Dear Friends,

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." – Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was very much on my mind today as we think about celebrating his legacy on Monday. The highlight of my day was leading a class through Letter from Birmingham Jail and Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. For me, primary sources continue to be powerful examples of the power of vision and perseverance paired with masterful communication.

On a less lofty note, I am excited that we will be hosting the First Tech Challenge Qualifying Robotics Tournament tomorrow. You can scroll down for more information about this fun, family-friendly event. I hope to see you there!

Best wishes for a great weekend!

Chris Lauricella

Head of School

The Risk of COVID Transmission remains HIGH

The community level of COVID-19 infection in Albany County is High, per CDC standards. The CDC recommends the following precautions during periods of high transmission:

• Wear a mask indoors in public
• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
• Get tested if you have symptoms
• Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness

Attendance

A reminder to all parents of protocol the for reporting absences is to email attendance@albanyacademies.org when notifying the school of students arriving late, or requesting for students to leave school early.

Please don't email Mrs. Motley, Ms. Conroy or advisors directly regarding absences or appointments. Thank you for your cooperation.

Financial Aid

Reminder! Families that are planning to participate in our Financial Aid program for the 2023-24 School Year should submit the 2023-24 Parent Financial Statement at School and Student Services as soon as possible. Information about how to apply for Financial Aid can be found on our website or families can contact The Office of Admissions at Admissions@albanyacademies.org to receive instructions.

Robotics Tournament

The Albany Academies award-winning robotics team, 4809 Botman, will host The Albany Academies First Tech Challenge Qualifying Tournament on January 14, 2023. The competition starts at 10:15 a.m. in the Silipigno Athletic Facility. It will end at 4 p.m. Come see over 20 robots battling it out for a chance to advance to the Regional Championships. The event is fun, free, and family-friendly.

Poetry Out Loud

Our inaugural Poetry Out Loud assembly showcased the dramatic literary skills of eight finalists who advanced from grade-level competitions. Congratulations to Katrina P. '23 and Jakob D. '23 for being named our school finalists! We wish them luck as they advance to the regional finals on February 24.

Successful College Search Kickoff for the Class of 2024!

The College Counseling Department welcomed three senior college enrollment officers, on Thursday evening, for a virtual presentation for our junior class and their families. The presenters covered such topics as Campus Visits and Interviews, College Essay and Supplements, and the Application Review Process. 

We would like to thank the following presenters once again for volunteering their time and sharing their professional insight with the Class of 2024:

Rob Springall – Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management &

Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Penn State University

Tay Johnson - Assistant Director of Admissions, Muhlenberg College

Danielle Wells – Associate Director of Admissions, Boston College

Sophomores – your time is coming! The Sophomore College Night is scheduled for Thursday, February 9th. Stay tuned for more details! 

It's time to start thinking about summer! Online registration for summer camp date to be announced soon. Registration for current students attending The Albany Academies will open one week prior to the public! We have a variety of camps for students entering Pre-K through twelfth grade! 

New this summer - Mr. Ford and Mr. Streifert are offering Middle & Upper School Musical Theatre Camp for grades 7-12. The production will be The Addams Family: Young at Part Edition. Mr. McNally will be directing Science Academy/Robotics & 3D Printing for grades 5-6 and 7-8.

Little Leap and Jr. Leap camps (grades Pk-2) reinforce skills while having fun with weekly themed activities. 

We have many new LEAP (grades 3-8) class offerings! Your child can spend the day playing sports, working on summer math and reading, performing some mad science experiments, creating art projects, playing Quidditch, building rockets or studying animals just to name a few! Musical Theatre Camp (grades 3-6) will perform Alice in Wonderland, Jr. with Mr. Streifert & Mr. Ford. Immersion Chinese (grades 3-5) with Dr. Chen & Ms. Yu will guide campers to learn the language through activities designed with rich Chinese cultural elements. 

Refer a family and receive $25 toward your summer 2023 registration fee!

Join us for a week, a two week session or the whole summer! Program dates and rates are available on our website. The 2023 brochure, LEAP class charts and more information on all our camps will be available on The Albany Academies website soon. Please contact Karin Epstein at epsteink@albanyacademies.org or 518-429-2332 with any questions.

Registration for NYSSMA Piano is Open

Students who wish to participate in the NYSSMA Piano Festival may register from now until Friday, January 20, 2023. This year, the festival will be held at Schenectady County Community College. The dates of the festival are March 10-11, 2023. The registration fees are $22 for Levels I-IV and $30 for Levels V-VI. Checks can be made payable to “The Albany Academies” and should be submitted to Mr. Matthew Streifert. 

