The Ellis School is proud to announce the Class of 2023’s college matriculation list. The 38 members of this year’s graduating class will attend 30 distinct higher education institutions across twelve different states.

Kim Mechling’s classroom is full of the outdoors. Leaves and pinecones adorn a wreath at one end, while an ever-growing rock collection inhabits the other. All were gifts from students, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Twenty-three Upper School students were acknowledged for their outstanding performance on the 2023 national language exams.

After a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellis’ Fine Arts Festival returned in April with an evening of musical performances, dancing and singing, clay throwing, artwork, and more.

A few days before Seussical: The Musical hit the stage, the Ellis auditorium buzzed with activity from the smallest Who to the most sparkly red and blue fish.

Katie KOEPPL ’22 graduated from Ellis last spring ready to branch out and experience college life. Feeling excited and a bit nervous, she headed into her freshman year at The College of Wooster, a liberal arts college in Ohio. With her first year of college under her belt and studies in French and anthropology underway, she’s looking back at what she misses about Ellis, looking forward to all this summer has in store for her, and offering some advice for Ellis’ Class of 2023 as they prepare for their own first year at college.

The senior project is the capstone of an Ellis student’s experience, exemplifying the ways in which students turn their passions into projects for their communities. Once students pick a project, they must find a partner in the community—a person or an organization—that they can work with to carry it out. They make contact, follow up, work hard, and ultimately complete a project that enhances their own understanding of the topic while also benefiting the organization, and often the greater community.

Nineteen Ellis Upper School students have been inducted into the National Honor Societies for world languages. One student was inducted into the National Latin Honor Society, five students were inducted into the National French Honor Society (Société Honoraire de Français), and 13 students were inducted in the National Spanish Honor Society (Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica).

Lauren Fajobi has accepted the position of Upper School Division Head at The Ellis School, effective July 1, 2023.

For students like Ellis seniors Enysah Roberts and Nora Brown, who are both planning careers in a medical field, real-world learning experiences are everything. So when they found out they could take an anatomy course that included a visit to Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) to view an open-heart surgery, they jumped at the chance.

Amelia Reines, Class of 2023, has been chosen to appear on an episode of From the Top, a National Public Radio (NPR) program and nonprofit dedicated to celebrating the stories, talents, and character of young classically-trained musicians. A classical vocalist, Amelia will record her From the Top segment this spring and be featured on show #436, airing October 2, 2023.

Thirty Ellis students in grades 10–12 were recognized in the 2023 regional Scholastic Writing Awards. The official award ceremony honoring their achievements will take place at Point Park University on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Eight Ellis grade 3 students were recognized for their literary talents in the Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers in English (WPCTE) Flash Fiction Writing Contest, with one student taking home the grand prize for the grades 1–3 age group. Sadie A., Olivia B., Safiya E., Emerson O., Aura S., Silvia V., and Estella W. each received honorable mentions for their submissions, with Alexis P. taking home grand prize honors for her submission titled “Camp Evergreen.”

This year’s Heritage Day event inspired a common question, asked often throughout the day in hallways and around lunch tables, and always followed by excited conversation: Where is your family from?

After seniors Trinity Sims and Sreethi Ramineni attended the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in San Antonio, Texas with Ellis faculty and staff earlier this year, they came away feeling inspired.

What do Lower School students and teachers love about Ellis? A lot, according to surveys conducted by the students.