Academy news & updates
September 2021
Together Again
Columbus Academy welcomed back students and families to its 231-acre campus on August 23 to begin the 2021-22 school year. That morning, students in grades 6-12 arrived for start-of-school activites, including Unity Day for the entire Class of 2025 (view freshman advisories). The afternoon ended with lower school families exploring classrooms, meeting teachers and enjoying an ice cream social. Academy’s 111th school year began with 1,168 total students spread among 15 grade levels. In her Convocation address, Head of School Melissa Soderberg urged everyone to greet each other warmly, especially Academy’s 178 new students and nearly two dozen new faculty/staff members. “We have been away from our typical moments of creating community for a long time as a result of COVID,” said Soderberg, now in her ninth year guiding the school, “and it is going to be very important for all of us to make an effort and to reach out to be WITH each other this year.”
Q&A with Dr. Gastaldo
The community conversation with infectious disease expert Dr. Joseph Gastaldo that was planned for August 25 had to be rescheduled to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 13. As the start time approaches, click here to join the Zoom meeting.
Tips on Financing College
Parents and guardians of students in our Upper School are invited to the College Counseling Financial Aid Night that will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 5, in the Schoedinger Theatre. We highly recommend attending this program if you are interested in learning about financial aid.
Early Childhood Showcase
Our admissions team will host an Early Childhood Showcase at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 6. Parents who are interested in our Explorers (ages 3-4), PreK (ages 4-5) or Kindergarten (ages 5-6) programs are invited and encouraged to attend. This adults-only event will provide attendees with the opportunity to meet Academy's early childhood teachers and to learn how they bring student creativity and curiosity to life.
Celebrating the Academy Experience
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PACA Forum & Charlie David Dinner
All parents and guardians of Columbus Academy students are invited to attend the first PACA Forum at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 8, in the school's dining hall. In addition to updates from school administrators, you will learn about upcoming community-wide events such as the Charlie David Dinner and Kids 4 Kids service learning project. The Charlie David Dinner is a fun, community-building tailgate event for all Academy families that will take place prior to the varsity football home game on Friday, October 1. This year's parent-driven fundraising dinner for the athletics department promises to be unlike any other, and you won't want to miss it!
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Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival
For the first time ever, the Columbus Academy Jazz Ensemble will be featured at the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival! Our musicians will perform a number of tunes in a variety of styles at the event's Round Stage from noon until 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, September 19. Band members include seniors Russell Ahmed, Ben Anasis, Kyle Bernstorf, Dhruv Edamadaka, Maddie Kazatsky, Emmett Leo, Janet Li, Raaghav Malik, Gyvnn Mendenhall, Ryan Reagan, Liam Ross, Malachy Sullivan and Stephen Wright, juniors Alexis Cunningham, Jono Hammond, Zech Kim, Imani Munene, Arya Narayan, Tori Raiken and Arvind Rajagopalan, sophomores Ellen Hansen, Akshaj Jagarapu, Maria Masek and Reed Swartz, freshman Carolina Mize and eighth-grader Adam Aikens.
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New Sources for Viking Highlights
Our athletics department has enjoyed a successful start to the fall season including MSL-Ohio preseason tournament titles for the girls and boys golf teams (as well as a midseason crown for our four-time defending state champion boys), a team title for our girls and runner-up finish for our boys at the opening cross country meet, a pair of shutout wins for our field hockey squad, a 33-6 victory in our football home-opener, a 3-0 season-opening shutout for girls soccer, a thrilling late goal to give our new boys soccer coach his first win, a 6-1 start for our girls tennis program and volleyball earning its first victory (25-15, 25-9, 25-14) at Whitehall last night. For all the latest Viking sports news and results, check out the athletic department's social media channels on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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Morris Hall Art Gallery Exhibit
Through the end of September, we invite you to visit our Morris Hall Art Gallery to view an adjudicated, statewide exhibition and tour of 2D and 3D works by artists with disabilities. The show is titled “Accessible Expressions Ohio” and is produced by Art Possible Ohio (www.artpossibleohio.org), a state service organization for art and disability. “This partnership resulted from our student docent training with the Columbus Museum of Art’s Education Department through Academy’s summer internship program,” said Fine Arts Department Chair Pedro Mena. “We hope that this exhibit helps students see and feel how fellow Ohio residents use creativity to bring awareness to art and disability.” Megan Fitze, director of programs for APO, added: “Visitors can expect to see a range of media produced by youth, emerging and professional artists. Each artist identifies as having a disability and has an artistic gift to bring to the world.”
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Youth Sports Field Hockey Clinic
In addition to the youth sports fall soccer clinic we previously announced, Junior Vikings in grades 2-5 are invited to join us for a field hockey clinic on the first four Sundays in October (3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th) at Carlin Fields Turf. All clinics will take place from 4:00-5:30 p.m. and will be led by Academy teachers Miranda Bring and Alyssa Thiele along with several of our upper school players. Cost is $75 per child with registration opening this Friday, September 3 (registration link will not show open spots until then).
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Parent Discussion Group
Parent SEED is open to all Columbus Academy parents/guardians and supports the school’s commitment to making the lives of its families more equitable and inclusive by recognizing, learning and talking about the diversity in our multicultural world. Over the course of seven facilitated meetings beginning this month, we share and listen to the range of viewpoints and opinions formed by personal life experiences. Every voice is welcome at SEED. For further information or to join us, please contact Joyce Simson P’08 at jrs@ix.netcom.com.
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Summer Athletic Accolades
Academy students earned noteworthy athletic accomplishments away from campus this summer. Third-grader Angelina Drew won state titles in the 100 free, 200 free, 50 back, 100 back and 200 IM among 9-year-olds at the Ohio Swimming Summer Championship and was named the individual high-point scorer for the third year in a row. Another state title was brought home by fifth-grader Kevin Klingerman and third-grader Elliott Trautner as members of the New Albany 10U Gold little league squad. In field hockey, junior Maren Lawrence was one of only three players in Ohio selected to participate in the USA Field Hockey Girls U16 Nexus National Championship. Harold Hacker, meanwhile, spent the summer before his junior year playing every minute of every game for Dublin Rubgy, including a win over nationally ranked St. Charles, on his way to being a first team all-star in the Capital City Rugby Conference.
Top Chef Interview & Cooking Demo
Columbus Academy alumnus Avishar Barua '05, executive chef and general manager of Service Bar who was a cheftestant on this year's "Top Chef" television series, recently sat down for a Q&A with upper school faculty member Pat Hogan about his time at Academy and his fascinating career path after graduation. During the conversation, he also gave a demonstration on how to make his family's Murgir Jhol, or Bengali homestyle chicken curry (see ingredients), in this latest installment of our alumni office's "Continuing the Quest" series.