Volume 12, Issue 10
HORTON NAMED NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

For the first time in her illustrious career, Anne Horton has been named the National Field Hockey Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations! "It really is an honor to receive this award," Horton told a reporter for ThisWeek News. "I have been blessed to have had wonderful athletes, a dedicated coaching staff and the support of the school's community over the years. The common link is that we shared the same passion as we worked to find our best each season."  
ACADEMY'S CAMPUS EARNS ARBORETUM ACCREDITATION

For just over 50 years, Columbus Academy has been located on this beautiful wooded campus and been able to use practically all 231 acres as a learning environment and living laboratory. Many have cared for and documented its majesty over the past five decades including retired faculty member MaryEve Corrigan, the late Phil Hess and current science teachers Joel Davis and Dianne Griffin. Now a new group led by middle school science teachers Ruth Giglio and Alison Gorsuch has worked with a committee of students to receive accreditation of Academy's campus as a Level I arboretum! Learn more about the accreditation process and what it means for Academy at Plants Map and The Academy Life. 
MIDDLE SCHOOL MUSICAL OPENS TONIGHT

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was first produced 50 years ago, and tonight this Andrew Lloyd Weber classic will be staged at Columbus Academy by these middle school cast and crew members! Also involved are a children's choir consisting of lower-schoolers in addition to upper school students serving as director's assistants, designing the set, sound levels and lighting, and helping backstage and in front-of-house positions. The curtain rises at 7:30pm for both shows, with a special Backstage Pass event in the band room from 6:30-7:15 p.m. on Saturday, when you can hear from faculty and performing arts members Stefan Farrenkopf and Amy Brooks about this year's musical.  
MARK YOUR CALENDARS

All parents and guardians are encouraged to attend this upcoming Wednesday's PACA Parent Forum featuring Academy's Director of Technology Sean Cullinan from 8:00-9:00 a.m. in the Dining Hall. February 6 will also mark the Viking Corner resuming its regular store hours of 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays (although it's open 24/7 at www.vikingcorner.org with USPS shipping). Parents and guardians of middle-schoolers are invited to attend classes with them from 8:05 a.m. until noon on Tuesday, February 12. Following this MS Shadow Day, students will remain at school for special "Arts Day" activities in the afternoon. And for families with young ones, a parent coffee on Outdoor Winter Fun With Your Children will be presented by Grace Gordon, who is a naturalist and associate teacher in our 3-year-old classroom, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. on February 19 in the Dining Hall.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION ON FEB. 24

From 3:00-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 24, all families and friends are invited to join MOSAIC for its celebration of Black History Month in the Dining Hall. The event will include food, music and art featuring selected works from Aminah Robinson on display in the Morris Hall Art Gallery as well as Academy students presenting prominent figures from the Harlem Renaissance with a living wax museum. Guest performer Eric Dozier will also be joining us, and we hope your family and friends will, too!
MIDDLE-SCHOOLERS HOST STUDENTS FROM CHINA

 
Last Wednesday, 20 sixth-graders, 3 eighth-graders and 4 teachers from Shanghai Shangnan Middle School spent the day in our Middle School. The visit was connected to our Upper School's trip to China in 2017, when a group of Academy students and faculty/staff traveled to their district. After a gift exchange, the Chinese students shadowed our middle-schoolers as they attended classes and ate lunch. At the end of the school day, Academy's sixth-graders performed a song in both Mandarin and English for their visitors and then said goodbye as their guests boarded a bus to continue their American adventure.
SUMMER EXPERIENCE REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Registration for Summer Experience 2019 is now open, and spots in our weekly programs are filling up fast! Brochures are available online and throughout campus. If you have any questions, please call 614-509-2267 or email summer_experience@columbusacademy.org. 
CAMERATA TO PERFORM WITH PROFESSIONAL CHOIR

 
Columbus Academy is partnering with LancasterChorale to sing a joint concert at the Lincoln Theatre. Our singers in Camerata get the chance to workshop with the LancasterChorale performers during the afternoon of February 16 and then perform a piece on their own at the 7:00 p.m. concert as well as two combined pieces with the professional choral musicians. "This is the first concert like this," says Academy choir director Amy Brooks. "We are honored that we were invited to join this adventure! Also, the LancasterChorale is directed by former CA choir director Stephen Caracciolo." 
COLLEGE COUNSELING PRESENTATION SLIDES

