Be Responsible Be Prepared Be Respectful

Dear Ellis School Families,
Welcome to the 2011-2012 school year. There have been many changes at Ellis School over the past few months; most notably, the reorganization of the Ellis School Administration. This Fall, I will be starting my third year in the Fremont School District, acting previously as the Principal of the Middle School program. Through the reorganization, I have been appointed Principal over Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. My goal is to treat this new responsibility as if it were my first year here at Ellis School; and therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the entire Ellis School community.
This year will mark my 25th year in education. I taught Middle School Language Arts for 13 years in Massachusetts and Maine schools. Before coming to Ellis School, I served as an Assistant Principal in the Rochester School District, at both middle and elementary levels. I feel fortunate to be part of your school that is so focused on student learning, and has a commitment to high expectations and collaboration.
The restructuring of the Ellis School Administration includes the addition of an Assistant Principal and Special Education Coordinator. We are very pleased to have Douglas Totten, Assistant Principal, and Sarah Krebs, Special Education Coordinator, join the Administrative team at Ellis School.
Doug Totten, Assistant Principal. This past year, Mr. Totten was a Math teacher at Sanborn Middle School. Previously, he was a 6th grade Math teacher at Rochester Middle School. Mr. Totten started in the world of Finance, before turning to education. He has worked with all grade levels as a Residential Teacher, where he developed and implemented behavioral management programs for emotionally handicapped children.
Sarah Krebs, Special Education Coordinator. Mrs. Krebs comes to us from the Raymond School District as the former Special Education and Pre-School Coordinator at Lamprey River Elementary School. Prior to that, she was the Assistant Special Education Director at SAU 44 (Northwood, Nottingham, and Strafford).
Please take the time to read the 2011-2012 Ellis School Handbooks that are now available online at www.sau83.org/ms. At this time, there are still separate Handbooks for our Elementary and Middle School programs. Kindly sign and return the Handbook Acknowledgement page to your child’s homeroom teacher.
I hope you will take an active part in your child’s education, and please don’t hesitate to contact me or your child’s teacher with any questions. You may contact me by telephone at 895-2511, extension 103, or by email at jsafina@sau83.org. Let’s work together to make this an excellent school year in every way.

John Safina

Principal

Ellis School