November 6, 2026

Dear Lower School Families,

This week our fourth-graders were at the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center just outside Yellow Springs (about 75 minutes from Academy) for three days. The school has brought students to Glen Helen for overnight trips for more than 30 years. I have had the pleasure of joining the trip the past few years as a chaperone. When we arrived on Tuesday, we were greeted by a glorious, sunny and mild day, and the students were out exploring all day. Wednesday morning brought heavy rain and a 30-minute power outage as we woke up in the cabins. Neither really fazed our students much. While it was inconvenient to be without lights and to have limited bathroom access for a brief time (they utilize a well for their water), they rolled with it easily. They also were ready to embrace the rain and wet trails on Wednesday morning. I believe this is in large part because most of our students have come up through the Explorers and Forest Fridays program at Academy where we use Scandinavian wisdom to carry on: “There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” Our students were excited to be outside, get wet and explore! So, the next time you wake up on a Saturday morning and the rain or snow is falling and it is cold, share with your children that you are headed to a Metro Park for a hike! See their response for yourself.

Lower School Parent Book Club

We have selected the first book for our Lower School Parent Book Club: “The Collapse of Parenting: How We Hurt Our Kids When We Treat Them Like Grown-ups” by Dr. Leonard Sax. We will meet on the following dates in the Huntington Room (next to the Viking Corner in the dining hall):

• Monday, November 16, 8:15-9:15 a.m. (chapters 1-7)
• Monday, December 14, 8:15-9:15 a.m. (chapters 8-12 & conclusion)

The book is available in paperback and at local libraries. Please use this form to sign up so we have an estimate of how many people will join. Here is additional information about the book from the author.

Party Invitations and Other Communication

When planning birthday parties or other get-togethers outside of school, please send invitations directly to families either by email or mail rather than through the classroom teacher. The CA School & Field directory each family received in September includes parent emails, home addresses and phone numbers to make this easy. This also applies to thank-you notes and other personal messages unrelated to school events.

Justin Roberts to Perform Again at Academy

Columbus Academy is overjoyed to announce the return of five-time Grammy nominee Justin Roberts for two days jam-packed with music-making for the entire Lower School on December 3rd and 4th. This year, Justin – accompanied by musicians Liam Davis and Gerald Dowd – will lead a series of small group songwriting workshops with our fifth-graders around social-emotional learning topics chosen by our students. The following day includes an early childhood read-aloud of Justin’s book “Giant-Sized Butterflies on My First Day of School”, a mini-acoustic concert, a fourth grade whole-group songwriting workshop and, of course, the visit would not be complete without a concert for grades K-5 at the end of the day. We couldn’t be happier to welcome back Justin, Liam and Gerald, and we look forward to an amazing “Dance Party” in our Schoedinger Theatre! Here is a link to one of his latest hits: Fire Breathing Dragon.

Parent Coffees in 2026-27

All parents are invited and encouraged to join us for upcoming Parent Coffees. They begin at 8:15 a.m. in the dining hall (fireside), and some will move to different locations from there. Here is the list:

• November 19: Developmental Benchmarks for Early Childhood Children
• January 20: Our New MakerSpace and Shipyard
• February 17: When Anxiety Takes Over: A Parent’s Playbook for Breaking the Cycle
• April 14: Understanding Your Child’s ERB Results (Grades 3-4-5 only)
• May 19: Tips for Summer Success

Parenting Article

As we begin preparing for various holidays in November and December, here is an article from PBS Kids that might help you navigate them. It is entitled “Helping Kids Focus on What Matters During the Holidays.” You can find it by clicking here.

Lower School Calendar

Please refer to this calendar for specific lower school events.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mark L. Hansen

Head of Lower School

Brelle Farrenkopf

Associate Head of Lower School, Director of Early Childhood

Vanessa Taglia

Lower School Director of Academic Programs

Keith Scowden

Lower School Dean of Student Life