One of many strengths at Columbus Academy is our College Counseling Office, which recently hosted a pair of parent coffees for those who are in or approaching the college search process. A final one on Athletic Recruiting is being rescheduled for 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 14, in the Dining Hall. Here are the slides and handouts from the first two presentations:
ARTS & MUSIC SCENE

Stop by our art gallery in Morris Hall between now and Spring Break to see the first-ever group exhibit by the French Leave Collective, which is a diverse community of artists working out of Central Ohio that includes Columbus Academy art teacher Crystal Tursich. "Our members strive to provide their peers with support, opportunities and honest, rigorous artwork critique," says Tursich about the group that meets once every 4-6 weeks with members bringing their work and seeking feedback. "As we share knowledge, pool our resources and seek opportunities for the group and for each other, we help one another to make better, stronger artwork and to be more involved in our local and national art community. The mix of styles, media and working processes creates a unique survey of trends in contemporary art today." All are invited to a gallery reception from 6:00-8:00 p.m. tonight (Friday, February 1). 
SERVICE LEARNING

Our student-run Service Board held a Blood Drive earlier this month that "was absolutely the best run and most successful blood drive we have had at CA in many years," according to Service Department Chair Christy Bening. In addition to a record-high 43 pints of blood donated, the event also produced the most-ever number of new donors. "A big shout-out to Megan Schmitz, Sammie Kass and Carolyn Zhang for their student leadership and to all the first-time donors who took the plunge to support those in need in our community," said faculty member Craig Yakscoe, who also is a part of the school's blood drive team. "This is a big deal, and we are all proud of you! Lastly, thanks should go out to our Red Cross team and our rep, Ms. Grogan, and our CA support staff of Christy Bening, Alicia Crain, Mark Mitchell and Ron Leach for all they do to support and help to make these blood drives a success."   
SPORTS REPORT

Columbus Academy sophomore Regan Cornelius and junior Kiersten Thomassey were both recently named to the West/Midwest All-Region First Team. Just this week, Regan was announced as a member of the U.S. U-17 Women's National Team that will travel to Europe in mid-April to play Germany's and Belgium's U-16 teams. And on Tuesday, MAX Field Hockey named Regan a 2018 High School Third Team All-American! Both were All-Ohio First-Teamers after leading our Vikings to a perfect 21-0 season and the school's 11th field hockey state title this past fall. 
 
Led by Mid-State League Swimmers of the Year Sarah Cabré and Jacob Eismann, our swimming & diving program swept both the girls and boys league team championships today for the sixth-straight year! Winning individual league titles for our girls were Cabré in the 200 free & 100 fly, Sammie Kass in the 100 free, Abby Yakam in the 100 breast, the 200 free relay of Cabré, Lauren Klinefelter, Alexandra Butnariu & Kass (in meet-record time of 1:42.29) and the 400 free relay consisting of Mary Kate Prall, Butnariu, Annalise Grammel & Cabré. MSL champs for our boys were Eismann in the 100 & 200 free (in meet-record times of 46.61 & 1:43.78), Eric DeVore in the 50 free, Jack Campbell in the 100 back, Mike DeAscentis in the 100 breast, the 200 medley & free relays of Eismann, DeAscentis, Campbell & DeVore (200 free set meet record with 1:28.11) and the 400 free relay of Drake Bellisari, Ethan Nankervis, Jacob Beck & James Cao. League runner-ups were Kass (50 free), Jordan Skilken (diving), Campbell (100 fly), DeVore (100 free), Cao (500 free) and Whitney Hannallah (100 breast). 
Senior Night Photo Galleries
  • Swimming & Diving
  • Bowling
  • Ice Hockey
  • Girls Basketball (photos coming soon)
  • Wrestling, February 6 in Barton Room
  • Boys Basketball, February 15 in The Mack (Little Dribblers)
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