The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
December 10, 2021
The Skim

  • How to Upload Your Vaccine Records
  • Vaccine Clinic Snap Poll Results
  • December 10 CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
  • Required COVID Screening for all Individuals, Week of January 3rd
  • COVID Screening Testing Schedule
  • Family Satisfaction and Market Research Survey
  • Students, Alumni, and Alumnae of Color Networking Meeting
  • News from the Admissions Office
  • Winter Performances
  • A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
  • NYSPHSAA Scholar Teams
  • AAG Varsity Golf
  • Visit with Dr. Higgins
  • Week at a Glance
  • Looking Ahead
Dear Friends,
 
There’s been some speculation on campus regarding whether we will go back to remote learning in response to the increase of COVID cases in the region. While I can’t predict the future, I can share some trends that suggest that we may not need to take such a drastic measure:
 
Our current self-reported student vaccination rate is 69%. This percentage grows every day as our recently-eligible younger students become fully vaccinated. We also assume this rate actually may be a little higher as some families have not yet added their children’s COVID vaccination to their medical records. I have republished a guide on how to do this below.
 
Disruptions caused by positive cases are significantly reduced from last year, and currently average 3.7 quarantines per case. This reduction is due to a change in the close contact standard and the number of fully vaccinated students on campus. In some cases, all close contacts are fully vaccinated and do not need to quarantine.
 
Families continue to be conscientious about keeping students home when sick. We see most positive cases reveal themselves through symptom onset. When families keep sick children home, communicate promptly with us, and follow COVID screening protocols, it dramatically reduces the risk of spreading the virus at school.
 
Our campus community remains diligent about following personal mitigation measures. Vaccination, masking, distancing, and screening testing are the most effective tools at our disposal to minimize the spread of the virus, and our students and professional community continue to follow these guidelines at a high level.
 
The last twenty months have taught us that almost anything is possible when we work together as a community. If we all stay on trend, particularly with vaccinations, I hope we will realize our intention of providing uninterrupted in-person learning all year.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Chris
How to Upload Your Vaccine Records
Vaccine Clinic Snap Poll Results

Thank you to the 132 people who responded to last week’s poll regarding the demand for a Vaccine Clinic. 73 people responded that they would be interested, so we are pursuing booking a clinic on campus in January. More details will be forthcoming when we have them.
December 10 CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
The Centers for Disease Control uses several indicators and thresholds for the risk of introduction and transmission of COVID-19 in schools. We assess this risk weekly using county data and adjust our mitigation strategies accordingly.
Required COVID Screening for all Individuals, Week of January 3rd
Please sign-up with Quadrant BioSciences if you Haven’t Done So Already

Given the high risk of COVID transmission, we ask that all individuals participate in COVID screening testing during the first week we return from Winter Break. Our testing coordinators will be on campus Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday that week and we will send out detailed information when the date gets closer. 

For now, kindly make sure you:

  • Have registered yourself and or your child in the Clarifi system by creating an online profile with Quadrant Biosciences at https://app.clarifi-covid-19.com/
  • For minors, one parent/guardian will need to register and complete the required fields to create a parent/guardian profile. 
  • The same parent/guardian should click "add a profile" within the parent/guardian profile for each minor they are responsible for and/or for themselves if they are being tested.
  • Please be sure to click "The Albany Academies" when prompted to select an organization.
  • Individuals will not need to "Add a COVID-19 test" before testing. This will be completed for the child/student on-site on the day of testing.
  • When creating your profile have your insurance information handy, as they ask for this information. The screening tests are free and Quadrant will not bill or charge you, but they need this information to recoup costs of any diagnostic tests performed.
Next Week's COVID Screening Testing Schedule

Weekly Covid screening testing will be available next week for students that have opted into the weekly screening by signing up through the surveys. Testing will be held in the AA & AAG Health Offices between 8:00 am and 2:30 pm.

  • Lower School students will be tested on Tuesday, December 14.
  • Upper and Middle School students will be tested on Thursday, December 16.
  • Professional Community members may test either Tuesday or Thursday.

If you wish to opt-in or opt-out of testing, please send an email with your request to Shelly Reid at reidm@albanyacademies.org, who is the “keeper of the list.”
Family Satisfaction and Market Research Survey

Earlier this week we emailed the following invitation to participate in a Family Satisfaction and Market Research Survey. If you haven't done so yet, please consider completing it before it closes on Friday, December 17.

Dear Parents,

On behalf of all of us at The Albany Academies, thank you for entrusting us with your child’s education. I hope you and your family are having an excellent academic year! 
 
As we emerge from COVID, The Albany Academies is preparing to launch an informational campaign designed to broaden the Capital Region's awareness of the high-quality educational experiences the school provides.
 
To ensure this campaign is as successful as possible, we are surveying current parents about their attitudes and opinions, media habits, and demographics.
 
The information we collect will be used to help the School’s Marketing and Enrollment committee make data-informed decisions about advertising, media purchasing, and messaging. Satisfaction information will be shared with staff and may be used to make program refinements. 
 
Collected data will not be used or shared for any other purposes. To ensure anonymity, no personally identifiable information is being collected.
 
The survey takes approximately 11 minutes to complete. We encourage each parent in your household to complete it.
 
 
Thank you in advance!
 
Sincerely,
 
Hyacinth Mason P’19
Trustee and Chair of Enrollment and Marketing Committee
Students, Alumni, and Alumnae of Color Networking Meeting
Monday, December 13 @ 2:20 in AAG Drawing Room

Evril Clayton ‘00, and Jeannine Nettles-Blanco ‘89, the chairs of our alumni and alumnae of color affinity groups, will be visiting the campus this coming Monday and are eager to meet with students.

