Please join us in welcoming our new faculty and staff members who have spent the last two days participating in orientation events designed to help them become more familiar with Academy's community, campus and culture. More details on new hires will be coming in this weekend's letters from all three division heads, so please keep an eye on your inbox for those important back-to-school messages. In addition to divisional hires, new staff members who have not previously been announced include accounting assistant Jamie Beach, school nurse Teresa Bowman, buildings and grounds administrative assistant Andrew Holman, admissions data analyst Anika Latelle, security manager Rick Kirby and security officers Dave Anderson, Kevin Cain, Jonathan Hall, Dave Jamerson and Tanner Sanders.
Academic Accolades
Recent graduate Raaghav Malik was named 2022 recipient of the National Merit John M. Stalnaker Memorial Scholarship, awarded each year to the most outstanding National Merit Finalist planning to pursue a career in mathematics or science. Raaghav was one of eight National Merit Scholars from our Class of 2022. Joining him in that distinction were Davey Agrawal, Spandana Amirneni, Julia DeVore, Soham Joshi, Maddie Kazatsky, Lindsay Sutherland and Stephen Wright. Together, they were a part of an outstanding group of 33 students who earned recognition in this past year’s National Merit Scholarship Program as 19 seniors were semifinalists and finalists, eight garnered Commended status and six students received academic honors in the College Board National Recognition Programs.
AP Exams are designed to measure how well students have mastered college-level material, with scores of 3 or higher on a scale of 1-5 often qualifying for college credit. In our Upper School this past spring, 119 students earned AP Scholar recognition by receiving scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams! In addition, 70 garnered AP Scholar with Distinction designation by achieving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of those exams, and 18 others were AP Scholars with Honor for having an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of those exams. In our Class of 2022, 63 of the 112 (56.25%) recent graduates earned AP Scholar distinction. Overall, the average test score for our AP Scholars was 4.21!
As we begin a new school year, please click here for our current Covid guidelines. We ask for everyone to respect each family’s or individual’s choice of whether to wear a mask or not. Many will need to wear masks or will choose to still wear masks – particularly those vulnerable for health reasons – and should be able to do so without judgment. Please be compassionate by refraining from discussing or assuming anyone’s vaccination status or reasons for masking.
Bus Transportation Forms
Families who live within their local school district and want to utilize the bus provided by that district to transport students (age 5 and up) to and/or from our campus must complete and submit proper forms or contact their local transportation office (see links below). It's important to register with your district as soon as possible because they are currently working on bus routes and the timing for pick-ups and drop-offs.
Also, Columbus Academy arranges for bus service to select areas that families may choose for a fee to cover costs. For these options, complete the following forms:
To view supply lists for Explorers-Grade 8, please click on the following links: Lower School, Middle School. Although there is no supply list for Upper School, instructions for ordering US textbooks can be viewed here.
Senior Parent College Night
College Counseling has planned an in-person Senior Parent Night on Wednesday, August 24, to let Class of 2023 parents know what is being shared with their children and provide some timely tips and pointers. This event, which will be from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in our dining hall with an optional pre-gathering social starting at 7:00 p.m., is just for parents and guardians, not students. No zoom option will be available.
Photo/Video Permission
Throughout the year, faculty and staff members (and occasionally students or parents) take photos and record videos of Columbus Academy students involved in classroom, school and extracurricular activities. If you DO NOT wish for any images or video of your child(ren) be used for school publications, marketing materials or social media, please reply to this newsletter or email your request to info@columbusacademy.org.
Monthly Parent Forums
In addition to the school's 2022-23 Key Calendar Dates, please also note the following dates for parent-guardian forums hosted by the Parents Association of Columbus Academy (PACA) from 8:00-9:00 a.m. on the fireplace side of the dining hall. All are welcome to the Wednesday morning gatherings on September 14, October 12, November 9, December 14, January 11, February 8, March 8, April 12 and May 10!
Advertising to Our Community
PACA is offering the opportunity for businesses/organizations in our community and the local area to advertise in the 2022-23 arts and sports programs. There are spaces for full-page color and full-, half- and quarter-page ads that get your business recognized in all four programs for the price of one. For more details, please visit columbusacademy.org/pacaprogramads. Deadline for ad purchases and artwork submissions is Friday, August 19. To view the spring sports program, click here.
Celebrating the Academy Experience
Student Events & Accomplishments
Three of our lower-schoolers competed against some of the best elementary-aged chess players in the country in May at the National Elementary Chess Championships held inside the Greater Columbus Convention Center. This three-day, seven-round event included 1,053 students from 40 different states which saw first-grader Henry W. place 48th in the K1 U500 section, second-grader Albert J. finish 48th in the K3 U700 section and kindergartner Jasmine M. take 83rd in the K1 U500 section. Henry and Jasmine then teamed up in the K1 U500 section to claim the 10th-place trophy and finish as one of the top teams in the nation! Click on the following links for more recent school news.
Our dining hall's SAGE staff is ready to serve the Academy community a variety of delicious dishes cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients. For a welcome-back letter from the SAGE team, click here. It's going to be a great year!
Junior Vikings Soccer Clinic
Registration for the Junior Vikings Soccer Clinic is open to all Columbus Academy students in grades 2-5 at columbusacademy.org/youthsports. Learn from Locker Soccer Academy coaches and student players at this four-week clinic set for Sunday, September 11, 18 and 25, plus Saturday, October 1, at Carlin Fields Turf. For more details, please click here.
14th Annual Golf Outing
Spots for several foursomes are still available in the 14th Annual Columbus Academy Golf Outing on Monday, September 19. If any Academy parents are interested in participating in this event at Columbus Country Club, please click here for registration and sponsorship opportunities. The outing will start at 1:00 p.m. followed by a gathering at the clubhouse. Golfers will have the option to play a casual four-person scramble or a four-person two-best ball for those who would like a little more competition.
Upcoming Service Board Events
Community service is an important part of Columbus Academy’s mission. In order to provide volunteer opportunities to our students and staff, we partner with over two dozen agencies that serve Central Ohio in a variety of ways. One of those long-trusted agencies is Westerville Habitat Partnership, which is hosting a Walls Build event on August 19-20 (register here). Click on the following link for more recent service learning news.
For the opening spread of our upcoming fall magazine, we are asking members of the Academy community what their all-time favorite Viking sports memory is. If you would like to submit a favorite memory, please reply back to this newsletter or email it here. Click on the following links for more athletics coverage:
Anyone can purchase our official athletic gear for fall sports but only until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, August 14. Order online using the these individual sport links, and your order ships directly to you. You can also peruse the Viking Corner – Academy’s spiritwear store run solely by parents – online at vikingcorner.org, where dress code and spiritwear items are available. Orders can be picked up during the Lower School Ice Cream Social or during regular store hours.
Alumni & Faculty/Staff in the News
Chris Luzniak, a math teacher in our Upper School, has been appointed to the Professional Development Services Committee for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The committees and editorial panels are central to the Council's work, second only to the Board of Directors in their leadership role in NCTM, the world's largest mathematics education organization. Click on the following links for more alumni and faculty/staff news:
