Collaboration and Resilience!

2013 marks the inaugural year of the Triad Parent Education Speaker Program—a collaborative effort between CSG, CA and Wellington to bring some really top-notch speakers to present important and relevant parenting topics.  

Up first is Dr. Ken Ginsburg,  author and pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He also serves as Director of Health Services at Covenant House Pennsylvania, an agency that serves homeless youth in Philadelphia.

Pajamas in the house...or Dining Hall!

It's time for the MOSAIC Pajama House Party!  Despite horrid weather, last year's event had more than 300 CA community peeps come out for fun music, dancing, games and a good time.  Everyone left wanting to know when we could do it again...

...so, mark your calendars for Friday, January 18th from 6-9pm in the Dining Hall!   There will be a DJ complete with a fantastic big screen for music videos, light show and video game stations.  

Post-holiday purge?

If your house is anything like ours, it has been inundated with "stuff" over the last several weeks.  The holiday season brought gifts aplenty, but it also brought the occasions that the kids needed to dress
up for—and that meant sport coats and dress pants that I was horrified to find no longer fit my lanky, growing boys.

If you, like me, have developed a little mountain of these items that no longer fit, please consider bringing them to the uniform exchange closet!  They will make fabulous additions for our community as we all search for these expensive and under-utilzed pieces of clothing in our children's wardrobes.  With band concerts and LS and MS graduations there is always a need!

In a similar recycle, reduce, reuse vein, hats off to Beth Fisher, who prior to winter break, chaired an off-the-page graduation dress exchange, where a full 1/3 of our senior girls were able to score a gown for their big day in June.

The uniform exchange closet is located just down the hall from the nurse's office and with no door, is open anytime you might wish to pop in.  Purge away and bring a bag of stuff to donate and fill it back up with stuff to fit your growing brood!

Housekeeping

A few tidbits to start the week...

• The glorious blue envelopes from the business office should have arrived in many mailboxes last week—which means that tuition is due!  If your LS children have "used" your stamps as stickers, you can walk your envelope to the kind folks in Academy Hall and they will be happy to relieve you of your burden! 

• The Division Heads will be presenting at the next PACA meeting, this Wednesday, December 12th at 8am in the Dining Hall.  Breakfast will be provided by the PACA Board.  Come and join us and hear what is happening in LS, MS and US!  

• A couple of links from the world of education that might be of interest:

Is college becoming irrelevant?  Lots of controversy about this one from the New York Times: Saying No to College

How school environments impact academic dishonesty: The Cheating Epidemic: How School Climates Affect Student Choices

The deal with My BackPack

Greetings from your slacker PACA blogger.  

Several weeks ago, we had a great post from Kevin Dubenion on some of the capabilities of Moodle.  We had lots of nice feedback on that post and it got me thinking about another electronic portal that we have going on at CA: My BackPack.

Reminder!

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is a late start day for faculty development.  School begins at 930am, but childcare is available for kiddos beginning at 730am.

Bring the kids in early and join us at PACA's General Membership meeting tomorrow at 830am  in the Dining Hall.  It is open to everyone! Come and get the scoop on everything happening on Cherry Bottom!

See you then!

A Moodle Muddle

...And now a word from Kevin Dubenion, PACA co-president!

Parents!

I dropped in to have lunch with my 7^th grader last week (Red Velvet FroYo...YUMMERS) and her science teacher (Dr. B) stopped me for a chat. He gave me an in-depth report on a recent homework assignment that was just a bit below par and (get this) told me he had a few ideas that we could try at home to help my lady Vike excel! Certainly, this was fabulous! I mean, where else does this type of interaction occur on a regular basis? Only at CA. But I digress.

Hold the phone

Driving to school this morning, I made sure that I had my cell phone.  The weather was particularly icky and well, it seemed prudent to make sure that I had a reliable means of communication in case of a traffic mishap.  But, if I am honest, I am always checking to see if I have my cell phone—and not just because the school could need me or for safety, but because the phone is vastly important as I go about my day.  I feel weird if I don't have it it with me.

Let's Do Lunch

By this time, most of us have fallen into a comfortable routine at school with the kids.  We've got the rhythm of drop-off, pick-up, homework, extracurriculars, etc.   But it's always good to mix it up and if you've got kids in Lower School, now is the perfect time to do lunch bunch.  

There is lots to be said about the school lunch experience, but as the person in our household who is responsible for feeding everyone, I always appreciate it when someone actually wants to feed ME.  I do not cast stones at anyone who is willing to cook—ever.  

The first time I came to do lunch bunch, I was blown away by the quality of the food—this was not the chipped beef of my own school lunch reminiscence—suffice it to say, our children are not suffering when it comes to mealtime options.  They may make questionable choices...such as two jelly sandwiches, chocolate milk and plain noodles all in the same meal...but that is a whole separate discussion.  

Lower School lunch bunch is a unique phenomenon, because it is likely that our children still might want to see us during the course of their school day (probably something we can't hope for come Middle School) and even better yet, may still want to have conversations with us (something I know we can't hope for in Middle School).  You get to hear all the scoop and get to know your kids' classmates while simultaneously opening milk cartons and reminding them to EAT; occasionally you even get some face time with their teachers, which can be extremely valuable.  

A few notes of caution, however. 

 I would highly recommend NOT coming on taco day (unless you have easy access to a Hazmat suit) or "breakfast for lunch" day (a recent account suggested that there might be a more restrained use of syrup if it was doled out intravenously).  

There will be a shocking amount of food wasted; feel free to wax poetic about starving children—go for the gusto—but it seems to have little or no impact whatsoever.  

Don't get too comfortable, because you'll let a few kids go to bars, take a few bites and you're done.  Lunch is quick, quick, quick.  So, although conversation is kinda the point of this exercise, don't talk too much, because they do need to eat!  

Signing up to do lunch bunch is easy.  Here is the scheduler and here is the link to the menu (beware: taco day is tomorrow!) and lunch times are as follows:

PK:  Lunch is from 12:00-12:30 (arrive at 11:55)
K, 1, or 2:  Lunch is from 11:25-11:50 (arrive 11:20)
3 and 4:  Lunch is from 11:00-11:25 (arrive 10:55)

Happy lunching! 

Bully Pulpit

Bullying is unfortunately a hot news topic these days.  Just recently, I read a horrifying account out of Canada—a 15 year-old girl had committed suicide five weeks after posting a video on YouTube which chronicled her misery as a victim of bullying.   Her video has been now been viewed more than 3.5 million times and is causing a whole nation to re-think official policies and anti-bullying laws.  

The Antidote to a Bad CA Day?

So... you were running late and held up carpool so the kids could finish breakfast in the car, your kid got busted for a dress code infraction and you've got boy/girl drama and sass from your "tween"ager in spades.  It's a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad CA day.

What to do? Word has it from parents, administrators and teachers alike that the best antidote for Viking angst can be found in the rooms of Pre-K.  And as a Pre-K parent thrice over, I can attest to the magic.  

I know that many folks don't feel preschool merits the tuition or the process that gaining entrance into CA requires;  however, I would happily wager that no other program in the city is as well- thought out, organized and meaningful as the one that we have at Academy.  

What do animal rights, UFC and Pokemon have in common?

Wait for it....yep, they are all clubs that our Upper School students can partake in, per their personal range of interests.  Wild, huh?  Want to know more about the club activities available for our kids?  

Come to the PACA General Meeting this Wednesday, October 10th at 8am in the Dining Hall!  

Smells Like Teen Drama

Thanks to Upper School parents Cathy Falkenberg and Parker MacDonell for this post!

A few words about the Homecoming dance:  Saturday, October 13 will bring the Upper School students together for the first of three dances this year. Homecoming dance…how long has it been since you attended one of these?  You probably can’t remember who you had as a date or what happened afterwards, though you likely do remember the feelings of anticipation and anxiety that swirl around in the minds of teenagers as these types of events approach.  It’s a good time to talk to your Upper School student and go over the ground rules that your family has established for these types of events.

Frock Talk

For those of you with older students, you are probably aware that Homecoming is looming on the horizon; the dance is scheduled for October 13th.  And once kids have asked potential dates to the dance (and I have heard there is some creative "asking" going down out there...anybody have a son or daughter who has been approached in a particularly cool or sweet way?), the next big hurdle will undoubtedly be attire.  

