About Mrs. Ellis

I would like to take a moment and tell you a little about myself. I attended Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) and earned a degree in elementary education in 2008. I went on to receive my master's degree from NNU in 2015. I received my first teaching job at West Canyon Elementary in Caldwell, Idaho and have taught fifth grade and kindergarten. This year is my 14th year teaching! I am often amazed that I had the blessing of knowing what I wanted to do at a young age and having the privilege of getting to do it right after I graduated from college.

I have always known I wanted to be a teacher. As a young girl I could often be found "teaching" my dolls, friends, or (most unwillingly) my older sister. Being home-schooled, I had the opportunity to create my own bulletin boards and teach using the whiteboard in my kitchen. Now that I'm on the other side of the desk, my passion for teaching has continued to grow. I love planning lessons that invite students into a passion for the content and deeper love of learning. Teaching fifth grade has been a continual joy, and I love seeing the creativity, growth, and passion of my students in their daily work. There is never a dull moment in a classroom with 25+ 11-year-olds, and each year I learn as much from them as they do from me. When people ask me why I am a teacher, I tell them it's because of many small moments. Seeing growth, laughing over shared experiences, tearing up over the triumph of a storybook character, and many others fuel my passion for teaching.

I like to think of life as a series of adventures, and I believe that even everyday experiences can be seen as adventures if you tell the story correctly! I have a passion for international travel, and I have been to 17 countries and 33 states in the past 18 years. My favorite quote is, "I haven't been everywhere yet, but it's on my list". In addition to traveling, I love drinking coffee with friends, eating chips and salsa, making arts and crafts, playing with my awesome nephews and niece, and going on random adventures with my husband and daughters Vivienne and Scarlett.

Here's a short video about me...