September 9, 2022

Dear Lower School Families,

Parent Academy Series with Devorah Heitner, Ph.D.

Over the next two school days, Columbus Academy will be hosting nationally renowned speaker and author Devorah Heitner, Ph.D. She is the founder of Raising Digital Natives, a place for parents and educators to get practical, timely and non-judgmental advice to set our kids up for success in a digital world and in life. The author of “Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World” will present to our parent community from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Monday, September 12. Doors to the dining hall will open at 6:30 p.m. All parents and guardians are encouraged to attend by registering here. Dr. Heitner will also present to our students in grades 4-5 during a special assembly the following morning.

Lower School Campout

The Lower School Campout will be held on September 16-17. We have reached our maximum capacity of 65 families so we are unable to register additional families. More details will be sent to registered families on Monday with important details for your planning.

Upcoming Lower School Parent Coffees

We invite parents to join us to learn more about our program in the Lower School. Upcoming Parent Coffees this fall include:

• October 13: Math Journals (initiated this year)
• November 8: Executive Functioning 
• December 7: Fly 5 (our new Social and Emotional Learning program)

All Lower School Parent Coffees are from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the dining hall (fireside). Please join us.

School Photos

Photographers will be on campus to take school pictures on September 19-21. You will receive ordering information and the photo schedule next week.

Dress Code

There have been a few questions about the dress code, so please review the dress code document which provides clear guidelines and descriptions. If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to your children’s teachers or the lower school office.

Mindful Parenting Hike

Shaun Ditty, our lower school counselor, will be starting his Mindful Parenting Hikes up again this year. The first hike will be on Thursday, September 22. Participants will meet in the lower school lobby immediately following morning carpool. These hikes are meant to be an opportunity for parents to come on to campus and explore the many outdoor spaces that our beautiful campus has to offer. Please know that hikes occur rain or shine. We look forward to seeing you soon. Parenting is like hiking, best not done alone.

Date Change

Please note that the Celebration of Accomplishment conferences held in May have changed from May 18 to Tuesday, May 30. Here is the list of major events in the Lower School.

Parent Book Club

The Parent Book Club will continue this year, and the first book is entitled “The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed” by Jessica Lahey. You can find the book in many public libraries as well as online. We will meet on the fireside of the dining hall on Thursday, September 29, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. to discuss chapters 1-6 of the book. Please use this link to sign up. Here is the book discussion guide we will use.

Parenting Article

This week’s article is from The Atlantic Magazine and is entitled “Let Your Kids Be Bad at Things.”

Enjoy your weekend,

Mark L. Hansen

Head of Lower School