Dear Friends,

Happy Friday! I hope you are looking forward to the return of the Taste of the World Festival tomorrow. This event brings your community together in the Silipigno gymnasium from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. to celebrate our cultural and ethnic diversity through food. It is a wonderful – and yummy – way to spend an afternoon. 

Thank you to the AAPA and the AA 6th Grade families for yesterday's great potluck dinner at Leonard House! These dinners have been great ways to parents together, which feels especially poignant after the last few years of pandemic distancing. We plan to hold one for each class in the spring or fall, and hope you will join us.

Good luck to the AAG basketball team and track and field team members, who continue to compete deep into the postseason this weekend. This is a testament to their talent, dedication, and support systems, including coaches, teachers, and parents. 

A Head’s Letter about Campus by Divison was mailed out last week. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, the digital version can be found here.

Finally, two reminders. First, there is no school on Monday, and we look forward to seeing you for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Second, Monday is also the deadline for confirming enrollment for next year.

Best wishes for a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Chris Lauricella

Head of School

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 will be the weeks of June 19 and 26. The second session will run the weeks of August 7 and 14.

Times: 40-minute classes of 4 or 5 students. Grade 9: 8:30-9:10; grade 10: 9:20-10:00; grade 11: 10:20-11:00; and grade 12: 11:10-11:50. These times are subject to change depending on the number of students that enroll in each grade level. Grades 9 and 10 can be scheduled together, as can grades 11 and 12. The maximum number of students enrolled in each session is 20.

To sign up for the class or to request more information, please email pasconed@albanyacademies.org.

Gifford History Speakers' Series

The Albany Academies will be hosting Professor Carol Faulkner of Syracuse University as part of the Gifford History Speakers’ Series on April 5, 2023 at 11:30 am. Professor Faulkner will be delivering a lecture entitled, “Lucretia Mott at Seneca Falls,” followed by a question and answer session. 

Dr. Faulkner is a widely regarded expert on 19^th century American history, with a particular focus on women, gender, and social movements. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including most recently Unfaithful: Love, Adultery, and Marriage Reform in Nineteenth-Century America, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2019. In addition, she serves as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Maxwell School. 

Parents, alumni, alumnae, and community members are encouraged to attend!

2023-2024 Re-enrollment Now Open

Deadline: March 13

Re-enrollment contracts for the 2023-24 academic year are now available through the Blackbaud portal. Please follow these steps to re-enroll your child or children:

• Sign in to the Blackbaud portal and click on the banner link that reads, “you have contracts to review.” 

• General Terms and Conditions. Please indicate your enrollment plans for next year. Kindly note that, counterintuitively, a “yes” response means that you are “not enrolling,” and a “no” indicates that you are re-enrolling. This is an unfortunate quirk of the third-party admissions platform that we are unable to change.

• Your Student Information. Please confirm that the information presented is correct (Grade, Tuition, Fees) and enter your initials where indicated.

• Select a Payment Plan. Please select your preferred payment plan and indicate if you will be enrolling in the Tuition Refund Plan (which is highly recommended).

• Contract Cancellation and Refund information, please review these terms enter your initials where indicated.

• Deposit. We are accepting ACH payments and credit card payments for tuition deposits this year. You may also make your deposit payment in school or mail a check; please follow those options’ instructions.

• Acceptance. Please review the enrollment contract and sign it electronically.

• When done, you will see a Confirmation of Completion message.

• Reminder regarding Financial Aid:  Enrollment Contracts and Financial Aid awards are now released together. If you no longer need Financial Aid, let Admissions know so that your Enrollment Contract(s) can be released. If you still need Financial Aid but have not yet filed for it, please be aware that the Financial Aid budget is limited and allocated on a first come first serve basis.  

Thank you for doing this by the March 13 deadline, as we rely on this information to begin student scheduling and other mission-critical planning processes. Thank you, as well, for your continued support and commitment to The Albany Academies community.

District Bus Notification

The Albany Academies has been notified by the following districts they will not be transporting any students on Friday, March 17.  Academy families who would normally rely on district transportation will need to make alternative arrangements for transportation to and from school.