Most guys will be wearing jackets and ties and most girls will don dresses....but of course there will also be shoes, accessories, etc. needed to round out the "look" for the night.  So where to shop?  I suspect that many of you will be hitting the retail pavement this weekend to get things in order before the big dance, so Upper School mom Kelly Vaziri has provided a list of a few places you might find success.

Online shopping (order now to ensure arrival by the 13th!)
asos.com
modcloth.com

Local Boutique Faves 
Ladybird (Short North)
Jinny's (Short North)
The Emperors Newest Clothes (Short North)
Rowe (Short North)
Pitaya (Gateway/OSU area)

Vintage and Thrift (many in Short North/Grandview)
Rag-o-Rama
Mad4Mod
FlowerChild
Village Thrift Discount Outlet (Cleveland Ave)
Ohio Thrift (multiple locations)

Reliable, Go-to's
Urban Outfitters (Gateway/OSU area)
Express
Macy's
Nordstrom
Bebe
Arden B.
Banana Republic
Cache
Forever 21
H & M
J. Crew
Madewell

Have other suggestions?  Let us know!  Happy hunting!  

A Doggone Disgrace

Hi.  I'm Dixie.  Yeah, I'm a non-descript mutt, but my family likes me.  I love coming to school to pick-up and drop-off the kids, but today, I'm pissed.  

Why?  Because yesterday some dude had this white dog out on the lower school playground chasing a stick while the rest of us looked on in afternoon car line, contained in our vehicles.  It wasn't like he just had to pee and then hopped right back in the car, noooo, this was pure frolic.  And he got to wear his Sperry's. What's that about?

Is it a highlighter or a crack pipe?

Hmmm....

That's certainly creative.  What happened to this?

If you're not familiar with this anti-drug PSA from its original airing, then you probably know it from the multitude of parodies and merchandise that ultimately resulted from this spectacularly successful campaign.  

But that was then— the 80s and 90s— and this is now— 2012.  As parents, our information about drug and alcohol use is mostly based on our own personal experiences and the efforts of our own parents to educate us about these topics.  That is to say, I doubt that enough of us are current.

What questions do you have for the Head of School candidates...

The Executive Board of PACA has been asked to meet the new head of school candidates, the first of whom will be coming to campus early next week. Somehow the position of PACA blogger has landed me on the Executive Board and I would like to be a good representation of the larger CA parent community, so....

I want to know what YOU want to know.  

Only a very few parents are part of the selection committee, so this is an awesome chance for the whole parent body to be engaged with this process.  

Please don't be shy.  

Send me your questions, your concerns, your hot button issues and I will do my best to report with feedback.  

Get in touch via the comments or contact section on the blog, email or post on the PACA Facebook page.  As always, confidentiality will be maintained.  

Athletic Supporters

The year was 1980 and a kindly new receptionist graced Academy Hall.  Quickly becoming part of the CA community, she wanted her son, Tom, to join the Viking ranks; several years later, he did and entered seventh grade as a member of the Class of '88.  Along with Tom, CA welcomed yet another member into the Academy fold: Tom's dad.

Energetic, loud and boisterous, Tom's dad quickly became known on campus; he was a fixture at school events, on the sidelines and in the stands— he was a charismatic salesman and his favorite product was the outstanding education and community of the Columbus Academy.  Although he was active in the Father's Association and a plethora of other volunteer roles, perhaps his greatest gift was sharing his open devotion and pride in his son's school.  He was a dashing, stylish figure that came to represent CA's quest for excellence on the field, in the classroom and for the future.

Sports Parenting 101

Growing up,  I was lucky enough to have a father who never missed a field hockey game.  I played for that school across town with a mythological beast as its mascot.  My father quickly became a fixture on the Varsity sidelines— he cheered, he often "reminded" me to keep my head down when taking a drive and he occasionally gave the refs a hard time. Back then (no need to reveal what year that was), he was by far the most engaged parent spectator out team ever saw.   

What the hell is SEED?

For the past several years at about this time, CA parents start to hear about SEED.  It's strange, though, because although I could maybe tell you where and when the meeting is, I could not even come close to describing what goes down at a SEED meeting and why there might be any need for me to attend.  

Not knowing if this was just my own personal cluelessness, I decided to take an informal poll and ask some other parents what they knew about SEED.  Answers varied from, "Something diversity related" to "I think it's a book club" to "No freakin' idea."  Right-o.