September 4, 2020       Hello Friends,

Summer break is coming to an end and we’re heading into the fall semester with much excitement and anticipation for a successful academic year for our students, our faculty, and our professional community. We are set to reopen on Monday, September 14 with 90 percent of our students and their families choosing on-campus learning. We are certain that for the 10 percent who have chosen remote learning their experience will be a positive one. We are committed to providing the stellar education that the School is known for, regardless of the method of delivery. All procedures and protocols are in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all our students and the entire Academies community. To learn more about our reopening of campus please visit  www.albanyacademies.org/reopening-plan.

Admissions Activity  Despite being only 10 days from the first day of classes, our Admissions Office is still enrolling new students. It is nice to see that several of our alumni/ae are enrolling their children this fall, some even making the decision to relocate from New York City. You know firsthand the value of an Academies education and alumni and alumnae can be our best ambassadors. If you know of a family that would like to learn more about enrolling in the Academies, please contact me and I will get in touch.

Legacy of Dreams As I mentioned in a previous note to you, on Thursday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m., we will hold our virtual Legacy of Dreams event, live-streamed on our Facebook page facebook.com/thealbanyacademies  at 7:00 p.m., to raise funds to support our student-athletes and athletic programs. This event, chaired by Andy Safranko ’91, P’23 ’26 and Jenny Ritiano Levy ’93, P’28, will be streamed from the James E. Poole Athletic Facility. For more information, please visit www.albanyacademies.org/giving/events/legacy-of-dreams.

Reunion We recently held a Zoom call with postponed 2020 reunion class chairs and set tentative dates for next year’s rescheduled reunion: June 19–20, 2021. We will schedule another Zoom call for 2021 reunion class chairs shortly, so watch for details on that.

New Board Member We are pleased to announce and welcome Alumna Eileen Tucker Spiro ’05 to The Albany Academies’ Board of Trustees. Eileen is a Vice President at Shenkman Capital Management, Inc., an investment firm based in New York City, where she focuses on investments in high yield loans and collateralized loan obligations. Prior to joining Shenkman, she worked at JPMorgan as a research analyst for fixed-income investments. Eileen resides in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Alumnae Association The Alumnae Council will be holding its first meeting on September 16, 2020, at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. President Kelley Walsh Triscari '07 encourages alumnae interested in getting involved to join the call. There are several initiatives being planned for 2020-21 and all are welcome to participate! If you are interested in joining the call contact Kelly at ktriscari89@gmail.com.

Thank you As mentioned in a previous letter, we are so grateful to our alumni and alumnae who donated their time and services for welcome back baskets for our professional community. Joan Dembinski ’55 was in our kitchen today helping to package more than 400 biscotti's that she baked! Thank you!!

A2 Magazine Finally, the latest edition of our magazine, A2, is heading to the printer soon and should be arriving in your mailboxes in early October. It’s chock full of interesting news and feature stories. Remember to send us any personal news you would like to share in Class Notes for future editions. It’s a great way to keep in touch with classmates and faculty members.

I hope you have a pleasant and restful Labor Day weekend, Best,

Ann Wendth Chief Advancement Officer