Bethlehem Central School District

East Greenbush Central School District

Guilderland Central School District

Shenendehowa Central School District

South Colonie Central School District

Troy City School District

Voorheesville Central School District

If you have any questions, please contact your home school district.

Science Bowl Team

The Science Bowl Team competed in regional competitions at GE Global Research on March 4. This fast-paced competition involves students working as a team to answer questions in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science and math. Students were successful in advancing to the quarter final stages of the competition. Congratulations to the team!

Fourth Grade Play

The Visual and Performing Arts Department is proud to have presented the boys Fourth Grade Play. The boys did an amazing job on their performance of "The Boy Who Cried Werewolf"! This was the first performance by the class and their hard work and preparation showed. Congratulations on a wonderful performance!

News from the Visual and Performing Arts Department

Please click here to view information for all 2023-2024 participants in Empire State Youth Orchestra program and those who are considering auditioning for Area All-State and All-State Ensembles. If you have any questions, please contact our Visual and Performing Arts Director, Rich Johnson.

International Taste of the World Festival

The annual Taste of the World Festival will take place on Saturday, March 11 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Silipigno Athletic Facility. This year's event will feature food and craft tables representing many cultures from around the globe. Live entertainment will include student and professional dance, martial arts, and musical groups. Please plan to join us to celebrate the myriad of cultures represented at The Albany Academies.

This event, which is suitable for all age groups, is free and open to the public. 

From the AAPA

Family Bingo night is Tuesday, March 14 at 5:30 pm!

It's a fun, free, community-building night planned to chase those winter blues away.

Enjoy pizza and snacks while playing for prizes!

PLEASE RSVP for this event here:

www.albanyacademies.org/family-bingo-night 

Speed Mentoring

Upper School students had a chance to learn about a wide range of careers from our alumni and alumnae at our Speed Mentoring event held on March 6 in the Stevens Center. Local alums joined us to share their experiences and answer questions in brief tabletop discussions. Students learned about potential careers, internships, mentoring relationships, and May Project placements. Thank you to our Alumni and Alumnae Associations for sponsoring this event!

A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms

Mr. Johnson's Upper School Theatre Arts students have spent time working with Mrs. Miorin's fourth grade girls to help prepare for their upcoming play "Gran's Guide to Stop an Ogre" by Stephanie Demaree on March 15th.

In History 5, students sang along to the original School House Rock “I’m Just a Bill” as they compared the law-making process of a direct democracy to that of a representative democracy. 

Students in 8th grade STEM learned about algorithms by giving verbal and then written instructions on how to construct objects using Lego blocks.

Wednesday evening, the following students were inducted to the Spanish Honor Society. Parents, students, and faculty joined us to this wonderful event. Congratulations to all.

Ava K. '25, Chana W. '25, Ava P. '25, Grant S. ’25, Brody S. ’25, Fionn M. '25 Mireya S. '25, Ava D. '25, Kate Mc. '25, Nyla B. '24, Samantha V. '25, 

Zaahra N. '25, Emmet S. '25, Yixuan C. '25

Mr. Johnson's upper school Theatre Arts students learned this week all about how to style, care for, and use wigs for theatre productions from Ms. Soden our theater student teacher from Adelphi University! 

Grades 5 and 6 students participated in a swim meet during PE Class on Thursday.

Boys first and second grade celebrated their last day of swim lessons yesterday. Parents and family members joined us in the Standish Pool to watch our students show off their many skills they have learned throughout the school year. Great job!

Mock Trial won as the defense against Albany High last night in the case of Remington Stone vs. Marley Miser and Acme Construction Corporation. It is a workplace accident case. The team will compete against Catholic Central next week. 

The First Grade boys celebrated the 101st day of school. They had lots of doggie themed treats and even got to adopt their own little dog!

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 April 18, 2023.

• To order a yearbook for AA enter passcode: 10131170417192 
• To order a yearbook for AAG enter passcode: 101411068383919

Save the Date for Spring Gathering

Our annual Spring Gathering gala will be held on Saturday evening, April 29 at the Albany Country Club. This year's event promises to be a very special evening, so encourage parents in your class and friends to join us for great fare, music, wonderful auction items, and a tribute to three outstanding individuals!

For more information and to join the Honorary Committee, please click here.

