The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
September 4, 2020
The Skim

  • Complete Your Student's Vital Health Record by September 11
  • Download Magnus Mobile App V2 by September 11
  • CDC Checklist for reopening
  • A Note on Student Billing from the Business Office
  • Thank You, Nurses! (& Link to Webinar)
  • Extended Day Registration
  • AAPA Uniform Exchange
  • Legacy of Dreams
  • Run-up to Reopening
Dear Friends,

With reopening on the horizon, it's time to focus on some back-to-school details. This includes accessing our Learning Management System (Blackbaud), updating student medical records (Magnus Health), and getting ready for daily COVID symptom screening (using the Magnus Mobile App).

An email detailing this was sent to you earlier today, and I am following up with this video tutorial:
Doing these things should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes, and the deadline for completing these tasks is September 11.

We are looking forward to welcoming new students for orientation next Friday and reopening school on the 14th for students joining us remotely and in-person (the full run-up to reopening is reposted below). 

This will be a significant milestone in our COVID-19 journey that wouldn’t be possible without a tremendous team effort from the entire Albany Academies professional community. In the spirit of Labor Day, I want to thank my incredibly thoughtful and hardworking colleagues for their ongoing contributions to our school’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. If you have questions about any details regarding the reopening of school, please visit our school reopening plan page.

On behalf of all of us on Academy Road, please also know how much we appreciate the continued support of parents and students during this extraordinary time. We look forward to seeing you all very soon, either virtually or in-person.

Until then, best wishes for a Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Chris
Please Complete your Student's Vital Health Record by September 11

Please sign in to Blackbaud, navigate to Magnus Health in the Resources Tab, and complete your student's Vital Health Record by September 11. If you need help with this, there is a video tutorial posted here (same as above).
Please Download Magnus Mobile App V2 by September 11
This is the App that families will use for COVID daily symptom screening. It can be found at the Google Play Store for Android phones and at Apple's App store for iPhones.

Please Note: you will need to access the Web version of Magnus Health through your Blackbaud account to create unique log-in and password credentials for each child enrolled in the school. For security purposes, this username and password cannot be the same as the ones used for Blackbaud. If you try to log in to the app without setting up these unique credentials, you will receive an error message.

If you need help with this, there is a video tutorial posted here (same as above).
CDC Parent Checklist

The Center for Disease Control has published a back-to-school planning checklist that may be of interest to families and is well-aligned with our reopening planning:
A Note on Student Billing from the Business Office
 
Dear Families,
 
Last year our leadership team made the strategic decision that the Academies would benefit from an enterprise software system designed for private school environments that integrated our core information across all school functions. After significant review, we migrated back to Blackbaud this summer, which provides us with integrated software for running the School.
 
Many of these software solutions are working well for us. Unfortunately, the billing system that Blackbaud recently launched is not, and we apologize for any issues you have had authenticating yourself in the system and establishing your account. Frankly, the Billing Software roll-out has been bumpy at best, and modules that were supposed to be functioning are not, including the ability to make recurring payments. 
 
Additionally, in some cases, the software is not calculating balances correctly, which we are fixing manually once payments post to a family's account. (Please note: The ‘minimum payment due’ when you click ‘Make a Payment’ is displaying the correct installment balance due; however, the ‘full amount due’ is not displaying correctly at this time.)
 
We have been working with Blackbaud to fix these items and make the software more user-friendly, but this is taking longer than we would like. I fully understand that this is not a welcomed development, particularly against the backdrop of all the other COVID-related changes we are making this year, which were unforeseen when we began this migration.
 
That said, we sincerely appreciate your patience while we work through these issues and are sorry for any inconvenience this change may have caused you. We also want you to know that we are here to assist you with any challenges this creates for you:
 

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any additional questions you may have.
 
With appreciation,
 
Pam MacAffer, CFO
Thank You, Nurses! (& Link to Webinar)

Yesterday, I had the privilege of facilitating a Webinar with Lisa McDonald and Angela Sears to discuss the specific COVID-related protocols in place in our health offices. Angela and Lisa have been integral to our reopening planning. They will also function as liaisons between the school community, school administration, and the Health Department as required during our reopening. They are a dynamic duo, and we are so fortunate to have their leadership at The Albany Academies. We discussed a range of topics, including health and hygiene protocols and precautions, record keeping, ventilation, and physicals and vaccinations.

Extended Day Registration

Lower School & Middle School Extended Day: 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

If you plan to send your student to Extended Day at any point this year, please use the following link to register for the program. Please register as soon as possible to assist us in planning and staffing the programs. Click here to register: AA/AAG Extended Day Registration Link
AAPA Uniform Exchange

Due to the current COVID situation we are not accepting donations at this time and apologize for any inconveniences. However, if you are in need of an item, below is the process:

  • Parents complete request/order form.
  • Click here for the AAG Uniform request form
  • Click here for the AA Uniform request form
  • Completed forms should be emailed to uniform@albanyacademies.org
  • Request /order is received.
  • Items are picked from inventory.
  • Academies personnel will confirm availability of items.
  • Pick-up scheduled from the front offices on either campus.
  • Checks should be made payable to: The Albany Academies, attn: AAPA Uniform Sale.

Schedule for pick-up and drop off of payments:

  • Requests received by Sunday at midnight will be processed on Monday and ready for pick-up on Tuesday between 8:30 a.m and 3:30 p.m.
  • Requests received by Tuesday at midnight will be processed on Wednesday and ready for pick-up on Thursday between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

For Grades PK-6 please refer to the Temporary Dress Code Adjustments for the 2020-21 academic year. The request forms have also been added to the resources section of the Parents page on our school website.
Legacy of Dreams Going Virtual
Legacy of Dreams, a fundraising event to support athletics, will be held on Thursday, October 1 virtually at 7:00 p.m. It will be live-streamed via The Albany Academies Facebook page.

