About

News

News about The Ellis School includes timely announcements about events, initiatives, and accomplishments happening across campus.

2023

Headlines

  • The Ellis School Class of 2023

    Class of 2023 College Commitments

    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.
  • Lower School STEM Teacher Kim Mechling to Retire After 21 Years at Ellis

    Ellis Recognizes Retiring, Departing Employees in 2022–2023 School Year

    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.
  • Ellis Students Excel on National Language Exams

    Ellis Students Excel on National Language Exams

    Twenty-three Upper School students were acknowledged for their outstanding performance on the 2023 national language exams.
  • Fine Arts Festival Returns to Ellis

    Fine Arts Festival Returns to Ellis

    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.
  • Lower School Students Share Important Message Through "Seussical: The Musical"

    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

    One Year After Ellis: Katie KOEPPL ’22

    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.
  • Senior Projects Showcase Passions, Perspectives of Class of 2023

    Senior Projects Showcase Passions, Perspectives of Class of 2023

    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.
  • Tiger Institute to Join Classes, Focus on Special Topics

    Tiger Institute to Join Classes, Focus on Special Topics

    If you’ve ever been curious about tea traditions around the world, or if you’re looking to plan an art installation or find a good read for your book club, just ask an Ellis middle schooler.

    During the last four days of school, students in grades 6 through 8 will participate in Tiger Institute, a new program akin to the mini-courses that have long been held in Ellis’ Upper School at the end of the year.
  • 2023 Ellis Société Honoraire de Français Inductees

    Ellis Students Inducted into Language National Honor Societies

    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 to Lead Ellis Upper School

    Lauren Fajobi to Lead Ellis Upper School

    Lauren Fajobi has accepted the position of Upper School Division Head at The Ellis School, effective July 1, 2023.
  • The cast of The Ellis School's grade 5 play

    Fifth Grade Class Writes Its Own Ellis Experience, One Play at a Time

    A school play is an exercise in collaboration; a shared experience that often unites a whole grade level in bringing a story to life. It can be a great vehicle for exploring classic theatrical tales—or, in Ellis’ case, a way for students to create a classic of their own.
  • Ellis anatomy students observe an open-heart surgery at Allegheny General Hospital

    Visit to Open-Heart Surgery Expands Students’ View of Medical Career Opportunities

    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.
  • A student jumps rope during Ellis' Middle and Upper School Wellness Day

    Wellness Day Teaches Students to Balance Study with Mindfulness

    Learning how to study, manage time, and problem solve effectively are important tenets of Ellis’ Middle School and Upper School curriculum, but faculty and staff know that another lesson is just as important: learning when to rest.
  • Ellis fourth graders visiting Mancini's Bread in Pittsburgh's Strip District

    From Cheese to Chili Peppers, Tour of Pittsburgh’s Strip District Highlights Fourth Grade Cultural Studies

    What’s your favorite part of visiting Pittsburgh’s Strip District? For Ellis fourth graders, who visited the Strip District as part of a recent field trip, it’s quite a lot—everything from visiting new places to tasting new foods, like Mancini’s breadsticks and Mexican candy. Even better, the February trip experience was tied to some of the students’ favorite reading from this year. It’s all part of the class’s exploration of immigration and migration, an important section of study in the fourth grade curriculum.
  • Ellis Senior to Appear on NPR’s From the Top, Wins Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award

    Ellis Senior to Appear on NPR’s From the Top, Wins Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award

    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.
  • Upper School Students Perform in PMEA Senior District Band Festival

    Upper School Students Perform in PMEA Senior District Band Festival

    Two Ellis Upper School students were selected to perform in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District 1 Senior Band. Hannah Pretter, Class of 2023, and Francesca LaRoche, Class of 2024, represented The Ellis School at the District 1 Senior Band Festival held on February 8–10 at Norwin High School.
  • 2023 Ellis Scholastic Writing Award Winners

    Upper School Writers Earn 36 Scholastic Writing Awards

    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.
  • Art by 2023 Ellis Scholastic Art Award Winners

    More than 80 Art Pieces by Ellis Students Honored with Scholastic Art Awards

    More than 80 works of art (including two portfolios) created by 61 Ellis students in grades 7–12 will be included in the 2023 regional Scholastic Art Awards exhibition. The exhibition and awards ceremony will take place at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Fine Arts & Kresge Theater on Saturday, February 25.
  • Josie Nesbit, Class of 2025, Advances to PMEA Regional Choir

    Sophomore Singer Advances to PMEA Regional Choir

    Josie Nesbit, Class of 2025, has been selected to sing in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) Region 1 Choir. Composed of approximately 180 students from five counties throughout western Pennsylvania, the choir will perform in the PMEA Region 1 Choir Festival on February 23 and 24, 2023, at Pine-Richland High School.
  • The artwork that accompanied Lower School student Alexis P.'s grand prize-winning story,

    Ellis Students Recognized in WPCTE Flash Fiction Contest

    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.”
  • Students learn about Henna at Heritage Night

    Ellis Expands Heritage Day Celebration to Include Dancing, Art, and More

    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?
  • Katriel Camp, Class of 2023, speaks at Ellis' first-ever Gratitude Assembly

    First Gratitude Assembly Brings Ellis Community Together to Appreciate People, Moments that Make an Impact

    Just before winter break began, The Ellis School held its first Gratitude Assembly, an event that will likely be held annually as part of Ellis’ winter holiday celebrations. The event featured student representatives from each division who shared what they are grateful for, including what they love about Ellis. Division Heads and Head of School Macon Finley shared the same.
  • Student Diversity League leaders at Culture Jam: You've Got the Power

    Culture Jam Inspires Students, Faculty to Advocate by Embracing Authenticity

    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.
  • Ellis Lower School students creating the Lower School mural

    Carnegie International Inspires Lower School Students to Express Themselves Through New Mural

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

See What's New On Our Blog

Sort News by Date

< 2023