Mr. Clayton is Deputy Director of Global Equity with the $250 Billion New York State Common Retirement Fund. He leads a team of 6 investment professionals that manage over $100 Billion. Mrs. Nettles-Blanco is a human resources executive with State Farm Insurance focusing on recruitment, and multicultural market specialists in Georgia, Seattle, and NYC. She is also a consultant in fundraising and volunteer management for the East Lake Foundation in Atlanta, an organization focused on cradle-to-college education, mixed-income housing, and community wellness. 

They represent a network of accomplished professionals in a range of industries and are eager to meet with any students interested in discussing mentoring opportunities with alumni and alumnae of color. This is an excellent opportunity for students to network and learn about the personal journeys and professional paths of black and African American alumni and alumnae. The meeting will be held at 2:20 in the AAG Drawing Room, and we hope you will encourage your student to attend if interested.
News from the Office of Admissions

The Office of Admissions is getting excited for a busy January!! Please keep the following in mind as the end of the calendar year approaches:

  • Family Skate Returns! Community members are welcome to use our ice rink on Jan. 8th at 4:30 p.m. and Jan. 15th at 1:30 p.m.
  • The Financial Aid application is available at School and Student Services for families to complete the Parent Financial Statement. This year, returning students’ Financial Aid decisions will be issued with enrollment contracts. All returning families should submit the Parent Financial Statement before February 15th.  
Winter Performances

Please Join Us for the following Winter Performances being held on Wednesday, December 15 in the AAG Auditorium:

2:20 p.m. AAG Lower School (Grades 1-4) Music and Dance Performance

5:30 p.m. AAG Dance Grades 5 & 6, Dance as a Sport, Upper School Dance Performance

Please click here to view any of our virtual Winter Performances that have already taken place.
A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
Mr. Johnson works with Shanado P '25, Aidan M '25, Bri M '23, Jacob O '23, and Jewels G '22 on how to work the lighting board and follow spots in the Chapel while Payton Y '25 & Milly L '22 [not pictured] are helping out with the lights in the Auditorium for some of our winter performances. 
Digital Photography is working with Mr. McClintock in the Archives to do a photo-restoration project. Mr. McClintock has generously let us borrow a few Academy photos to use as source material. Pictured are Isabelle J '25, Maddie B '25, Caroline V. '25, and Raymond D. '24.
The ECA Science Discovery Center now has a maker space ideal for our inventions study. Here the kindergarten girls are busy at work inventing new contraptions!
4th grade closed out their WASH activities by cleaning up an oil spill
using Magic Sand. Magic Sand was actually invented to do this!
In fifth grade, students learned about the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and how it was essential for archaeologists to finally decode Egyptian hieroglyphics. They then took a hands-on approach in pairs to decode messages that relayed various facts about Ancient Egypt. Afterwards, students demonstrated their artistic skills by cresting their own hieroglyphic messages. 
AAG PreK students took a picture with the Happy Winter display in the AAG Lobby created by Mrs. Reh, Mrs. Bowen and Mrs. Trainor.
NYSPHSAA Scholar Teams

At the end of each sports season, the NYSPHSAA honors those teams and individuals that excel in the classroom. Those student-athletes, teams, and schools work very hard throughout the year and deserve to be recognized for their academic success. 
 
To receive Scholar-Athlete team recognition with a certificate, the team’s average GPA for 75% of the roster must be greater than or equal to 90.00. This means you take 75% of your roster and then average their GPAs. Any GPA can be included, but if it is below a 90, they will not receive a pin. 

Congratulations to the following Albany Academies Varsity Teams for earning Scholar Team status!
  • AA Varsity Cross Country
  • AAG Varsity Cross Country
  • AA Varsity Golf
  • AAG Varsity Golf
  • AA Varsity Soccer
  • AAG Varsity Soccer
  • AAG Swimming and Diving
  • AAG Varsity Tennis
  • AAG Varsity Volleyball
AAG Varsity Golf
Big news for the AAG Varsity Golf team! Nicole C., Jillian R., Kennedy S., and Samantha V. have been named, by the Times Union, as First Team Colonial Council All-Stars for their performance during the 2021 fall season.

Kennedy S., was named Athlete of the Year and Golf Coach Sarah Adamowski was named Coach of the Year.

Congratulations to the athletes and Coach Adamowski!
Visit with Dr. Higgins '77

Head of School Chris Lauricella and Chief Advancement Officer Ann Wendth met with Dr. Robert Higgins ‘77 this past week in Boston to personally congratulate him on his new position.

Dr. Higgins was recently named President of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Executive Vice President at Mass General Brigham.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Higgins and his very impressive career.
Week at a Glance
Monday, December 13
Day 1
2:20 p.m. Students, Alumni, and Alumnae of Color Networking Meeting (AAG Drawing Room)

Tuesday, December 14
Day 2
Professional Community Appreciation Luncheon
8:00 a.m. AAPA Meeting
  • Zoom ID: 688 725 2223 
  • Passcode: academy105
3:05 p.m. Senior Speeches
3:30 p.m. Upper School Faculty Meeting
3:45 p.m. Lower School Faculty Meeting

Wednesday, December 15
Day 3
7:25 a.m. Middle School Faculty Meeting

Thursday, December 16
Day 4

Friday, December 17
Day 5
7:15 a.m. Senior Breakfast
4:00 p.m. Professional Community Holiday Gathering
Looking Ahead
December 20 - 31 Winter Break (School Closed)
January 3 Classes resume
January 5 DEI Forum Meeting
January 14 Alumni/ae Speaker Series
January 17 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (School Closed)
January 22 Admissions Open House
January 27 CTL Parent Series Webinar