My 10 Most Beloved Ellis Memories
When I leave the office for the final time on June 30, I will have 36 years of memories to take with me. That includes 36 first days of school, 36 commencements, and 36 years of watching girls transform into resilient, ambitious, and adventurous young women. It includes so many Heritage Days, Holiday Bazaars, Upper School proms and dances, and celebrations of student, faculty, and institutional accomplishments. However, most importantly, my memories include 36 years full of love, laughter, and learning.
As my time at Ellis winds down, I would like to take a minute to reflect upon and share some of my most cherished memories of The Ellis School and our amazingly wonderful community. Here are my top ten most beloved memories from my 36 years:
- The Courtyard: how it looks in the sunshine, hearing the birds compete with the sounds of the Lower School girls calling out “Hi Mrs. Newham!” from across the space, and experiencing the graduates in their white hats at Commencement.
- The Arbuthnot House Porch: the chatter of Middle School girls eating lunch year-round, and the escalation of activity and noise outside my window as the end of the school year approached.
- The Art Studios: my first home at Ellis, I remember walking through the back playground surrounded by the scent of the old Nabisco cookie factory (now Bakery Square). I fondly remember the radio blaring and the Upper School students tapping into their creative potential through drawing, painting, jewelry-making, batik, and so much more.
- The old AV Room: now the Media Lab, this transformed space was the home of the art history program, with two slide projectors humming and scores of art history students sharing my love of the Advanced Placement art history curriculum.
- Opening the Hillman Family Upper School Building: the excitement of the students to open school in the fall of 2000 in this space was positively electric, and the paint was barely dry!
- The Athletic Field: cheering on the Ellis Tigers with other loyal and enthusiastic fans and seeing the difference that a beautiful home field can make.
- Car Line: I will always cherish the happy greetings, including many hugs that I received on those early mornings on the sidewalk. I only wish that I could have done it every single day.
- Meetings: yes, I actually liked meetings and the collaborative spirit and balance of hard work and lighthearted fun and laughter that typically characterized Wednesday morning meetings, stand-up meetings, department meetings, Ellis Parent Association meetings, Administrative Team meetings, and meetings with the Trustees and the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
- Time with Students: the challenge of quieting down so many energetic girls, and the fun of exploring new places with girls on Upper School trips to places near and far.
- Ellis Alumnae: their visits to campus or my visits across the country to spend time with them have been a source of joy and pride for me.
My gratitude to Ellis and the thousands of students and adults that I have known and loved is the enduring memory that I hold in my heart. I am grateful for the gifts that I have received for my retirement—the amazing party and the beautiful pin designed by jeweler and Ellis alumna Karen KRIEGER ’75, the Lower School platter decorated with every student’s fingerprint, the new art studio aprons that grade 8 students donated to Ellis, and the beautiful bird bath in the Courtyard that the graduating seniors gave to Ellis, both in my honor, as well as the many gifts made to the Ellis Fund. Thank you all for this remarkable send-off, and I look forward to crossing paths with you again.
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