The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
May 14, 2021
The Skim

  • CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
  • Masks at School
  • Vaccination Clinics
  • Uploading COVID Vaccinations to your Child’s Medical Record
  • Student Account Reminder
  • Textbook Returns
  • Transportation Reminder
  • Bender Summer Writing Class
  • AAG International Students Commencement Ceremony
  • Alumni Speaker Series
  • A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
  • AAG Grade 8 Honors Project Presentations
  • AA Athletic Awards
  • AAG Athletes Recognized by Colonial Council
  • Colonial Council Spectator Guidelines for Spring Sports
  • Athletic Hall of Fame & Distinguished Alumni/ae Celebration
  • Host Families Needed
  • 5K Virtual Run & Walk
  • Yearbooks
  • Learn More About Our Unique LEAP Camp for Grades 3 - 8
Dear Friends,

This week there was promising national and regional news regarding ending the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

Regional COVID metrics are the lowest since September of 2020, and last week was the first time we saw CDC transmission risk numbers in the low/low range (see below). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. 

Unfortunately, despite all this good news, we are still processing an average of two positive COVID cases per week in our student community. 

So far, the health outcomes for each of these cases seem manageable, with affected individuals either asymptomatic or experiencing relatively mild symptoms that resolve at home. However, the logistical impact of these cases is the continuous disruption of students’ lives and school operations as we continue to partner with the Department of Health to isolate or quarantine affected students. These experiences remind us that COVID transmissions are still happening and that we need to continue following all possible precautions. 

I also know that positive cases occur despite the best possible behavior, which begs the larger question of “what will next year look like?” 

The answer relies on the proportion of fully vaccinated individuals in our community. 

Health concerns aside, the more vaccinated community members we have on campus, the less likely we are to experience positive cases and continued disruption. We have seen this firsthand in the positivity and quarantine rates of our professional community. When teachers and staff surpassed a self-reported vaccination rate of 75%, the number of positive cases and quarantines among adults became almost nonexistent. 

With this in mind, we continue to align with public health recommendations that highly recommend all eligible individuals consider receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. We also encourage discussing vaccinations with your pediatrician to help inform this decision.

Our collective action on this front will determine our community experience in September.

Sincerely,
MAY 13 CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
Masks at School

School policies regarding COVID mitigations follow New York State Department of Health’s reopening guidelines. NYDOH and the Albany County Department of Health continue to be the guiding authorities for our COVID mitigations. While the CDC announced a new stance on masks for fully vaccinated individuals yesterday, we have NOT received corollary guidance from NYDOH or ACDOH. 

Until we do, the School’s current mask policy remains in place regardless of vaccination status.
Vaccination Clinics

The Albany Academies will NOT be hosting on-site COVID vaccination clinics. While we understand that some public school districts are doing so, we have determined that this does not make logistical sense and is not the best use of our human resources. We understand from our local public health partners that there is a ready supply of vaccine available and that vaccination appointment and walk-in clinic information can be found at https://www.amc.edu/capitalregionvax/
Uploading COVID Vaccinations to your Child’s Medical Record

As individuals 12 years of age and older receive vaccinations, please use the Magnus Health portal to update an image of your child’s vaccination card to their medical record. This is a secure portal for confidential student health records portal that is only available to our school nurses. Please see the visual guide, below for step-by-step directions to do this.

If you have any questions regarding uploading images of vaccination cards, please contact:
 
Angela Sears, AAG Nurse searsa@albanyacademies.org
Phone: 518-429-2302   
 
Lisa McDonald, AA Nurse mcdonaldl@albanyacademies.org
Phone: 518-429-2403


Student Account Reminder

Please check your student account, located under the Billing tab on Blackbaud/myAcademies, to be sure your account is settled by the end of May. Several “incidental” charges have been added to student accounts throughout the year such as Exam fees, Extended Day care, COVID tests, etc. Please direct any questions to Kim Russ in the Business Office. 
Textbook Returns

BOCES and Albany City School District

If you live in a BOCES serviced school district or the Albany City School District, your child will drop their loaned textbooks to designated areas in the AA & AAG buildings. Classroom teachers in Lower School, and advisors for Middle and Upper School will be advised by the Division Directors regarding drop off times & locations. Remote students textbooks should be dropped off to school by June 15. BOCES and ACD will be picking up the textbooks from the school on June 16.

Albany City School District does not use a barcode system, so please make sure your child's name is legibly printed inside the front cover of the book.

