Academy news & updates
September 2022
Loss in Our Community
Many in our community are still processing last Friday's heartbreaking news about the sudden loss of a student (view obituary). In addition to our own school counselors, grief counselors from OhioHealth have also been on campus for students and faculty over the past few days. If you would like to review additional resources that may be helpful for your family, please click here.
Parent Event on Sept. 12
Devorah Heitner graphic
Registration for the first of three featured speakers for the 2022-23 school year's Parent Academy Series is now open. All Columbus Academy parents/guardians are encouraged to attend a special evening with Devorah Heitner, Ph.D., on Monday, September 12, in our dining hall. 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. Doors will open at 6:30. She will also be presenting to our middle-schoolers that afternoon and at lower and upper school assemblies the next morning.
Recent Publications
Field Guide cover
All parents were recently mailed the 2022-23 School & Field Guide, a directory designed to facilitate families’ connections with one another and orient new families to Academy traditions. If your copy has not yet arrived, please let us know by emailing info@columbusacademy.org. We hope you also enjoyed the enclosed 2021-22 Donor Impact Report, which highlights the wonderful spirit of generosity within our Academy community. Everyone’s thoughtful contributions last year played a critical role in supporting the countless Academy traditions and experiences we hold so dear. Thank you for your support!
Upcoming Community Events
Mark your calendars for the following:
Academy Parent SEED Group
Open to all CA parents and caregivers, SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) 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. Beginning this month, SEED hosts seven facilitated meetings where a range of viewpoints and opinions formed by personal life experiences are shared. For further information or to join, please contact Joyce Simson P’08 at jrs@ix.netcom.com.
ISACS Parent Webinar Series
Columbus Academy is once again offering for free to our families a series of webinars hosted by ISACS (Independent Schools Association of the Central States). The next one – titled “Thrivers: What Really Helps Kids Find Happiness Today and Success Tomorrow” – will be from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on September 29. After you pre-register here, attendees will receive a Zoom confirmation email with a personal URL to join. To learn more about all the dates for this year's featured speakers and view archived recordings of previous events, click here.
College Counseling Reminders

Financial Aid Night
Upper School parents and students are invited to the College Counseling Financial Aid Night to be held on Tuesday, October 4, at 7:00 p.m. in our Schoedinger Theatre. We highly recommend attending this program if you are interested in learning more about financial aid for college.

SMARTTRACK® College Funding Webinar
Upper School parents and students are invited to attend the What Parents Need to Know Now about Paying Less for College webinar presented by SMARTTRACK® College Funding on Thursday, October 6, at 7:00 p.m. This program was highly recommended by other independent schools, and we are offering it as an option to assist our 9th-11th grade families with the financial piece of college planning. Click here to create your complimentary account and register for the webinar.
Celebrating the Academy Experience
First Day photo
Academy Begins 112th School Year
Columbus Academy began its 112th year on August 22. For coverage of Convocation, click here. To view photos from the entire opening week, visit our image archive at columbusacademy.org/photos. Click on the following links for more recent school news.
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Early Childhood Showcase
Parents who are interested in our Explorers (ages 3 and 4), Pre-Kindergarten (ages 4 and 5) or Kindergarten (ages 5 and 6) programs are invited and encouraged to attend the Early Childhood Showcase on October 6. This adults-only event will provide attendees with the opportunity to meet our early childhood teachers and learn how they bring student creativity and curiosity to life. The event will take place in the fireside room of our dining hall, and parking spaces adjacent to this location will be reserved for all guests. To register, click here.
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After-School Offerings
In addition to our CASE and Fall ASA programs, our Special Programs office is offering a Homework Club for Academy students in grades 2-5 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting September 13. To register for this opportunity to complete homework and get after-school support from a faculty/staff member, click here.
Service Board newsletter
Service Board Highlights
The September edition of our Service Board monthly newsletter is full of reminders about important dates upcoming for volunteer and service-related opportunities on and around campus. One highlight is Academy alumnus and parent Nick Jones '01, vice president of community wellness at Nationwide Children's Hospital, being the featured speaker at Friday morning's kickoff to Upper School Service Day. Click on the link below to read the full version of the newsletter and find clickable links to sign up for the first blood drive of the school year and more!
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New School Record in Boys Golf
Stephen Ma broke a school record with an 18-hole score of 66 at the MSL-Ohio Midseason Tournament at Turnberry on August 27. As a freshman in 2019, he had tied the previous mark of 67, which was held by three other former players. In addition to our boys winning both the varsity and JV competitions at this event, our girls team and boys swept the league preseason contests as well. For coverage from all of our fall sports, visit @academyvikings on Instagram. Also, put these upcoming Senior Nights on your calendars:
  • Girls Golf on Sept. 9 at halftime of football game
  • Field Hockey on Sept. 13 at 6:15 p.m.
  • Girls Tennis on Sept. 20 at 4:15 p.m.
  • Football on Sept. 23 at 6:25 p.m.
  • Girls Soccer on Sept. 24 at 6:45 p.m.
  • Cross Country on Sept. 28 at 6:45 p.m.
  • Volleyball on Oct. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
  • Boys Soccer on Oct. 10 at 6:40 p.m.
  • Boys Golf on Oct. 28 at halftime of football game
Business First Breakfast ad
Breakfast with Business First
Columbus Academy is hosting a "Breakfast with Business First" from 7:00-9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 16. These public networking events attract people from across Central Ohio who are interested in making business connections while experiencing a variety of our area's different settings. Hosting such an event helps the school attract families of potential students who otherwise might not visit campus as well as find partners for our burgeoning internship program and others who may be interested in renting our facilities. Although this event is not targeted toward current Academy families, you can register here.
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40th Annual Charlie David Dinner
All Academy families are invited to attend the 40th Annual Charlie David Dinner on Friday, October 14, hosted by PACA! This event, which will take place outdoors around the Lazarus Courtyard area outside the dining hall, will begin at 5:00 p.m. and last up until kickoff of the varsity home football game against archrival Bexley at 7:30 p.m. Each ticket includes one meal at any of the food trucks on site that evening. The upper school student clubs will also provide fun activities for kids to enjoy. More details – including how to purchase tickets and sponsorships – coming soon.
Sports Gear photo
Order Your Viking Spiritwear
The parent-run, PACA-supported Viking Corner store has all the gear you need to support our CA Vikings all year long. Shop in-store on Wednesdays from 7:45 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. or order online 24/7 at vikingcorner.org. Select pickup during regular store hours or have your Viking gear shipped to you. Also, during each athletic season, a sport-specific team store is open for all CA athletics teams. Each sport has a separate online store link to place your sport-specific gear order. Place your order online using these links, and it ships directly to you. Available only until 11:59 p.m. tonight (Sept. 7):
Faculty PD photo
Alumni & Faculty/Staff in the News
Our faculty and staff began the 2022-23 school year with a week of professional development. To view photos from the opening day of PD week, click here. And to view images from just a few of the volunteer sites our faculty and staff visited on the second day, which was dedicated to community service, click here. Click on the following links for more alumni and faculty/staff news: