Band Christmas Concert

BRAVO! BRAVO! The bands of Ellis and THS delivered a stellar performance for family and friends.
Job well done students. To the students, Ms. Todd, and Mr. McDaniel, thank you for your hard work and dedication.

2009 THS Graduation

The 2009 THS Graduating class was very fortunate to have someone very well known as their guest speaker, Dr. Condoleezza Rice. Below is a slideshow of pictures from the ceremonies as well as a recording of her address to the 2009 Graduates. What a great memory for all of the 2009 Graduates, students that walked the halls of Zora Ellis Jr. High just a few short years ago. Good Luck Graduates!

2009 Spring Band Concert

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

7:00 p.m./ THS Gym

Admission: $3 (adults) $1 (10 and under)

Performances by: The ZEJH 7th grade band, the ZEJH 8th grade band, The THS Bands, the Ellis Emeralds, Dega Darlins Addition and the Dega Darlins.

Prior to the concert the band is sponsoring a BBQ plate dinner (BBQ from Miller's BBQ) Plates are $6 and can be purchased from any ZEJH or THS band member. (Plates are pre-sale ONLY, none will be sold at the door.) Sale ends April 29, 2009. Dinner begins at 5pm.

We hope you will come out and see the accomplishments of this years members. Both the high school and jr. high band attended state contest; the high school recieving superior ratings. The Winter Guards all faired well throughout the season with the Dega Darlins taking home the title of STATE CHAMPIONS and the Bronze medal at SCGC championships.

See you there!

Thank you Talladega City Schools Foundation!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009, during 5th period at Zora Ellis the sounds of drums filled the air. The Talladega High School Percussion section assisted as the The Talladega City School Education Foundation delivered grants to recipients. Entering through our door with a large check were Dr. Horton, Mr. Campbell, Dr. Buck, Mr. Bailey, Mrs. and Mrs. Rasco, the THS drumline and Mr. McDaniel. Each year the TCS foundation takes applications for Grants and they do their best to fill the needs of as many people as possible. We are very happy to be one of those wishes granted. Our grant was titled, A good foundation, where we asked for money to buy a much needed tuba. Several other teachers in the system were awarded grants as well. At our school, Mrs. Armstrong, gifted teacher, was also awarded the grant for which she applied.

We have been very fortunate this year securing funds for several needed percussion instruments earlier in the year from a grant with Jim Pruitt and are very thankful to the foundation for granting us the opportunity to add another needed instrument to our inventory. As more opportunities arise we hope to acquire even more needed instruments for our program, better meeting the needs of our students, our school and our community.

April in Talladega....Reminder

For those students that participated in the District and State band, don't forget that we have a performance on Tuesday, April 14, 2009, as a part of the April in Talladega Celebration.

Location: Harwell Auditorium

*We will meet in the bandroom at 5:45 PM

Dress: Band Uniform

Black pants (solid), black band shoes, black socks, white band shirt and bowtie

Music: Forward March and Dark Adventure.

See you Tuesday at School. Enjoy your long weekend and Happy Easter!

Congratulations Ladies

Congratulations to the 8th grade young ladies that made the Dega Darlins Addition at THS. Robbyn, Mya, Jatonica, Morgan, Terencea, and MaKayla.

We are very proud of you.
(You can go to their blog by visiting our links on this page)

Alabama Penman Creative Writing Contest

Talladega City Schools Winners

Short Story:

Will and La'Tosha

Poetry:

Samira

Writer's Idol

Pod Four hosted our first annual Writer's Idol in February. Participants competed against each other to win the top spot as ZEJH Writer's Idol 2009. The Final four competed in March. All participants did a wonderful job!

ZEJH Writer's Idol for 2009

Carter

Runners up:

Gabby, Drek, and Will

Marley and Me Writing Contest Participants:

Will, Drek, and Carter

National Winners will be announced in April. Good Luck!

Did You Have Miss Zora Ellis for English at THS?

Do you know someone that had Miss Zora Ellis as a high school English teacher? Maybe you were in her class in 1954. The NJHS is looking for former students of Miss Ellis. A committee of students will be conducting videotaped interviews on April 3 and April 6 from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. in the school conference room. You may participate as an individual or bring a friend along that sat next to you in room 6. Please spread the word and help us share a history of a commendable teacher that impacted the community of Talladega for approximately 42 years. You may call the school 362-5700 or email dottyearmstrong@gmail.com if you are interested in participating.

The Latest!!

National Geography Bee
Recently, Ellis students participated in the National Geographic Geography Bee. The top 10 school finalists were: Philip, Austin, Nicholas, Tyler Gray, Robbyn, Regan, Peyton, Kristin, Barrett, and Nicholas. Thew winner was Robbyn. She went on to represent Ellis at the State level. Congratulations! Another fine example of Ellis students.
Patriot's Pen Essay Contest
The Local VFW, Ladies Auxiliary, Post 4261 sponsored the Patriot's Pen Essay Contest in 2008. This competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on democracy with the prospect of winning U.S. Savings bonds. The essay was to be 300-400 words. It is open to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students enrolled in public, private, or parochial schools in the U.S. The 2008 theme was, "Why should veterans be honored?" I want to personally thank all the students who participated. Nicholas P., a 7th grader, won the school contest. Nicholas was awarded two $50.00 checks from the Local Post VFW and the Local Ladies Auxillary. Congratulations to Nicholas. He is an exemplary student who will grow into a fine leader of our community.
JUNA
A few students in the gifted class traveled to Birmingham-Southern to participate in the 18th Annual Junior United Nations Assembly. The delegations of United Kingdom and Mexico both brought home awards. United Kingdom received the Most Spirited, which is one of the most prestigious awards given at JUNA. Mexico received an award for the outstanding work on their display board. Congratulations and keeping working hard, 2010 is just around the corner.

Keep It Bright!

The 2009 Spring Induction for the National Junior Honor Society, Zora Ellis Jr. High School Chapter was held on February 13, 2009. The new members are Che’Tasia, Kelvin, Gabby, Matthew, Hillari, Brittany, Sabrina, Will, Cate Joseph, Amber, Phlip, Kaycee, Jayla, and Joshua. Congratulations to all these outstanding students. They are all working hard to complete their 10 hours of ISP.

Volunteering is FUN!

BC members arrived at Ellis bright and early on Feb. 28th with spatulas in hand to assist the local Kiwanis and their annual Pancake Breakfast. Members that attended had a great time! The local Kiwanis and ZEJH BC served around a 1,000 people!

Dancing to the Top!

The Ellis Emeralds traveled to Pell City this past Saturday to compete in the first Winter Guard competition of the season, Field Day. They had a great day and in the end won 1st place in the cadet class. As proud as we are of them for the 1st place finish, we went on to discover that they did such a great job that the SCGC promoted them from the Cadet classification, that is made up of jr. high guards, to the Novice classification where they will compete against high school guards.

What a great Accomplishment. Congratulations ladies!

To see more pics and info click here to visit the Ellis Emeralds Blogspot.

Also, Congratulations to the Dega Darlins (click here to visit the Dega Darlin Blog)for finishing Second place and being promoted to Scholastic AAA classification and the Dega Darlins Addition (click here to visit the addition blog) for finishing 3rd and being promoted to the Scholastic B classification.


Great Accomplishments for such talented young ladies.

To learn more about Winter Guard, other schools involved, etc. Click here to go to the official SCGC website.