The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
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The Skim
- International Taste of the World Festival
- AAG Founders Day
- Grade 2 Expert Museums
- Science Symposium
- Around Campus
- Student Spotlight: Bryce H. '21
- Coach Young - Athletic Hall of Fame
- Wireless Network Issues
- Wizard of Oz Day
- Summer Camp Spotlight: Science Academy
- Henry House Drive for Ronald McDonald House
- One Family Referral Campaign
- Varsity Swimming and Diving
- Athletes Recognized
- Alumnae Spotlight: Allison Stefanelli '16
- Mid-Winter Dinner
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Dear Friends,
Another great week is in the books! In fact, it was so busy that this is a deliberately short message so you can get to all of the great highlights that appear below.
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and pit of
Spamalot.
After three months of rehearsals, they put on three amazing productions over Presidents' Day Weekend that our community is still buzzing about it!
Thank you to everyone who has been referring families to the admissions office through the
One Family Referral program.
To date,
24 families that have referred 39 students to the Admissions Office, which was helped result in a robust Visiting Week, with 100 prospective students visiting the School since Tuesday!
Finally, another gentle reminder that
re-enrollment contracts are due back to us today.
If you haven’t yet returned your contract, we hope you will do so as soon as possible, as this information allows us to begin planning for next year. With this in mind, we will not schedule students for 2020-2021 until we have received their executed re-enrollment contract.
Have a great weekend!
Warmly,
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International Taste of the World Festival
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The 12th Annual Taste of the World Festival will take place on Saturday, February 29 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Silipigno Athletic Facility. This year's event will feature food and craft tables representing many cultures from around the globe. Live entertainment will include student and professional dance, martial arts, and musical groups. Please plan to join us to celebrate the myriad of cultures represented at The Albany Academies.
This event, which is suitable for all age groups, is free and open to the public.
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AAG Founders Day
AAG students celebrated Founders Day today. The students were excited to visit the AAG Museum, hosted by Margaret King '65, and learn about the history of their school. They especially love seeing photos of the different schools and their locations and old uniforms that were once worn. Alumnae were on campus reading stories in the Lower School and helping to hand out cupcakes during lunch. Happy Birthday AAG!
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Grade 2 Expert Museums
AAG and AA Grade 2 classes concluded their nonfiction unit with their very own expert museums! Each student was in charge of reading and growing his/her knowledge on a topic across multiple books. They organized their learning into main ideas with supporting fact details. Each class opened their museum to visitors (including their 2nd grade peers) to share very informative presentations!
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Science Symposium
The Science Symposium projects are an investigation of a topic of the student's choice using the scientific method. The projects are experimental in nature as opposed to research-oriented; there must be a quantitative analysis of the subject. Each entry in the Symposium will be judged, and the projects with the highest point tallies will move on to the Joseph Henry Science Fair at The College of St. Rose -- one of the largest science fairs in the area.
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Grade 7 students wrote compliments/positive thoughts about their peers during the Advising Period. Ms. Kim put these compliments on cards for the boys and attached a small bag of candy for each of them.
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AAG has been busy celebrating Kindness Week with various activities, discussions, and displays - including a "Thank you station" where students can share thoughts of gratitude for others.
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In Lower School Chapel this week, Grade 2 presented on an endangered animal and let the Lower School know how they can all help to reduce the threat on these endangered species. They then connected the presentation to the monthly themes of Respect and Kindness.
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Dan G. '26, studying the affects of cleaning up an oil spill using Magic Sand. Magic sand originally called Nano sand was originally designed to clean up oil spills in the ocean.
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The AAG fourth grade recently read Greek Mythology and created representations of their myths. They welcomed AAG LS classes for an Open House to share their stories and creations. The artists had a wonderful variety of games, display boxes, paintings and puppet shows. Thank you to everyone who came!
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The 4th graders in Miss Stella's music class have been studying Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. They concluded this unit by making their own board games to teach the instruments used in the piece, their correlation to the characters, and the plot.
