Grady teacher brings Creeks to Coast learning to classroom

By Clare S. Richie

Teaching each generation about environmental science is critical. “Once we understand more about the world around us and our impact on it, we can learn how to be better stewards,” explained Korri Ellis, Grady High School AP Environmental Science and Oceanography teacher. At GHS for more than a decade, Ellis has connected students in landlocked Atlanta to streams, rivers, and oceans. In fact, she is the only teacher in Atlanta Public Schools to teach Oceanography with support from the Georgia Aquarium.

Each summer, Ellis seeks an environmental science continuing education opportunity to enhance her knowledge and rekindle her passion. “A teacher who is still excited about learning will bring that enthusiasm to her students,” she shared.

Last July, Ellis participated in Creeks to Coast, a weeklong teacher workshop that explored the Chattahoochee River system from its headwaters near Brasstown Bald, Georgia to the gulf at

Apalachicola Bay, Florida. The workshop led by Georgia Aquarium and funded by the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia Pacific and Georgia Power provided teachers with field experiences, information and best practices to bring back to their classrooms. Invertebrate sampling, hydroelectric plant tours, fish hatchery and water treatment facility visits, ranger led hikes, daily group discussions and ecosystem exploration were packed into six days.

Ellis’ blog (msellisisapes. tumblr.com) details her experiences and reflections. Paraphrased excerpts:

Day 1: We headed down the mountain to Dukes Creek. The tables were turned, as teachers became the students, learning Georgia Adopt-A-Stream macro invertebrate monitoring protocols. It was the type of class teachers would like to have every day out there in the stream.

Day 6: Where the River empties into the sea. The mixing of the salt and fresh waters in this [Apalachicola] bay creates optimal conditions for oysters to grow, making this the epicenter of the southeastern (at-risk) oyster industry.

Now winter in Atlanta, Ellis recalls the places she couldn’t have visited on her own. “I walked in a granite tunnel below Buford Dam on Lake Lanier, where I could feel the walls vibrating as thousands of tons of water flowed overhead. I literally felt the power of water.” Through her blog and trip notebook she documented many uses of this powerful yet fragile river system as well as the policies for conservation and protection.

Fulfilling her commitment to Creeks to Coast, Ellis will create a lesson plan to share with educators across Georgia. Her lesson plan will focus on water conservation by individuals, cities, and business – using her own pictures, context, and learning from that July week. Beyond that lesson, she refers to her trip notebook throughout the school year. Hopefully, there will be more continuing education opportunities to share with her students next year and beyond.

Little Linguists, a state licensed, language immersion preschool, has expanded with a second location in Decatur and has opened an elementary school, The Green School, in south Atlanta. Little Linguists offers a unique approach to early childhood learning based on neuroplasticity research and the cognitive benefits of early language acquisition. For more information, visit littlelinguistspreschool.com starting January 12 at 10:00 am for returning campers and January 19 at 10:00 am for first- time campers.

Laurie Smilac’s 1st grade class designed a 3D map of e Lovett School as part of their study of maps and neighborhoods. The students were asked to create bird’s eye view maps of their own houses and a portion of their neighborhoods. That led to them wanting to create a 3D map of Lovett to scale. The students brought in boxes to be recycled into buildings. Students worked in groups to plan out the buildings using Google Earth. They talked a lot about how to draw something as if we are “flying overhead in planes.” They also went on a few tours of the school to think about the height and size of the buildings.

Trinity School will host its annual Spotlight on Art Artists Market on Feb. 3 - 8. Volunteers will transform the open space of the Trinity School gymnasium into a gallery that features thousands of pieces by more than 350 artists gifted in all genres, including contemporary, realism, impressionism, folk, sculpture and more. A children’s and youth collection, as well as an extensive artisans’ jewelry gallery and a large collection of home and garden accents round out the experience. To get a glimpse of some of the featured artists from the February opening, the Spotlight on Art Saks Gallery is open now through Jan. 28 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Phipps Plaza. For more, visit facebook.com/TrinitySchoolSpotlightonArt.