Volume 12, Issue 16
ACADEMY CELEBRATES 106TH GRADUATING CLASS

 
Columbus Academy celebrated its 106th graduating class during a morning Commencement ceremony on June 6. Following welcomes by Head of School Melissa Soderberg and Senior Class President David Barren, Cary Cup recipient Dalyn DeCree delivered a memorable Valedictory Address, and an impassioned Commencement Address was provided by Robert L. Solomon II, assistant vice provost for The Ohio State University Office of Diversity & Inclusion. "Your character, your involvement, effort, attitudes and actions can create a pathway for others or it can create roadblocks," Professor Solomon told our Class of 2019. "You have a legacy to leave, so please don't take it lightly." Also, our apologies to the family of Caleb Crawley, who should have been noted as a "lifer" in the Commencement program.
PACA LEADERS HIGHLIGHT BUSY & SUCCESSFUL YEAR

 
"From room moms and dads, team parents, service volunteers and those who helped to coordinate our many events and guest speakers throughout the year, we cannot be prouder in our parents' passion in pursuit of our shared goals," write the leaders of our Parents' Association in a year-end recap letter (pictured is outgoing PACA Co-President Mike Ahern in costume at last month's Iconic 80s Spring Gala). "We are so very grateful the outpouring of time, volunteerism and awesome support from our community."
BOB KIRK '67 RETIRES AFTER 44-YEAR CAREER

After completing his 44th year as a faculty member at Columbus Academy, Bob Kirk retired this month as the public speaking instructor who has guided thousands of students through the Junior Speech program over the past two decades. He looks forward to spending more time with his wife Lucinda, daughter Carmen and two grandchildren as well as others he mentions in this recent interview. We encourage you to join us in thanking Mr. Kirk for his service to Academy and congratulating him on his retirement as a faculty member!  
UPPER SCHOOL HONORS ASSEMBLY COVERAGE

 
Last month's Honors Assembly, the final awards recognition event of the year for our Upper School, included a memorable Cum Laude Address by science teacher Joel Davis, the award announcements (watch presentations of the four major honors to Ginnie Ma, Dalyn DeCree, Aylah Mendenhall and Colin Sullivan) and the dedication of the 2019 yearbook to our college counseling office. Congratulations to all those who were recognized for their outstanding achievements! 
MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARDS CEREMONY RECAP

 
At the end of May, our Middle School Awards Ceremony culminated in the presentations of the eighth grade's two most prestigious honors. Kate Fornshell received the Frank B. Rasor II Cup, awarded to that member of the Middle School who, in the estimation of the faculty, has displayed outstanding qualities of thoughtfulness as manifested by a friendly, helpful attitude toward new and younger students, respect for the rights of other classmates and courtesy toward other members of the school community. Gavin Lewis, meanwhile, earned the Robert Smith Character Award for the eighth-grader who, in the estimation of the students in the Middle School, displays the highest esteem for the rights of others, demonstrates unparalleled support for all members of the school and possesses the courage to maintain the strength of his/her convictions despite pressure from peer groups to do otherwise. 
UPPER SCHOOL INSTALLS NEW STUDENT OFFICERS

 
Following elections this spring, outgoing Student Council (Ethan Nankervis and Julia Gurevitz) and Service Board (Caroline Mallory and Himaja Reddy) officers passed along their student leadership roles to Kathan Reddy (Student Council President), Miles Razek (Student Council VP), Abby Yakam (Service Board President) and Alisha Mohsin (Service Board VP). Congratulations to all of the upper school leaders already selected for the 2019-20 school year!
VIKING CORNER STORE HAVING SUMMER SALE

 
For all new and returning families, the Viking Corner store in our dining hall will be open from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 3. Families of incoming new students, especially, are encouraged to stop in, shop and enjoy a 15 percent discount on all eligible Academy spiritwear and accessories! Also, vikingcorner.org is open throughout the summer.
JOURNALISM CLASS PRINTS END-OF-YEAR EDITION

The Academy Life is our award-winning journalism program headed by upper school English teacher Pat Hogan. Most of the student work ends up on https://ca-life.org but a year-end print issue is handed out following Commencement. According to Ms. Hogan, much of the credit for this year's final edition goes to rising sophomores Carolyn Vaziri, Andrew Barren and Katie Rankin. Click below to view the complete 12-page issue, which includes senior memories, kindergarten wishes and a special tribute to retiring athletic director Dominic Facciolla by rising seniors Andrew Cahall and Charlie Sabgir.
CA HOSTS RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM INSTITUTE

Columbus Academy's Lower School was an early adopter of Responsive Classroom, an evidence-based approach to education that focuses on the strong relationship between academic success and social-emotional learning. It empowers educators to create safe, joyful and engaging learning communities where all students have a sense of belonging and feel significant. Earlier this month, our campus has hosted one of just four Responsive Classroom Summer Institutes across the country, so we were thrilled to welcome 160 educators from across the Midwest, including 22 teachers from our own school!
ADVERTISE IN 2019-20 ARTS & ATHLETICS PUBLICATIONS

Each school year, the Parents' Association of Columbus Academy (PACA) publishes an arts playbill and three sports programs to help promote the many endeavors in which our students participate. New for the 2019-20 school year is the opportunity for you to advertise your business in all four programs for one price. Each Academy household, totaling more than 800 families, will receive a copy of both the arts playbill and fall sports program, with the winter and spring sports programs distributed to student-athletes at their end-of-season banquets. Each sponsor will also receive copies of both publications for display at their business or office. If you have or know of a business that would like to place an ad in our arts and athletic publications, please reply back your interest and artwork for the ad by Friday, August 2, to communications coordinator Jeremy Morgan at morganj@columbusacademy.org.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SEPTEMBER 21ST

Everyone in the Academy community is invited to the fourth annual CA Community Day on Saturday, September 21, 2019. We'll kick off the weekend of events on Friday night with the Charlie David Dinner, followed by our Viking football team vs. Whitehall and the lower school campout. Then join us Saturday for the Viking Rampage Challenge, a full slate of home athletic events, family-fun activities, food trucks and much more. Both days will also feature events surrounding our Alumni Weekend. More details to come.
ARTS & MUSIC SCENE

Each year, seniors who have left a mark on Academy's theatre program earn the privilege of signing a backstage wall. According to Scott Dillon, who has been managing our Schoedinger Theatre since 2004, this year marked the first time a graduating senior was the child of someone who also earned that privilege when Katie Anderson placed her name next to her father's (Mike Anderson '88)!  
SPORTS REPORT

Congratulations to this year's Dispatch Scholar-Athletes Samantha Kass and Dorrian Moultrie! Sammie, who will continue her swimming career at Emory University, was also selected as the Top Female Scholar-Athlete, an honor that included a $10,000 scholarship in addition to a special photoshoot and 10TV interview. Dorrian, who was first team All-Ohio in football and All-Ohio honorable mention in basketball, will join his brother Herman Moultrie '18 on the football team at Georgetown University this fall. 
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