May 19, 2023

Dear Lower School Families,

Welcome, Nelson!

Our CA Community dog has a name – Nelson! The name comes from the original location of Columbus Academy on Nelson Road. Brelle and Stefan Farrenkopf will be picking up Nelson from Paws With a Cause this weekend. Nelson will spend the next few weeks getting to know his new name, his new home and his new dog siblings. He will be in training with Brelle and Stefan at home and then slowly become acclimated to life on campus over the summer.

Celebration of Accomplishments

This celebratory event will be held on Tuesday, May 30. This is a time for you to meet with classroom teachers to hear from your children their perspectives on their various accomplishments and growth throughout the school year. This is a time to celebrate and reflect on all the wonderful achievements that they have made. Please note that it is not possible to make up this conference, and it will only be offered on May 30. There will be no school for lower school students on May 30.

Lower School Closing Program

The Lower School Closing Program will take place in The Mack at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 1. Parents and relatives are welcome to join us in this celebration of songs performed by each grade. It is recommended you arrive early as this event is very well-attended and begins promptly at 2:00 p.m. The school year comes to a close at the end of this program, and students will be dismissed from their homeroom classrooms. The Lower School Carnival organized by PACA follows immediately. Students attending the carnival are expected to have at least one parent or guardian present as the carnival is not supervised by Academy faculty.

Here is the dress code for the Closing Program:

• Solid-colored, short-sleeved shirt (preferably bright) with NO LOGOS (may be turned inside-out)
• Fifth-graders will wear their specially-designed class t-shirts 
• Dark-colored (black, navy, gray, etc.) shorts of any type (jean, cargo, athletic, etc.) of school-appropriate length
• Socks and tennis shoes
• Hats are not allowed
• Your children may certainly wear dress code if they prefer

Last Day Dismissal

Immediately following the closing program, all students will return to their classrooms to be dismissed to parents or guardians. Please pick up your children from their classrooms and head out to enjoy the carnival on Hondros Field. Students riding the bus will go home as normal unless SchoolPass is updated with a change and/or the school is notified otherwise. CASE is not available on June 1.

School Supply Kits

Don’t forget to order your school supplies!!! You have until June 11 to order your PreK-Grade 5 student supply kits and have them shipped to school for free. Take advantage of the best value by ORDERING NOW at The Write Stuff. The school will not be purchasing supplies for students. The alternative to purchasing a supply kit is to purchase supplies locally using these supply lists. Parents of incoming Explorers should use the list on the first page for a list of needed supplies, and parents of current Explorers rising to PreK should note that Forest Friday gear has been added to the Pre-Kindergarten supplies since these lists were first distributed.

Grade-Level Rising Meetings for Parents and Guardians

Our annual Parent Meetings where parents and guardians have the opportunity to learn about the programs for their children in the grades in which they will be enrolled for next year continue next week. These will be on the fireside of our dining hall. Each grade level will have two homeroom teachers share details about the year ahead as well as highlights and expectations. There will also be time for questions. Please see the schedule below:

Pop Tabs: A Note from the Service Department

Columbus Academy Community, you are super pop tab collectors! It’s the last push to get all of those pop tabs in before the school year ends. Two weeks to go! The Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio will be so grateful to receive our donation this summer! Send your pop tabs in to school with your children or drop them off at the collection sites around school:

1. The lower school vestibule
2. The windowsill on the second floor of the LS near the top of the main stairs across from Mrs. Chavarria’s fourth grade classroom
3. The windowsill of the second floor across from  Mrs. Bring’s and Mrs. Taglia’s classrooms
4. The middle school office
5. The upper school library
6. On top of the cabinets across the hall from Mrs. Bening’s office

How many pounds of pop tabs will we have this year? We can't wait to find out!

Summer Activities

Many parents ask “What should we work on this summer?” Rather than jumping into a stack of summer workbooks, we encourage you to spend time with your children engaging in authentic learning activities. Go to the public library and read together. Write cards and letters to family and friends. Play math games such as Ken Ken. Come walk the campus grounds with your children leading the way or explore a local Metro Park. When possible, limit screen time. If your children are engaging with electronics, monitor for content that is developmentally and age-appropriate. Here is a slideshow from Brelle and Mark with many summer resources you may wish to consider.

Report Cards

Report cards will be published on Thursday, June 15, at 7:00 p.m. Please use the MySchoolApp to log in to see your children’s report cards and comments.

Parenting Article

This week’s article is from Scholastic Parent and is entitled, “4 Ways to Help Your Student Finish the School Year Strong.” You can find it using this link.

Lower School Calendar

May 23: Rising Grade 5 Parent Coffee

May 24: Rising Grade 4 Parent Coffee

May 26: Grade 5 Shakespeare Day

May 29: Memorial Day (no school)

May 30: Celebration of Accomplishments (no school)

June 1: LS Closing Program (2:00 p.m., dismissal from homeroom afterward)

June 1: LS Carnival (3:15 p.m.)

June 2: Grade 5 Closing (9:00 a.m. in The Mack Gym)

Regards,

Mark L. Hansen

Head of Lower School