make it happen. You can email Wanzilu (s.nzilu@gmail.com) with your ideas and to register your participation.

In the meantime, please take a moment to fill out this questionnaire to help us map out the richness of our community!

Let’s celebrate what makes us uniquely different yet similar. We can’t wait to see you there!

Student Accolade

Congratulations to Ellis band member, Oz, who has been awarded a position in the Georgia All-State Band!

Oz will be rehearsing and performing in the most prestigious Middle School Ensemble in the state of Georgia and will attend the All-State Event at the end of February in Athens, GA, representing both Ellis and SCCPSS.

Congratulations on a job well done!

Yearbook

The 2024/2025 Ellis yearbook is now available for pre-order. Pre-ordering a yearbook is the only way to guarantee that your student will receive a copy as we do not order many extras.

You can purchase a copy of the yearbook on the Strawbridge website or you can send cash or check (payable to "Ellis Montessori Academy") in the envelope that will be sent home with your student next week.

The cost of the yearbook is $15 until February 15th then the cost goes up to $20, so order your copy early!

The deadline to pre-order a yearbook is March 15th.

Pre-ordered yearbooks will be distributed directly to your student when they arrive later in the school year.

If you have any questions, contact Ms. Lisa (lisa.odonnell@sccpss.com).

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 January 21-February 7, our school-wide Grace & Courtesy emphasis is SELF-DISCIPLINE.

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

When I do what is right for me to do--not just what I want to do-- I am acting with Self-Discipline.
When I do what is good for me and other people--not just what is good for me--I am acting with Self-Discipline.
When I stop my hurtful thoughts, feelings, words, and actions from hurting myself or hurting someone else, I am acting with Self-Discipline.

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!)