BOCES books are barcoded to identify which student the books were assigned to. BOCES services the following school districts:
  • Amsterdam
  • Ballston Spa
  • Berne-Knox-Westerlo
  • Bethlehem
  • Bolton
  • Broadalbin-Perth
  • Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
  • Cobleskill Richmondville
  • Cohoes
  • Corinth
  • Duanesburg
  • Galway
  • Glens Falls
  • Greenwich
  • Guilderland
  • Hadley-Luzerne
  • Hudson Falls
  • Lake George
  • Mechanicville
  • Menands
  • Mohonasen
  • Niskayuna
  • North Colonie
  • Queensbury
  • Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk
  • Salem
  • Schalmont
  • Schenectady
  • Schoharie
  • Schuylerville
  • Scotia-Glenville
  • Shenendehowa
  • South Glens Falls
  • Stillwater
  • Voorheesville
  • Warrensburg
  • Waterford-Halfmoon
  • Watervliet
QUESTAR III

If you live in a QUESTAR III serviced school district, you will be contacted by QUESTAR III with instructions on when and where to return loaned books. If you have any questions please contact Linda Phillips. QUESTAR III services the following school districts:
  • Averill Park
  • Berlin
  • Brittonkill & Brunswick
  • Cairo-Durham
  • Catskill
  • Chatham
  • Coxsackie-Athens
  • East Greenbush
  • Germantown
  • Greenville
  • Hoosic Valley
  • Hudson
  • Ichabod Crane
  • North Greenbush
  • Rensselaer
  • Schodack
  • Taconic Hills
  • Wynantskill
Lansingburgh, South Colonie, and Troy

Please return your child's loaned book directly to the your school district textbook loan office.
Transportation Reminder

The Albany Academies will be closed in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 31. However, many of our providing districts will be taking Contingency Days around the holiday and unable to transport Academies’ students on certain days. Academy families who would normally rely on district transportation will need to make alternative arrangements for transportation to and from school on the following dates:

  • Albany City School District - Thursday 5/27 & Friday 5/28
  • East Greenbush Central School District - Friday 5/28
  • Guilderland Central School District - Friday 5/28
  • Schodack Central School District - Friday 5/28
  • Shenendehowa Center School - Friday 5/28
  • South Colonie Central School District - Friday 5/28
  • Troy City School District - Friday 5/28
  • Wynantskill Central School District - Friday 5/28 & Tuesday 6/1

If you have any questions, please contact your home school district.
Bender Summer Writing Class

Once again we will be offering the two-week Bender Summer Writing Course. This class is open to Academy students entering Grades nine through twelve next year. In this class students work on the fundamental components of essay writing in a workshop format. Because the course is highly individualized, students of all levels of proficiency can benefit. Eleventh and twelfth graders work on college essay topics in the second week. The course will be run in Zoom. There is no fee for the course.

Dates: The first session, the weeks of June 21 and 28, is full. There are a few slots left in the second session, the weeks of August 9 and 16.

Times: 40-minute classes of 4 or 5 students. Grades 9 and 10 8:30-9:10am or 9:20-10:00am. Grades 11 and 12: 10:20-11:00am or 11:10-11:50am. These times are subject to change depending on the number of students that enroll in each grade level.

The maximum number of students enrolled in each session is 20. To sign up for the Bender Summer Writing class, please contact Mr. Pascone.
AAG International Students Commencement Ceremony

Congratulations to three of our international students who celebrated a special graduation ceremony in the courtyard at Albany Academy for Girls. We held this special event this week since the graduates are unable to attend commencement in June. We wish you well in your future endeavors!
Alumni and Alumnae Speaker Series
The final session of our Alumni/ae Speaker series was held on May 13 and another great discussion. Thank you to our esteemed panelists: Cypriana McCray ’94 - Federal Government, Sam McHugh ’95 - Open Systems, Raymond Endres ’87 -  Airtable, Neerav Patel ’96 - IBM Watson Health and Isabelle Heukensfeldt Jansen ’10 - GE Global Research Center for sharing their knowledge, experiences, and insights in the field of technology. Our students continue to have amazing opportunities to learn from our alumni and alumnae about the many careers they can pursue and receive advice from those that were once Academy students.

Visit the link here for more on this session.
A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
AA Grade 3 students spent time reading in literature groups with novels from Beverly Cleary: Runaway Ralph and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. 
AA Grade 5 students did a Goldfish Project where they are learned about Ratios and how to convert the ratios to fractions and percent. They each got a snack bag of Color Goldfish. They found the ratio of the different colors of Goldfish in their bag and then converted those ratios to Fractions, then to Percents! When they finished, they got to eat their Goldfish! 
AAG Second Grade celebrated the Grand Opening of the Famous Women Virtual Portrait Gallery this week! We hope you will stop by to visit and learn about these fifteen amazing women: Oprah Winfrey, Ruby Bridges, Mae Jemison, Mother Teresa, Queen Elizabeth II, Hillary Clinton, Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, Julia Child, Georgia O'Keeffe, Sacagawea, Helen Keller, Malala Yousafzai, Simone Biles, and Clara Barton. Please click here to visit the Portrait Gallery.  
AAG 7th graders are completing earthworm and frog dissections as a capstone activity to their Body Systems Unit.
Students in Advanced Art class spent time painting en plein air during a Landscape unit.
AA Kindergarten students enjoyed some fun in the sun during recess today!
AAG Grade Eight Honors Project Presentations

The Eighth Grade Honors Project is an optional, independent, year-long endeavor during which students can delve into any topic they choose. They have the option to investigate a brand new area, or pursue an already existing passion about which they feel compelled to learn more. This project is student-designed, and carried out with the guidance of a faculty member. This is an opportunity for students to learn more about a subject, while also learning about themselves. The projects that these students have been working on diligently all year are now finally going to be presented to the MS throughout the month of May! This year, there are 17 8th graders who have completed work on a plethora of topics.

