The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
|
|
The Skim
- Lower School Reverse Parade
- AAG Cum Laude
- Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020
- Spring Gathering Virtual Event
- Wednesday Webinar
- Writing Center
- Bender Summer Writing Program
- Admissions Event: Coffee with Us
- Step Challenge
- Alumni/ae Visit Theatre and Filmmaking Classes
- Alumna Visits Chamber Singers Class
- Yearbooks
- Distance Learning Page
|
|
Dear Friends,
We are in that time of the school year when we would normally be going from event to event to celebrate all that our students have accomplished this year, while
simultaneously
planning for next year. You can imagine that with all of the pandemic-driven uncertainty we are still encountering, that both of these processes are unlike anything we have ever encountered before.
Of all of the planning and thinking and meeting that we’re doing about the future, the top three things on my list right now are
commencement
,
summer camp
, and what
reopening might look like next year
, which I discuss in the
short video below
.
|
|
The bottom line is that we are building multiple plans for a range of scenarios, despite a pervasive lack of clarity. Our hope is that New York’s phased reopening plans will begin to bring things into sharper focus over the next two weeks, so that we have enough information to finish these plans and begin sharing them with you.
What I can share with certainty is that we have scheduled a series of virtual events for the end of the school year that celebrate our students' hard work in 2019- We will be sharing details about them in a webinar next Wednesday at 4:30 that will also be recorded and posted to our website. We will also follow up with emailed information.
I also know that I am blessed to work with a talented professional community and that is working overtime to solve as many pandemic problems as we can to get us back to some form of certainty and stability.
Until then, Happy Friday!
|
|
Lower School Reverse Parade
On Wednesday, May 13 there was a Reverse Parade for Lower School families The parade was held in the Michael B. Picotte Field House parking lot, which was filled with cars decorated by the Lower School faculty. It was heartwarming to see students waving from their cars to their teachers who they miss so much!
|
|
Congratulations to our Albany Academy for Girls 2020 Cum Laude Inductees! Certificates and cupcakes were delivered to each recipient during the day on Wednesday. A virtual ceremony was held in the evening in honor of the academic excellence of these young women.
|
|
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020
On Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m. ET, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) is partnering with XQ Institute on
Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020
, a one-hour primetime show paying joyful tribute to high school seniors, their extraordinary teachers, and their families. This commercial-free special will air on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, and it will also be available through partners such as Complex Networks, Facebook, Instagram, PEOPLE, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
During the show, high school seniors and other viewers will be invited to visit the Graduate Together website and click on their state to see specialized content for their graduating class. Students may visit the national
Graduate Together website
to submit photos, videos, and speeches for a chance to be featured on the show. The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has submitted several stories about New York State students that may be featured on the telecast. We will highlight additional stories about the Class of 2020 on NYSED’s forthcoming Graduation 2020 web page, on social media platforms, and in newsletters.
We encourage you to tune in on Saturday to help celebrate the remarkable and resilient Class of 2020!
|
|
Spring Gathering 2020
Thursday, June 11, 7:00pm - 8:00pm
|
Join us as we virtually gather to say hello, share a toast to our Class of 2020 families, bid online and have some fun ~ all to support financial aid and merit scholarships
|
|
|
Wednesday Webinar
Sorry we missed the webinars this week. We will continue with them next Wednesday; however, they will be pushed back to 4:30 pm. Hopefully, this will allow many more of you to attend. Also, we will be hosting just one webinar instead of two. Topics to be covered include:
- Closing ceremony plans for all divisions
- Summer Bridge, Accelerator, and Credit courses
- Pick-up of personal belongings – textbook drop off
- Other late-breaking news
- Q&A
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
Webinar ID: 940 5075 6310
|
|
Writing Center
The Writing Center is open from 2:20 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. next week. Writing Center Meeting ID: 874-877-3293. The following teachers will be available to work with students:
Monday: Mr. Fitzmaurice and Ms. Chille
Tuesday: Mr. Fitzmaurice and Ms. Schupp
Thursday: Mrs. Marchetti and Ms. Schupp
Friday: Mrs. Marchetti and Ms. Chille
|
|
Bender Summer Writing Program
Mr. Pascone plans to offer the Bender Writing Course online (assuming that meeting in person is still not an option). The dates remain the same: the weeks of June 15 and 22 for the first session and the weeks of August 10 and 17 for the second session. The classes will be done via Zoom, but the meetings may be short, individualized ones rather than 90-minute group ones. This format may also necessitate limiting class size even more – perhaps 8 students for Grades 9 and 10 slot and 8 for Grades 11 and 12. If you have already signed up, you are all set. If you would like to register your son or daughter, please email Mr. Pascone at
pasconed@albanyacademies.org
.
|
|
Step Challenge
We had a great fourth week in the Step Challenge! Here are the results from Week 4:
Lower School: Krisha N. '29 - 73,232 steps
Middle School: No participants
Upper School: Morgen I '20 - 136,242 steps
Faculty & Staff: Laura Frei - 135,326 steps
Parents: Angelica Ganna - 115,742 steps
|
|
Alums Visit Theatre and Filmmaking Classes
Over the past weeks some alumni and alumnae have stopped by some Zoom classes: Alex Hass '13 stopped in the Filmmaking class to talk about his time at NYU and how his path has led him to working on various commercials and independent projects. CJ MCDonald '19 spoke to the theatre class about what has surprised her in her first year of college and what things she 'wish she knew' about both the theatre world and college. Ellory Smith '13 stopped by the Filmmaking classes to talk about her journey from the Academies to working as a writer for Cartoon Network's "Robot Chicken" where she earned an Emmy nomination, and starting and co-hosting her own all female stand up show in LA. All the graduates have impressed upon our current students the idea of being kind, helping others, how working hard are corner stones to being successful in any industry.
|
|
Alumna Visits Chamber Singers Class
Dana Gough '11 visited the Chamber Singers class for a performance and a Q&A session. She is currently making a living as a performer at Disney World as Princess Anna. , among other things.
Click here
to view Dana singing a song that she performs at Pirate’s Dinner Adventure, where she’s been working for the past year.
|
|
Yearbooks
It is time to place your yearbook order!
Click here
to order a yearbook for your child. The deadline to place your order is May 31.
To order a yearbook for AAG enter passcode: 101411068383919
To order a yearbook for AA enter passcode: 10131170417192
|
|
Distance Learning Page
Please be sure to visit our
Distance Learning Page
for information on our Distance Learning program. This page is updated frequently and has resources including:
- Webinar Recordings
- Head of School Weekly Video
- Videos of interviews with Faculty
- Archived Communications
- Key Contacts Who Can Help You
- Family Resources
- Information Pertinent to Each Division
|
|
Week at a Glance
May 18 - May 22, 2020
|
|
Monday, May 18
Day 5
8:00 a.m. AAG Upper School Morning Meeting (Zoom)
8:00 a.m. AA Upper School and Forms I & II Chapel (Zoom)
|
|
Wednesday, May 20
Middle School & Upper School Workshop Wednesday
|
|
|
|
|
|
|