Volume 12, Issue 3
TWELVE NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS

Congratulations to our 12 Columbus Academy students who were officially announced yesterday as 2019 National Merit Semifinalists: Mira Bhasin, Marcus Grewal, Kaitlyn Heintzelman, Ginnie Ma, Eric Menq, Cole Raiken, Abhi Ramesh, Himaja Reddy, Maggie Ridgeway, Colin Sullivan, Aden Weiser and Katie Wunsch!
MEREDITH KESSLER '96 JOINING COMMUNITY DAY

 
Come take the Viking Rampage Challenge on Saturday morning and run alongside world-class triathlete Meredith Keeran Kessler '96! Festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. with registration for the Viking Rampage followed by the ¡HOLA! Fútbol Tailgate, numerous home athletic events, food trucks, Matt the Balloon Guy, a caricaturist, assorted games and prizes, and much more! Please note that there will be no parking along Campus Drive between Cherry Bottom and Viking Way. Cars CAN park on Campus Drive between Viking Way and Beecher entrance as well as in the upper school parking lots.
FACILITY ADDITIONS & RENOVATIONS COMING

Those attending the opening Parents' Association Forum earlier this month were the first non-faculty to hear from Head of School Melissa Soderberg about plans for three facility projects on campus. The one already underway and scheduled to be opened next week is a new nature-based playground for our youngest students. Another, with construction beginning this spring and being completed in September 2019, is a complete renovation of our Schoedinger Theatre that will include all new seats, a balcony, acoustical panels and a remodeled lobby. The final project, which will start in November and be finished by next winter, is a 23,000-square-foot, all-purpose fieldhouse accompanied by improvements and enhancements throughout the athletic training and locker rooms. Don't miss the next PACA Forum scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 3.
36TH ANNUAL CHARLIE DAVID DINNER

The entire Columbus Academy community is invited to the 36th annual Charlie David Dinner in the Dining Hall from 5:00-7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 12. Tickets are just $10 (children 6 and under eat free) and can be purchased at the door for this casual, schoolwide tailgate that includes a delicious City BBQ dinner (vegetarian options available), silent auction, $1,000 cash raffle and boardwalk games for children run by our upper school student organizations in the Jones Gym. This fun event benefits CA's middle and upper school athletic teams. You are encouraged to stay for the varsity football game against Bloom-Carroll, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and is free for all Academy families. Please click on the following links to purchase tickets or become a sponsor and to volunteer at the event. Over 800 MS and US student-athletes thank you in advance for your support!
NEW ART SHOW OPENS TOMORROW

Laurie Clements (parent of Academy alumni Andrew '02 and Chelsea '05) will exhibit her new large-scale paintings on campus in the Morris Hall Gallery from September 14 through October 14. The gallery will also be open this Friday night from 5:00-7:00 p.m. to help kick off Alumni Weekend. Laurie, a graduate of CCAD and later the director of admissions and a teacher there, has been painting all her life. Her rich, vibrant landscapes and florals echo her passion for art and life. She was the 2013 artist in residence with the New Albany Symphony and is represented by the Hayley Gallery. She lives in Westerville with her husband Tom. For those interested in Laurie's work, please contact her at www.laurieclements.com/contact, and 25 percent of your purchase will be donated to Columbus Academy.
CELEBRATING HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

¡Saludos a todos! (Greetings to all!) Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15, and Columbus Academy is excited to celebrate the contributions of Americans whose families come from Mexico, Spain and the Caribbean as well as Central and South America. As a part of the month-long celebration, we encourage families to come together in the kitchen and around the table to enjoy the rich culinary traditions from these countries. In Spanish, the word "cocina" can mean "kitchen," "cooking," "cuisine" or the command "cook!" Each week, we encourage you to prepare a dish that pivots around a common theme. The Upper School Library has graciously set up a display with beautiful cookbooks featuring stories, histories and authentic recipes. These books will surely provide lots of inspiration and information to get you started. A full listing of the weekly cooking themes for the entire month can be accessed here. If you prepare a recipe, we hope you'll share it with the CA community as a part of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Share photos of your kitchen adventure on social media using the hashtag #CAHHM or email directly to our communications and marketing department at morganj@columbusacademy.org. Action shots, finished dishes, your family eating together and more are all welcome images! We hope you'll enjoy fun and flavor cooking together and that you'll try something new inspired by Hispanic Heritage Month. ¡A cocinar! (Let's cook!)
FIRST PARENTS' DAY OUT ON SEPTEMBER 22

