09/01/2026
Message from our principal, James Stuart:
❤️ YOU ARE LOVED BECAUSE YOU ARE LOVED. ❤️
Take some time to read 1 John 4:7–21. Really read it. Read it in a couple of different versions. What jumps out at you?
“You are loved because you are loved.”
This is our spiritual theme for the year at Mt. Ellis Academy.
Imagine a school, a church, a community that simply loves others because that is who we are. We reflect the image of a Creator who is love. Imagine the culture that creates. Who wouldn’t want to be part of that kind of community?
But that culture takes time to build. It requires wholeheartedness and consistency. It is seen in how we greet one another each morning and in the hallways. It is seen when teachers take time to tutor students. It is reflected in the thoughtful procedures that guide our school.
It underlies everything we do.
We are now entering our third week of school, and so much has already happened!
🏔️ TETON OUTDOOR SCHOOL
We spent our first week camping in Grand Teton National Park. Students snorkeled in a stream searching for trout, hiked across a glacial outwash plain and over a moraine, and explored a playground of enormous boulders left behind by mountain glaciers.
They explored elk migration routes and hiked to a waterfall. Most students hiked over 20 miles, crossing a 10,700-foot pass into a surreal backcountry valley filled with moose, bear, wildflowers, and Grand Teton in all its jagged glory.
But perhaps the best experiences were the simplest ones—playing games together and singing around the campfire. 🔥
🌲 SENIOR SURVIVAL
We won't tell you exactly where we went, but it was remote, wild, and… rainy!
And we survived—or rather… thrived!
There is a mystery that surrounds the experience of Senior Survival, but it is a bonding experience like no other. Students cook together, build fires, construct their own bivouacs, learn survival skills, and face challenges as a team.
One of the most rewarding parts was watching student leadership emerge right before our eyes—students moving from frustration to elation, encouraging one another, hugging each other after team-building challenges, and growing through biblical leadership experiences.
The culture is building.
Student leadership is being developed.
And a movement is beginning to take place on our campus.
This is Mt. Ellis Academy.
Discover. Develop. Serve. ❤️