If you would like to register, please e-mail streifertm@albanyacademies.org with the following information:

• Student Full Name:
• Student Grade in School:
• Level of Solo:
• Title of Solo: 
• Required Movements:
• Composer:
• Arranger: 
• NYSSMA Manual Page Number: (Piano teachers should be able to provide this information)
• Date Preferred (Fri/Sat):
• Time Preferred (Morn/Aft/Eve):

Family Bingo Night!



Join us Friday, January 20, 2023, for our first family Bingo night, sponsored by AAPA. Enjoy pizza and snacks while playing for prizes! To register for this event, please visit https://www.albanyacademies.org/family-bingo-night

ARTrageous is right around the corner

Come and experience an open studio tour of the upper school visual and performing arts with an opportunity to create a piece of visual art for yourself to take home! Highlights include studio art, photography, dance, and students of the musical. Purchase tickets now at HERE and support our Visual and Performing Arts programs at The Albany Academies today!

Memorial Service

Many of our families knew Bob LuPone P'24, who helped to support and promote the arts at our school. He was generous with his time giving guidance to the students participating in theatre productions, and he served as a judge in the Shakespeare Competitions.

Bob LuPone's Memorial will be held on Tuesday, January 24th at 2 pm at The Julliard School's Peter Jay Sharp Theater (155 65th Street in New York City). If you are interested in attending and would like further information, please reach out to Virginia LuPone at luponev@albanyacademies.org

A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms

Grade 7 STEM students working on multi-view sketching. The students are learning different types of sketching for engineering designs.

Upper School students from Mr. Russell's class worked with Third Grade students on their state projects.

The AAG First Graders are Ringing in the New Year and are thinking like champions. They have written about the many different goals they have set for 2023. They shared their New Year’s resolutions on Monday during Morning Assembly.

3rd and 4th Grade students, in the Winter Enrichment Program - Intro to Chinese Club, learned about and created their own Chinese calligraphy.

AAG Second Graders were introduced to the concept of division using Skittles. They practiced modeling division equations before snacking on their math tools!

8th Grade students are designing Rube Goldberg Machines during their Energy and Simple Machines Unit.

7th Grade Science students designed controlled investigations involving photosynthesis in spinach leaves.

Grade 5 students joined the Kindergarten Library class and read to the students.

Second graders worked together to learn about endangered animals.

Athletics Competitions January 13 - 14

Friday, January 13, 2023

4:00 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - NEPL vs. Nichols School (Away)

Saturday, January 14, 2023

1:30 p.m. AA JV Basketball vs. Amsterdam High School (Home)

1:45 p.m. AAG Varsity Indoor Track & Field @ Union College (Away)

1:45 p.m. AA Varsity Indoor Track & Field @ Union College (Away)

3:00 p.m. AA Varsity Basketball vs. Shaker High School (Away)

4:00 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - NEPL vs. Nichols School (Home)

7:45 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - CDHSL vs. Schenectady High School (Away)

January 16, 2023

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - School Closed

January 17, 2023

Professional Development Day (No Classes)

January 18, 2023

Day 3

8:00 a.m. Upper School Chapel (Caird Chapel)

8:00 a.m. Upper School Morning Meeting (Auditorium)

6:00 p.m. Admissions Open House

3:30 p.m. Afterschool Winter Enrichment Programs

January 19, 2023

Day 4

8:00 a.m. Upper School Chapel (Caird Chapel)

8:00 a.m. Upper School Morning Meeting (Auditorium)

8:20 a.m. Lower School Chapel (Caird Chapel)

3:30 p.m. Afterschool Winter Enrichment Programs

January 20, 2023

Day 5

8:00 a.m. Upper School Chapel (Caird Chapel)

8:00 a.m. Upper School Morning Meeting (Auditorium)

3:30 p.m. Afterschool Winter Enrichment Programs

5:30 p.m. Family BINGO Night (Stevens Center)

January 24 - Lower School Coffee Break

February 2 - AAPA Meeting

February 2 - ARTrageous. Experience the Arts!

February 13 - Professional Development Day (No Classes)

February 15 - Admissions Lunch on Us

February 20 - School Closed - Presidents' Day

February 21 - 24 - Admissions Visiting Week

February 28 - Admissions Regional Prospective Family Reception

March 2 - AAPA Meeting

March 11 - Taste of the World Festival

March 13 - Parent/Student-Teacher Conferences (No Classes)

March 15 - Admissions Open House

March 20 - 31 Spring Break