Take advantage of five glorious, wonderful hours to yourself: visit a friend, date your spouse, go to the grocery store, go on a hike, clean the house or do whatever it is that helps you find peace. Enjoy this time while your children are safe and well taken care of by the experienced after-school staff at Columbus Academy! Snacks will be provided. Please contact programs@columbusacademy.org with questions. And mark your calendar for future Parents' Day Out dates of Saturday, October 20, and Saturday, November 17.  
APPLE-PICKING SERVICE EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 30

Join the Columbus Academy Service Board for the very popular Apple-Picking Service Event at Lynd Fruit Farm in Pataskala from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 30. Pick a bag for your family and one (or more) to donate to local food pantries. Again this year, prices are $15 for small bags and $25 for large bags. Families from all divisions are encouraged to attend! Please enter the orchard near the Corn Maze (entrance on Morse Road, just west of 310 traffic light). Follow the Columbus Academy "Service Event" signs and Lynd greeters to our white tent within the orchard; this is the specific area where fellow CA families will be picking. After you purchase the apples at the farm exit, upper school students will be waiting to collect your apple donation. Last year, 890 pounds of apples were collected by Academy families and donated to the Faith Mission homeless shelter. Thank you for your time and energy to help those in need while supporting our local farmers. If you have any questions about this event, please feel free to contact Bryane Roberts. 
ARTS & MUSIC SCENE

Academy's Upper School will stage "Twelve Angry Jurors" in the Schoedinger Theater at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, November 2-3. The cast includes seniors Aylah Mendenhall, Bobby Diller, Sophia Tidwell, Mira Bhasin, Sidney Edson and Cole Raiken, juniors Michael Hoffman and Simon Iobst, sophomores Jay Whitney, Sejal Jindal and CJ Leet, and freshmen Eden Singelton-Tarr and Ryan Reagan. "I'm very excited about the cast and can't wait for you to see them in action," says Scott Dillon, who is directing the show with junior Nikki Turley as his student assistant.
SERVICE LEARNING

Susan Culler Soden, parent of alumna Blair Soden '02 and an active Columbus Academy grandparent, is beginning a program on our campus called Memory Bears. In 2004, after the passing of Susan's only sibling from a brain tumor, a hospice group in Pennsylvania made her a stuffed teddy bear out of clothing from her loved one, and the thoughtful gesture sparked her idea for Memory Bears. Now, 14 years later, Susan continues to lend a helping hand to those who have recently lost loved ones, whether family members or friends, to help comfort many families and children while also providing a lasting memory. Susan originally presented the idea in an upper school service meeting, as the students personally related to it with the bears she created for the grandchildren of longtime beloved faculty member Susan Neal after her passing in June 2017. The program starting at Academy is open to students across all three divisions with the first meeting taking place tomorrow for our middle-schoolers in the MS MakerSpace from 9:15-9:45 a.m. The group will then meet on "E days" moving forward at the same time and location. Older students interested in helping Susan work on bears are welcome to stop by the US MakerSpace on Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. No experience is necessary as everyone is welcome to help sew, cut patterns of clothing and stuff bears. For more information or questions about the program, please contact Susan Culler Soden at lives_recorded@me.com or a division representative: Alicia Crain (Lower School), Michelle Platt (Middle School) and Gwen Nzimiro (Upper School).    
SPORTS REPORT

Our varsity sports teams are all looking strong so far this fall. Girls tennis -- undefeated after nine matches -- is ranked third in the state, and field hockey has outscored its seven opponents by a 56-0 margin. Volleyball has won seven straight and is 8-1 overall, while our defending state champion golfers are tied for first heading into the league postseason tournament on Tuesday. After earning a first-ever win on Newark Catholic's home field, our 2-1 football squad hosts archrival Bexley tomorrow. In soccer, our boys are 5-2 and our girls are 4-2 following 2-1 home victories by each last night. And our cross country teams both produced the individual winners at last weekend's wet and muddy McGowan Invitational (you've got to see the photos below) with the boys (pictured) also taking the team title!
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