Week of May 17
Samantha V. - "Samantha Studies Seashells at the Seashore"
Sophia E. - "Uniforms, Yay or Nay?"
Ava K. - "Spirit for Spirits"

Week of May 24
Charles X. - "A Taste of Chess"
Johner S. - "Is Homework Effective?"
Nikash R. - "How does Music Affect Your Mind and Body?"

Parents of these students may contact Lauren DeGeorgia for Zoom information to view the presentations.
AA Athletic Awards
The MAUREEN R. MEALEY MEMORIAL SOCCER AWARD, given by the Mealey family in memory of Maureen, mother of John C. Mealey, Class of 1980, and Michael J. Mealey, Class of 1984, shall be awarded annually to that Form IV or V varsity soccer player, who, in the opinion of the Director of Athletics, the varsity soccer coach, and the captain of the team, most exemplified team spirit, dedication, and skill in soccer.

Congratulations to Harry H. '22!
The CATLETT CROSS-COUNTRY AWARD, is given to a runner who demonstrates himself as a runner and a student of integrity and achievement.

Congratulations to Jay M. '21!
AAG Athletes Recognized by Colonial Council
AAG Varsity Soccer team members Ellena C. '23, Meleena O.'23, and Darcy Y. '23 have been recognized for the Honorable Mention Team for the Colonial Council Girls Varsity Soccer All-Stars. Congratulations!
AAG Varsity Swimming & Diving team members Mea A. '23, and Claire G. '21 have been recognized as Colonial Council Varsity Swimming & Diving All-Stars. Congratulations!
AAG Varsity Volleyball team member Isabelle C.'21 has been recognized for the Colonial Council Girls Volleyball Second Team All-Stars. Congratulations!
Colonial Council Spectator Guidelines for Spring Sports

The Colonial Council has issued the Spectator Guidelines for Spring sports. These guidelines will be applicable to all Colonial Council Schools for athletics.
Virtual Athletic Hall of Fame & Distinguished Alumni/ae Celebration to be Held on Thursday, May 20 at 6:30 pm.

The Alumni and Alumnae Associations will honor the 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees & Distinguished Alumni/ae awardees in a virtual ceremony livestreamed from the James E. Poole Athletic Facility. Our honorees are as follows:

  • AA Hall of Fame inductees: Anthony Owens ’85, Ned Duffy ’70, James Mills ’95, Robert Beaulieu ’85, Neil Bryant ’00, Coach Scott Young P’21, ’24, and the 1999-2000 Football Team.
  • AAG Hall of Fame inductees: Coach Bonnie Mores-Gilham, Andrea Lodico ’00, Emily Downie ’12, and Kirstie Phelps-Harris ’01.
  • Distinguished Alumna: Elon Johnson ’94.
  • Distinguished Young Alumna: Carol Crummey McCardle ’04.
  • Distinguished Alumni: Neil Murray ’62 P' 99, '05, '06 and Anders Tomson ’85 P'14, '19.
  • Distinguished Young Alumnus: Christopher Ashley ’05.

A link for the event will be posted on the website on Monday.
Host Families Needed for 2021-22 School Year

Host families are needed for athletes who are transferring to The Albany Academies from outside the Capital Region next year. A host family provides safe, caring, and friendly accommodations for these students. A “home away from home,” host-parents serve as authority figures, role models, and extended families to the players. Click here to learn more.
5K Virtual Run & Walk

Sia S. '22 has been working with Simply Supportive to organize a virtual 5k from May 31 to June 13 to raise money for the Capital City Rescue Mission in Albany. Registration is $10 and all runners/walkers have to do is pick a nice day to run/walk! With this money, the CCRM will be able to provide food, clothes and shelter for those in need.

Please click here for more information and to sign up for the 5K.
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 15.

To order a yearbook for AAG enter passcode: 101411068383919
To order a yearbook for AA enter passcode: 10131170417192
Learn More About Our Unique LEAP Camp for Grades 3 - 8

Are you looking for something safe, unique and fun for your student entering grade 3-8? Our LEAP camp has it all! LEAP runs by the week June 28- August 6. Students choose a block schedule and participate in six classes a day for the week. Block schedules include a variety of science, math, world language, art, games and sports just to name a few!

All programs are co-ed and open to the public, so please share with friends and neighbors. You will receive $25 credit toward your registration when you refer a family! Program dates and rates, LEAP class charts and more information on all our programs is available on The Albany Academies website at albanyacademies.org. Please contact Karin Epstein at epsteink@albanyacademies.org or 518-429-2332 with any questions.
Channel 13 was interviewing Matthew Essery about our STEM summer camp programs.