Please consider joining our Legacy of Dreams Honorary Committee, becoming an event sponsor, or registering for the event here, or for more information contact Special Events Coordinator Sarah Adamowski at adamowskis@albanyacademies.org. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Run-up to Reopening

The following is a timeline of events and activities leading up to opening day.

September 8 & 9

  • On-site Pre-service Training​
  • Intended for Professional Community (faculty and staff) Only

September 10

Virtual Orientation for Students 

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. LS Students, Virtual sessions hosted by the classroom teachers 
 
Pre-Kindergarten
  • AA - Ms. Michelle Jacobs, Zoom ID: 643-826-3617, Password: academy68 
  • AAG - Ms. Laura Stevens, Zoom ID: 331-864-2392, Password: academy129
Kindergarten
  • AA - Ms. Clare Valentine, Zoom ID: 965-363-1581, Password: academy135
  • AAG - Ms. Sandi Hanifin, Zoom ID: 215-327-7544, Password: academy57
Grade 1
  • AA - Ms. Meaghan See, Zoom ID: 436-426-3353, Password: academy126
  • AAG - Ms. Robin Cooney, Zoom ID: 214-806-9628, Password: academy26
Grade 2
  • AA - Ms. Christina Dempsey, Zoom ID: 962-862-7566, Password: academy33
  • AAG - Ms. Caitlin Kelly, Zoom ID: 625-018-2259, Password: academy73
Grade 3
  • AA - Ms. Shannon Rodriguez, Zoom ID: 474-484-1660, Password: academy138
  • AAG - Ms. Jennifer Connors, Zoom ID: 698-671-3348, Password: academy23
Grade 4
  • AA - Ms. Theodora Lois, Zoom ID: 644-057-8286, Password: academy80
  • AAG - Ms. Sandra Miorin, Zoom ID: 922-702-5970, Password: academy95


10:00 – 11:00 am MS Students, Virtual sessions hosted by the MS Grade-level Deans

Grade 5
  • AA - Ms. Bridgett Frary, Zoom ID: 745-324-3665, Password: academy44
  • AAG - Ms. Elizabeth Masterson, Zoom ID: 831-825-6515, Password: academy85 
Grade 6
  • AA - Ms. Alex Mitsios, Zoom ID: 546-537-8613, Password: academy97
  • AAG - Ms. Sarah Loya, Zoom ID: 293-587-8518, Password: academy82
Grade 7
  • AA - Ms. Tara Crisafulli, Zoom ID: 990-462-1326, Password: academy28
  • AAG - Ms. Amy Donovan, Zoom ID: 393-256-2770, Password: academy36
Grade 8
  • AA - Ms. Jess Grogan, Zoom ID: 938-399-0825, Password: academy55
  • AAG - Ms. Mary Ellen Tomson, Zoom ID: 896-000-2725, Password: academy133

11:00 – 12:00 pm US Students, Virtual sessions hosted by the US Grade-level Deans

Grade 9
  • AA - Mr. Adam Collett, Zoom ID: 246-922-1168, Password: academy22
  • AAG - Mr. Christopher Conway, Zoom ID: 889-469-4892, Password: academy25
Grade 10
  • AA - Mr. Robert Bischoff, Zoom ID: 265-159-7974, Password: academy9
  • AAG - Mr. Tim Fitzmaurice, Zoom ID: 440-263-3215, Password: academy43
Grade 11
  • AA - Mr. Scott Young, Zoom ID: 573-799-1101, Password: academy141
  • AAG - Ms. Cristi Marchetti, Zoom ID: 783-248-8194, Password: academy84
Grade 12
  • AA - Mr. Pat Kauth, Zoom ID: 833-414-1292, Password: academy70
  • AAG - Ms. Hannah Minissale, Zoom ID: 470-589-1141, Password: academy94

Virtual Orientation for Parents/Families 
 
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. LS Parents  
Hosted by the Lower School Division Director, Mrs. Michelle Hughes 
  • Zoom ID: 639-229-5063 
  • Password: academy64 
 
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Campus Orientation for New Students 

8:00 am – 11:00 am On-campus Orientation for New Students to Middle School and Upper School (includes all grade 5 and grade 9 students) 
 
Arrive 7:30 - 7:45 a.m. – Check-in Upon Arrival 
  
8:00 a.m. Report to Homerooms 
  • Welcome and Introductions 
  • Student Life, School Culture 
 
8:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. 
  • Student/Parent Handbook 
  • Covid-19 Safety Procedures 
  • Technology Checks 
  • Snack 
  • Schedules, Academic Calendar, Lockers 
  • Campus Tour 
  
Virtual Orientation for Remote Learners 
 
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. LS Remote Learner Orientation 
Hosted by the Lower School Division Director, Mrs. Michelle Hughes 
  • Zoom ID: 639-229-5063 
  • Password: academy64 
 
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MS Remote Learner Orientation 
Hosted by the Middle School Deans:
Mr. Brian Fruscio (AA) & Ms. Lauren DeGeorgia (AAG) 
  • Zoom ID: 655-160-5257 
  • Password: academy31 
 
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. US Remote Learner Orientation 
Hosted by the Upper School Division Director, Mrs. Hilary King 
  • Zoom ID: 849-784-3759 
  • Password: academy76 


September 14 

  • Opening Day On Campus
  • Full school day on campus
  • Extended time for arrival processes
  • VIRTUAL First Chapel and Opening Assembly
  • In-person and remote learners participate via Zoom
  • Modified academic schedule to acclimate to new procedures 
  • Extended lunch periods
  • Extended time for dismissal processes