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Thursday afternoon the Chamber Singers, under the direction of the wonderfully talented Matt Streifert, performed in the Caird Chapel for the combined AA and AAG Lower and Middle Schools with help in the performance from faculty members Mr. Jacobs on drums and Dr. Milliken on bass.
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Grade 8 English class viewing a TedED talk summary of Plato's
Allegory of the Cave.
Students were tasked with connecting it to
Animal Farm
by George Orwell.
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AAG's 8th Grade Physical Science classes sharpened their thinking, observing, questioning, and experimentation skills this week as they worked their way around stations containing electrical circuits, electromagnets, motors, and generators.
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Student Spotlight: Bryce H. '21
After breaking his own 200 and 500 Freestyle school records over the weekend, Bryce now holds 14 out of the 22 Swimming (there are also 2 diving records) school or pool records. In addition to all of the records he holds and the times that he posts, Bryce's greatest attribute is his support for his teammates. He takes just as much pleasure in the success of his teammates as he does his own success. Right before he went up to the blocks for the finals of the 200 Free Coach Young asked him what his school record time was. Bryce replied "I don't know...but I'll know when I touch the wall at the end of my race." This speaks to both his humility and his confidence; he is humble in that he doesn't know or care what his record is; he is confident that he is going to put up his best time/performance on the biggest stage.
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Coach Young to be Inducted into AA Athletic Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Coach Scott Young for his recent honor as an inductee into The Albany Academy Hall of Fame. Coach Young has positively impacted many student-athletes over a long period of time at the Academy and has served as a swim coach for 23 years.
Coach Young will be inducted on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at the Hall of Fame Ceremony as part of the reunion festivities.
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Wireless Network Issues
We have experienced issues with our wireless network for the last two weeks, with times of limited connectivity and intermittent outages. Our internal network support staff attempted a series of fixes for this issue with both hardware and software solutions, as did external technical support, with varying degrees of success. We now believe these issues are related to our wireless bandwidth and increased demands on the network. In response we have restricted student access to the wireless network to laptops only (no phones). Doing this resulted in better network connectivity and stability over the last few days, which gives us time to examine permanent solutions to address this issue. Student hot spots (the use of cellular data to access the internet) have not been limited, and students are free to use them if they choose (data charges would apply if applicable).
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Wizard of Oz Day
On February 27, 2020, we will be celebrating the magic and legacy of the 120th anniversary of L. Frank Baum’s
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
. The Albany Academies will be transformed into the various locales mentioned in the book, including Kansas, Munchkin Land, and the Emerald City. Students will engage in age appropriate activities that will honor the value of literacy in our communities and connect our student body, faculty, and staff through a common read.
Students are welcome to dress up as their favorite Wizard of Oz character or wear green to represent the Emerald City.
No Place Like Home Goods Collection
Albany Academy for Girls will be collecting men and women’s deodorant, children’s diapers, pull ups, and wipes to be donated to Equinox, a local shelter.
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Summer Camp-Spotlight on:
Science Academy
Director-Matthew Essery
June 29-July 2 entering Grades 7-8
July 6-July 10 entering Grades 5-6
Do you ever wonder why fireworks burn different colors? Or why some insects can stand on top of water? Do you know how forensic scientists help solve crimes? Do you wish you could predict the weather? For those who wonder, Science Academy is for you! Each day, all day, campers will be exploring either chemistry, biology, physics, ecology, or physiology. Utilizing the Borisenok Family Science Center Lab facilities you will learn how to safely and effectively use scientific equipment, create and observe brilliant (and sometimes fiery) chemical reactions, investigate human and animal physiology, learn about and maintain local ecosystems, and more. Each day is a different type of science, a different problem to be solved. Each day is a different adventure.
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Henry House Drive for Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region provide a home away from home for families of seriously ill children seeking treatment at nearby hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House in Albany has 25 bedrooms and serves over 650 families per year. The Ronald McDonald Family Room, located within the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center, offers families support and a comfortable respite while remaining close to their ill child and caregivers.
Henry House is running can tab drive to support the Ronald McDonald House. AA Middle and Upper School students will receive one point for their house for each can tab donated. Collection bottles are set up outside of the Main Office. AA Lower School is collecting single serving sized snacks to fill the snack cupboard at the Ronald McDonald House.