Basketball Scholar-Athlete

The NYSPHSAA & Section 2 Scholar Athlete breakfast was held on March 5. One player from each of the 11 Colonial Council teams were selected to represent their league.  Erin H. 23' was selected as the 2023 Girls' Basketball Scholar-Athlete to represent Academy. Based on Erin's leadership and overall academic achievements, she was also selected to represent the Colonial Council as the top scholar-athlete for the league in 2023.

Varsity Indoor Track & Field

The Varsity Indoor Track & Field team competed this past Saturday at the New York State indoor track meet. Isabel C. ‘23, Lucie F. ‘24, Bashir P. ‘23, and Zhu L. ‘23 all earned berths in the State Meet - the most athletes ever to represent the Academies in indoor track. All four athletes competed well! Isabel earned a silver medal as a member of the intersectional relay team. Bashir won the state title in the long jump and was second in the 55m hurdles. Both accomplishments are also new school record marks, and Bashir’s hurdle time is ranked in the top 10 in the country. He was also recognized with the Section 2 Sportsmanship Award.

Congratulations to all of our student-athletes!

Varsity Swimming and Diving

Albany Academy Swimming & Diving competed in the NYSPHSAA Championship in Ithaca last weekend. Divers Andrew C.'23 and James G.'23 finished 10th and 20th, respectively. The 200 Medley Relay team of Ethan R.'24, Brayden H.'23, Dhev J.'24, and William V.'23 finished 28th. Brayden H.'23 tied for 2nd in the 50 Freestyle. His time of 20.86 is a new school record and an All-American Consideration time. Brayden repeated as State Champion in the 100-yard Breaststroke. His time of 54.33 earned him an Automatic All-American status by over a second and is a new Section 2 and School record.

Congratulations to our divers and swimmers!

Athletic Competitions - March 10 & 11



Friday, March 10, 2023

8:00 a.m. Boys & Girls Varsity Indoor Track & Field @ Nationals (Away - New Balance Rec Center in Boston, MA)

Saturday, March 11, 2023

8:00 a.m. Boys & Girls Varsity Indoor Track & Field @ Nationals (Away - New Balance Rec Center in Boston, MA)

3:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Saranac @ Regionals (Away - HVCC)

• Please purchase tickets for the basketball game via: https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAII to attend the game.
• A livestream of the basketball game will be available through NFHS Network: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/

March 13, 2023

Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences (No Classes)

March 14, 2023

Day 1

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

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

5:30 p.m. Family Bingo Night hosted by the AAPA (Stevens Center)

March 15, 2023

Day 2

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

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

2:00 p.m. AAG Grade 4 Play "Gran's Guide to Stop an Ogre" (Auditorium)

6:00 p.m. Admissions Open House

March 16, 2023

Day 3

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)

3:05 p.m. Senior Speeches (Auditorium)

6:00 p.m. Ring Dare Dinner (Stevens Center)

March 17, 2023

Day 4

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

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

March 20 - 31 Spring Break

April 4 - Upper School Assembly - Course Selection Nuts & Bolts

April 6 - Passover (School Closed)

April 7 - Good Friday (School Closed)

April 10 - 14 - Admissions Visiting Week

April 12 - Admissions Lunch On Us

April 13 - AAPA Meeting

April 17 - Professional Development Day (No Classes)

April 18 - Lower School Coffee Break

April 19 - Chinese Honor Society Induction Ceremony

April 20 - Grade 7 Science Symposium

April 25 - AAG Cum Laude Ceremony

April 26 - AA Cum Laude Ceremony

April 27 - Spring Arts Festival: Upper School

April 28 - Spring Community Service Day

April 28 - Grades 7 & 8 Dance

April 29 - Spring Gathering

May 1 - May Projects Begin

May 1 - AP Exams Begin

May 4 - AAPA Meeting

May 6 - Admissions Open House

May 10 - Spring Arts Festival: Middle School

May 12 - Spring Arts Festival: ECA & Lower School

May 16 - Lower School Coffee Break

May 18 - 20 - Reunion Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner

May 19 - Famous Women Presentation, Reunion & Arts Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

May 20 - Reunion

May 29 - Memorial Day (School Closed)