Again this year, grades 4th-5th will have Mrs. Meri Scribner, previously Meri New. She
has a masters in counseling and psychology and a specialsist degree in brain based learning.
She hopes to obtain her doctorate in the near future. Ms. Meri has been with GEP students
now at Ellis for 17 years. When she first started here, she alone worked with all 40+ GEP
students at their varying grade levels. Now we have 5 GEP teachers, so she now enjoys
focusing on the 4th-5th grades. Her area of emphasis will be enhancing students’ creativity
while incorporationg language and art through project based activities.
Grades 6 and Erdkinder GEP (7th -8th) will be with the wonderful Dr. Patra Rickman and
the envigirating Mr. William Hooper. Last year was Ms. Patra’s first year in GEP, but
prior to that she was downstairs with the younger students and has 11 years experience.
Mr. William on the other hand has been with our GEP middle grades for 9 years. The
students will be seen in GEP a little different this year. We are trying to ensure for every
student to have equitable opportunities in GEP. Therefore, Mr. William will begin with Ms.
Susan's 6th grade and Mr. Denny's and Ms. Christy’s Erdkinders. His focus will be Social
Studies. Ms. Patra will then take Mr. Trent's 6th graders and Ms Kami's and Ms. Amy's
Erkinders. Her main focus of study will be Science. Classes will later switch to the other
GEP Teacher when second semester begins.
patra.rickman@sccpss.com
Second and Third grade will be with Ms. Anne Powers-West for another year. She has
been teaching GEP at Ellis for 7 years, and was in the classroom with third graders! Ms.
Anne also has an incredible art background and is interested in gardening and composting
with worms. The students will hone their observation skills in nature, and they will learn to
sketch and paint what they see and feel. Ms. Anne’s class always has a productive hum
because students are as busy as bees! She is looking forward to a wondrous year of
explorations with her GEP students!
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In first grade, we have Mr. Christopher Schell who has been at Ellis for 15 years. He has
worked with kindergarten, grades 2/3, and grades 6/7/8 in science and social studies He has
a BFA in art and a Master's in Elementary Education. Mr. C enjoys project based learning,
which tends to be a huge focus in GEP here at Ellis. Projects on gardening, using hand tools,
and incorporatinmg art into everyday learning will become second hand in first grade. He
can’t wait to meet this group of children.
220 E. 49th St. Savannah GA 31401  912-395-5470
We are so very excited to begin yet another school year with our GEP families. There is
some exciting news we would like to share: Ms. Linda Hempfleng retired last spring and is
now getting to spend her time with family! She is thrilled about this new adventure and will
be missed by many. Her Lead GEP position will now be shared by Dr. Patra Rickman who is
also the Specialty School Chair, and Mrs. Meri Scribner who was the lead prior to Ms.
Linda. This duo is extremely excited about their new endeavor and getting to know all the
different families. If you have any questions or would like to meet them, either can be found
in room 34 B, near the Art room. You may also reach them via email or phone call. They
look forward to meeting you soon!
Contact: meri.scribner@sccpss.com
Welcome Back GEP Parents and GEP Students!
CHARLES ELLIS MONTESSORI GEP PROGRAM 2015-2016
8/12/2015
TAKE NOTE
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Please make sure you check out your GEP Teachers website on a regular basis. Here you will find things
going on in the GEP room, important information parents should know about, due dates, forms to complete,
GEP wish lists, reading material, gifted links, as well as any other pertinent information regarding your
GEP child’s day to day GEP life. In addition to the GEP Teacher’s website, a few GEP groups will be
maintaining a GoogleClassroom this year. All 4th-8th use them in their regular classroom as well, so it will
help to better collaborate between classes keeping work in one place for student use.
In order to enhance parent communication and teach our students organization, we will be using colored
pocket folders (color tba and sent home) for GEP use and they will be sent home periodically with any
information you may need to see or sign. In the past, we have sent home things with students and they have
gotten lost, never returned or sometimes not even being seen by the parent. We even tried sending
information home with classroom papers, but this got confusing too. Therefore, GEP students will have a
colored folder for parents’ review. When you see this GEP folder, please make sure you look inside, read
and/or sign and send it back as soon as possible. If you see duplicated items from the homeroom class, that’s
okay. We are required to keep GEP items on file for our records.
We will have one or two GEP parent meetings this year. No date has been set yet, but it will more than
likely be prior to a PTA meeting. We want to better communicate to GEP parents this year and keep the
lines of communication open, as well as help parents understand GEP expectations and see what GEP’s day
to day routines and activities are like.
We are in need of certain GEP supplies: See below websites for updated wishlists. If you have other items
you think might be of interst, please see your GEP Teacher to see if it’s appropriate. However, all classes
are in need of KLEENEX, HAND SANITIZER, PAPER TOWELS, CLOROX WIPES, PENCILS and
NOTEBOOK PAPER. We are also searching for FLASH DRIVES for classroom use, approximately 5-6 each.
Teacher Emails/Websites = firstname.lastname@sccpss.com
Ellis: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/default.aspx
Mr. William: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/staff/hooper/default.aspx
Ms. Patra: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/staff/rickman/default.aspx
Ms. Meri: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/staff/new/default.aspx
Ms. Anne: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/staff/west/default.aspx
Mr. Christopher: http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/Ellis/staff/schell/default.aspx
We know it’s going to be a fabulous year this year! We can’t wait to get in the trenches of learning and
explore with your child. If you should need to reach any of us, please send a quick email or feel free to call
the school and leave a message. We would be more than happy to speak with you and assist you in anyway
possible. Here is to a super duper year!
With Excitement and Enthusiasm,
William, Patra, Christopher, Anne and Meri
Back to School Ellis GEP News Aug