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Click here
for more details (there's an
incentive
for this!) and the referral form.
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Varsity Swimming & Diving Team
Bryce H. '21 and Brayden H. '23 led the Cadets to a 2nd place finish in the Section 2 Division II Swimming and Diving Championships held last weekend at Shenendehowa. Bryce placed 1st in the 200 and 500 Freestyle, qualifying for States and breaking his own school records in both events. Brayden placed first in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Breaststroke, qualifying for States in both events and breaking his own school record in the latter. Bryce and Brayden were joined by Silas S. '21 and Aron C. '20 on the victorious 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays, making history in the process as the Cadets earned State Qualifying times in all three relays for the first time in Academy history.
The Medley Relay with Ian Y. '21 and Silas S. '21 had previously qualified during the dual meet season. The New York State Championships will be held March 6th and 7th at the Nassau County Aquatic Facility on Long Island.
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Congratulations to Jake O. '20 for being recognized as a Section 2 Scholar Athlete at the Section 2 Swim Finals on Saturday. Jake will be attending States in two weeks, and will be recognized as a finalist for the NYSPHAA award.
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Congratulations to Andre J. '20 for being selected to the Jordan Brand National All-Star Game! The game will be held at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on March 27.
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Alumnae Spotlight: Allison Stefanelli '16
Allison was added to the University of New Hampshire Swimming & Diving history books by being the first diver to win 1 & 3 Meter boards at the America East Conference Championships. Allison's diving journey started at AAG in 9th grade. Being named All-American East Diver of the meet is a perfect way to end a stellar career. Congratulations Allison!
Please
click here
to view the Times Union article about Allison.
Shown is a 1 Meter dive action shot of Allison.
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Mid-Winter Dinner
Thank you to all who supported the 2020 Alumni Association Mid-Winter Dinner. A fun time was had by all as we learned the secrets of The Albany Academy from guest speaker John McClintock '57.
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Week at a Glance
February 24 - 29, 2020
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Monday, February 24
Day 4
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Chapel (Caird Chapel)
2:20 p.m. AAG Snack Shack
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Tuesday, February 25
Day 5
8:15 a.m. AA Lower School Coffee (Trustees Room)
11:45 a.m. French Honor Society Crepe Sale (Stevens Center & Buttery)
12:00 p.m. AA Grade 8 Merit Scholarship MAP Testing
12:10 p.m. AAG Middle School Assembly
12:15 p.m. AA 5/6 Competitions; Form I & II Recess
2:20 p.m. AAG Snack Shack
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Wednesday, February 26
Day 6
9:00 a.m. AA & AAG PreK - Grade 2 Clifford's Birthday Celebration
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Advising
2:20 p.m. AAG Snack Shack
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Thursday, February 27
Day 1
Wizard of Oz Day - (Dress as your favorite Wizard of Oz character or in Emerald City Green)
8:20 a.m. AA Lower School Chapel (Caird Chapel)
2:20 p.m. AAG Snack Shack
6:00 p.m. Alumnae Association Journey to Success (Slingerlands)
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Friday, February 28
Day 3
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Clubs
2:20 p.m. AAG Snack Shack
3:05 p.m. Senior Speeches
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Saturday, February 29
2/29/20 International Taste of the World Festival
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Looking Ahead
3/2/20 Lower School Conferences (No Lower School Classes)
3/3/20 AA Middle School Parent Coffee
3/4/20 AA Charter Day
3/4/20 AAPA Board Meeting
3/6/20 AA/AAG Grades 5 & 6 Skate Party
3/6/20 AA/AAG Grades 7 & 8 Snowflake Dance
3/7/20 Science Bowl Team Competition
3/9/20 Spring Sports Begin
3/11/20 AAG Grade 4 Play
3/12/20 AAG Grade 3 Wax Museum
3/12/20 Admissions Lunch On Us
3/16/20 - 3/27/20 Spring Break
3/30/20 Classes Resume
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