October 10, 2022

Dear Upper School Families,

We hope your school year is off to a good start. This past weekend’s Homecoming Dance certainly felt robust with a great turnout and a packed dance floor! Now we do a quick transition to standardized testing (sorry sophomores and juniors) and end the week with a pep rally and the annual Charlie David Dinner. Alas, fall break is coming soon.

Since the fall is quite busy, below are some important dates and information to help you with your October calendars.

Wednesday, October 12 

PSAT: Sophomores and Juniors should check in as usual between 7:40-7:55 a.m. and report directly to their assigned testing locations. Testing begins promptly at 8:00 a.m.

• Students should be in dress code (no hoodies allowed).
• Students should have a charged, approved calculator and sharpened #2 pencils.
• Students may bring a water bottle to set outside the classroom.
• Once students have completed their tests, typically between 11:30 a.m. and noon, they may leave campus. Those using extended time will finish closer to 1:00-1:30 p.m.
• Students may also eat lunch on campus at 12:40 p.m. when the US lunch line opens if they wish.
• There are no afternoon classes for sophomores and juniors.
• Students who ride the bus or have less flexible transportation may stay at CA like they would for a normal school day.

Freshmen should report to school and check in at the usual time and place in US, then head to the dining hall. Freshmen will be doing service off-campus during the morning at various sites – traveling by bus – and will return to campus in time for their regular lunch period. Dress is casual but they must wear long pants and close-toed shoes, as this is a requirement of the service sites. After lunch, the freshmen will be involved in other fun activities on campus until 3:15 p.m.

Seniors are not required to come to school this day but may do so to check in with college counselors or to work on college applications. Seniors should be in dress code if they come to campus.

Bowl-a-thon for Empty Bowls: The ceramics club is hosting time on Wednesday for students who wish to make bowls for the annual Empty Bowls project supporting Westerville Habitat Partnership’s Soup for Shelter event. Seniors may sign up for morning or afternoon slots, and sophomores and juniors may pick times after the PSAT is finished.

Friday, October 14

Charlie David Dinner: The entire Columbus Academy community is invited to the 40th Annual Charlie David Dinner, hosted by PACA, on Friday, October 14, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. at our dining hall, patio and Lazarus Courtyard. This popular, community-wide tailgate is the only fundraiser for Academy’s sports programs. To learn more about the event, including how to volunteer, become a sponsor or purchase meal tickets (deadline for advance ticket purchases has been extended until the end of Wednesday), click here.

Wednesday, October 19

Parent-Teacher Conferences (all online) 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

For those who have not registered yet, you may do so until noon on Friday, October 14 (click here for instructions). After that time, teachers will be in control of their own schedules, and you must contact them directly to add or make changes.

Note: links to conferences will be provided in schedules emailed directly to parents and guardians from pickAtime on Monday, October 17.

Thursday, October 20

Half Day of School: All upper-schoolers will be released at noon.

Parent-Teacher Conferences (all online) 1:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Friday, October 21

No Classes 

Parent/ Teacher Conferences (all online) 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Quarter 1 (snapshot) Grades Open at 4:00 p.m.: Log into MySchoolApp and click the progress tab, then choose Q1 report card.

Monday, October 24

No School – Fall Break

Although we’re quickly shifting to colder weather and shorter days, fun milestones of the school year await: playoff season brings exciting games and matches, concerts abound in November, and “Little Women” – this year’s upper school fall play – opens at the start of the month (more details to come).

Please remember to contact the upper school office via the SchoolPass App whenever your child is going to be absent, late or needs to depart campus early. Having your children email their teachers is a wonderful step in the process, but the process is not complete unless we also hear from a parent or guardian.

Should you have any questions about the weeks ahead, please feel free to reach out.

Kindly,

Cory Izokaitis

Head of Upper School