Enysah Roberts, Class of 2023, has been honored with a gold medal in the category of Biology/Microbiology as part of the first-annual Coraopolis NAACP ACT-SO Program. An acronym for Afro-Academic Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics, ACT-SO is a yearlong enrichment program that recognizes, prepares, and rewards African-American youth who exemplify scholastic and artistic excellence.

For the eighth time in 14 years of competing, Ellis’ Middle School Future City team placed first at the Pittsburgh Regional Future City Competition. The team was also honored with special awards for Best Transportation System and Most Creative Use of Recyclable Material. Ellis’ Future City students advanced to the National Finals (held virtually in early February) to compete against fellow aspiring engineers from across the country, and it was announced in late March that the team’s city had won the American Ceramics Society's award for Best Use of Glass in Technology and for Sustainability.

Ellis third graders love a challenge—especially when it comes to math, and even more so when they get to work as a team. Whether they’re brainstorming the best designs for their division quilts or writing original word problems and seeing if their classmates can complete them, a special kind of joy can be found in the moments when the students are stretching their problem-solving skills together. But as much as these young scholars enjoy collaboration, they’re now excitedly preparing to participate in a nationwide math contest, a special challenge that they will take on as individuals.

AP Calculus BC is the capstone mathematics course at Ellis—the highest a student can climb within the math world before leaving the Upper School. The class represents a culmination of all the mathematical knowledge students have developed over the course of their academic career thus far, and it even reveals connections to disciplines outside of math, such as physics and biology. Just as important as the class’ subject matter, though, is the classroom environment in which it’s taught. As any senior taking it will tell you, it is a strictly judgment-free zone.

Ellis will launch the next phase in the dynamic evolution of the School’s STEM program this summer with the renovation of the Middle School science labs.

Bailey Nolan, Class of 2026, was selected to perform in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 1 Junior High Orchestra. She represented The Ellis School at the District 1 Junior High Orchestra Festival held on February 18 and 19 at North Hills Middle School.

Ellis senior Ada Perlman presented to City Council on Tuesday, February 8, as part of her work with the citywide Students and Government Council (SAGC) program, of which she is one of three senior advisors. Alongside her SAGC peers, Ada shared the outcomes of the students’ District 9 project, a groundbreaking initiative launched by Councilman Ricky Burgess that gave students the legislative power to fund programming for the first time in Pittsburgh history.

Ellis Middle and Upper School students were honored with top awards at the 2022 Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) regional competition. The students were recognized for experiments they researched, designed, and conducted in categories including biology, physics, biochemistry, computer science, chemistry, ecology, and microbiology. Students who placed first are eligible to continue on to the state competition in May.

Amelia Reines, Class of 2023, has been chosen to sing in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) All-State Chorus. Amelia placed among the top 28 singers in her voice section from across the state and will perform in the 2022 PMEA All-State Festival.

Selah Cyrus, Class of 2027, Lizzie Brown, Class of 2026, and Bailey Nolan, Class of 2026, currently have artwork on virtual display for the 2022 Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) Youth Art Month exhibition.

What was daily life like in the Indus River Valley? How is the Chinese New Year celebrated? Who participated in the very first Olympics? An encyclopedia or Google search could provide these answers—but you would get a much more exciting response from an Ellis second grader.

Katie Johnson has been named the next Athletic Director of The Ellis School, effective July 1, 2022.

Natalie Ficca, Class of 2024, has been nominated to represent The Ellis School in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2022 Students of the Year program.

Middle School Physical Education Teacher Brianne Kelly has been selected for induction into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Hall of Fame. Ms. Kelly, who also serves as a coach for Ellis’ Middle School soccer and lacrosse teams, is one of 16 inductees in the WPIAL Hall of Fame Class of 2022, the 15th class in the Hall of Fame’s history.

Meghan McNabb, Class of 2022, will go from Tiger to Griffin when she joins the Division II Cross Country and Track and Field teams at Seton Hill University this fall. Meghan, who plans to enroll in Seton Hill’s 5-year Integrated Master’s program for Nutrition and Dietetics, signed her National Letter of Intent and celebrated her commitment on campus alongside her classmates and fellow Upper School community members.

On Friday, January 14, 2022, the Upper School community gathered on campus to participate in Culture Jam, The Ellis School’s annual diversity conference for high school students. Organized by Ellis’ Student Diversity League (SDL) and now in its eighteenth year, Culture Jam is the longest-running student-led diversity conference in the region.

Ellis Chemistry students kick off the school year with an algebra lesson. This may come as a surprise for some of these aspiring scientists, who perhaps were picturing bubbling beakers or mysterious solutions instead of sorting out equations. But, according to Chemistry and AP Chemistry Teacher Lynne St. Hilaire, as students fuse their math and science knowledge and begin to see how the two disciplines intersect, they’re mastering foundational skills that will empower them to become more confident chemists.

Three Ellis third graders were recognized for their literary talents in the Western Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English (WPCTE) Flash Fiction Writing Contest. Shay J., Ryan M., and Scarlett R. each received honorable mentions for their submissions, titled “Pete!,” “Zombie Princess,” and “The Man with the Mask and the Blood Red Hand,” respectively.

Building a bobsled for a baker. Designing an exercise space for a snow queen. Constructing a bathing contraption for a beloved family pet. It’s all in a day’s work for Ellis Lower School students, who learn about engineering through the lens of empathy—and use a lot of imagination while doing so.

The students who participate on Ellis’ FIRST Tech Challenge team have been busy, to say the least. For months they’ve been working away in the lab, building their own robot, programming code, and figuring out just how their new creation will operate. Now, they’re setting their sights on the event they’ve been waiting for and striving toward all year: their very first competition, which will also mark The Ellis School’s debut as a FIRST Tech Challenge contender.