Each school year, Columbus Academy welcomes featured speakers to discuss topics important to the development of both parents and students, and to help faculty gain valuable insight into how they can help our students flourish. This year's first speaker is Michele Borba, an internationally renowned educator and award-winning author on the subject of child resilience and reducing peer cruelty. RSVP for her 7:00 p.m. discussion with parents on September 26 by clicking here.

Everyone in the Academy community is invited to explore our 231-acre campus in a fun and messy way at the Viking Rampage Run on September 23! This fun-filled trek designed by CA alumnus and parent Ryan Yeoman ’90 includes three courses to choose from (suitable for all age levels/abilities) that will take you through our campus woods. All participants over 18-years-old must register and sign a waiver, while those under 18 must have their waiver signed by a legal parent/guardian (runners in eighth grade and younger must also have a supervising adult on site during the event). A full change of clothes, including shoes, is recommended because you will go through plenty of mud and water along the way! Register by clicking here.

All families should have received a copy of this year’s School and Field Guide (part handbook, part guide to many things CA including a family directory not included in web version) in the mail. If you did not receive a hardcopy for your family, please contact the admissions office at admissions@columbusacademy.org to confirm your mailing address and get a copy. In addition to the physical guide, you always have access to the online school directory in MySchoolApp, where you can update your contact information anytime. Keeping your information updated ensures that your family is receiving important school communications throughout the year. Step-by-step instructions can be found here and if you have any log-in issues, please email techhelp@columbusacademy.org.

Please let your friends who are interested in our Explorers (ages 3 and 4), Pre-Kindergarten (ages 4 and 5) or Kindergarten (ages 5 and 6) programs know that they are invited and encouraged to attend our Early Childhood Showcase starting at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 4. This adults-only event will provide attendees with the opportunity to meet our early childhood teachers and to learn how they bring student creativity and curiosity to life. The event will take place on the fireside of our dining hall, and parking spaces adjacent to this location will be reserved for all guests. Anyone interested should click here to register.

Auditions for our Upper School's fall play are this week. Performances of "Clue" (high school edition) will be November 3-4. Tickets will be available online at ShowTix4U starting three weeks in advance by searching for Columbus Academy. View the entire 2023-24 theatre production season by clicking here. Please note, however, that the fourth grade musical has been moved to December 14. The fourth-graders were excited to find out on the first day of classes that they will be performing "Finding Nemo KIDS!"

Jack Henry-Seymore, Abby Spolter, Skyler Myers and Andy Li delivered the first Junior Speeches of the school year last Thursday (click here for photos), continuing one of the longest-standing traditions at Columbus Academy. Scroll through our Instagram feeds @ColumbusAcademy and @AcademyVikings to view more recent school and athletics news including a freshman golfer setting a new school record, 11 student artworks selected for an emerging artists exhibit, how a school garden is supplying fresh vegetables and herbs for our daily lunches, the sixth grade trip to Camp Fitch, the Chinese Parents' Association end-of-summer picnic, a seventh-grader appearing on national television in the Little League World Series and much more!

All alumni, family and friends of Bob Kirk '67 and Andrew Dunn '02 are welcome to join us to celebrate their induction into the Columbus Academy Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, September 22. A reception will take place on campus in our middle school library beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by Bob and Andrew being honored on Hondros Field during halftime of that evening's varsity football game. More details about this event and bios on both inductees can be found here.

Join our student-run Service Board for the very popular Apple Picking Service Event at Lynd Fruit Farm in Pataskala on Sunday, September 24, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Pick a bag for your family and one (or more) to donate to local food pantries. Prices are $25 for small (10 lb.) bags and $35 for large (25 lb.) bags. Last year, an incredible 1,640 pounds of apples were collected by Academy families to support three local food pantries, so thank you for your time and energy to help those in need! For directions and a map of where our orchard will be, click here.

With the resumption of the school year, CA Parent SEED is about to resume as well. Open to all Academy parents and guardians, SEED serves to support 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 morning meetings beginning in September, we will share and listen to the range of questions, 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.

Congratulations to faculty members Dr. Emily Dennett (math department chair and US math teacher) and Kimberly Reiner (US math teacher and speech & debate advisor) who recently were named recipients of the 2023 Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) Buck Martin High School Award! Click here to learn more and on the links below for more faculty, staff and alumni news: