The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
October 22, 2021
The Skim

  • Community Service Day!
  • Pavilion Progress
  • COVID Vaccines for Ages 5 to 11 Coming Soon
  • October 22 CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
  • COVID Screening Testing Schedule
  • DEI Forum Invitation
  • Columbus, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Celebrating Italian-American Heritage
  • Annual Fund: We are Stronger Together
  • WASH (Water-Sanitation-Hygiene) Experiences and Webinars
  • Poetry Contest
  • Industry Professional Visits the Upper School Theatre Arts Class
  • A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
  • Athletics
  • Week at a Glance
  • Looking Ahead
Dear Friends,

Without tempting fate, I want to end the week with thanks for everyone's efforts to keep us healthy this fall. Last week, I shared a bit about early indicators of how COVID and cold and flu season are impacting regional schools. You may have seen some of this information more widely reported this week. 

When I compare this data with our experience, I am so grateful that our community continues to follow the mitigation measures necessary to keep us as healthy as possible and minimize disruptions. Please keep it up!

Warmly,
Community Service Day!
Today, students throughout the school took part in a day of service, either on campus or with a local partner organization.

Community Service Day is a long-standing tradition at The Albany Academies and a wonderful reminder that the act of giving is the heart of happiness and community.
Pavilion Progress

Work is well underway for the Class of 1970 Pavilion. The site is graded, and concrete piers and a foundation are poured.

Construction of the structure will begin later in the month, and we are eagerly awaiting this excellent addition to our campus!
COVID Vaccines for Ages 5 to 11 Coming Soon

We continue to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the New York Department of Health that strongly recommends all eligible individuals receive a COVID-19 vaccination. In addition to the personal and public health benefits of immunization, fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from the following potential disruptions:

  • They do not need to be restricted from work or school following exposure as long as they are asymptomatic.
  • They do not need to quarantine following a known exposure if asymptomatic.
  • They may resume domestic travel and refrain from testing before or after travel or self-quarantine after a trip.
  • They may refrain from testing before leaving the United States for international travel. (unless required by the destination) and refrain from self-quarantine after arriving back in the United States.

The Pfizer vaccination will likely receive Emergency Use Authorization from the Food and Drug Administration in early November for use with children ages 5 to 11. Therefore, families who wish to have their children vaccinated may want to be proactive in reaching out to their pediatricians about vaccine availability and appointments to avoid potentially long waits.

We will also be monitoring developments in this area and will provide additional information as it becomes available.
October 22 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.
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 8:00am and 2:30pm.

  • Lower School and Middle School students will be tested on Tuesday, October 26.
  • Upper School students will be tested on Thursday, October 28.
  • Professional Community members may test either Tuesday or Thursday.

If you wish to opt-in or opt-out of testing, send an email with your request to Shelly Reid, reidm@albanyacademies.org, who is the “keeper of the list.”
DEI Forum Invitation
 
All members of the school community are invited and encouraged to attend DEI forum meetings, which are held regularly via Zoom. The DEI forum is a venue to share feedback about the school’s inclusive practices, learn about upcoming DEI initiatives, and help shape future efforts. Meetings include trustees, administrators, faculty, parents, and students.
 
The dates for this year’s meetings are:
Tuesday, November 2 at 4pm
Wednesday, January 5 at 4pm
Wednesday, March 16 at 4pm
Wednesday, June 1 at 4pm
 
The login information is:
Zoom ID: 691-007-9154
Zoom Passcode: academy79
 
To learn more about our DEI efforts, visit https://www.albanyacademies.org/about/diversity-equity-and-inclusion.
Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Earlier this week, our History Department hosted a conversation between faculty and interested students that explored the historical foundations of Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day and the perspectives that inform these two holidays. The group discussed the myths and realities surrounding Columbus the man, the historical use of Columbus in service of celebrating Italian-American heritage, and the impact of the Columbian Exchange on indigenous peoples.

Perhaps the most salient takeaway from this conversation was the ability to model civil, productive discourse that led to a richer understanding of the complexities of our historical narratives. We hope this will serve as a prototype for using these holidays to foster continued reflection, exploration, and dialogue about these complex cultural issues.
Annual Fund: We are Stronger Together
Academies parents truly are Stronger Together, and they are proving it with their support of the Annual Fund this week. Our goal is 150 families making a gift and as of this writing, we are 92% of the way there with 138 donations! Thank you to everyone who has participated so far. Parents of every grade level have answered the call, and the parents of our Juniors are leading the charge with gifts.

Please visit the page to check your grade's participation level, watch a video to learn more about the Annual Fund, and make a donation or pledge. Remember, every gift or pledge, regardless of the amount, makes a difference.

Thank you all for your support!
WASH (Water-Sanitation-Hygiene) Experiences and Webinars
Today, members of the school community were able to engage in a series of hands-on simulations of water-gathering and hygiene practices common in countries with underdeveloped water or sanitation infrastructure.  
 
Thank you, Mr. Conway (US Spanish), the recipient of the 2021-2022 Faculty Enrichment Grant, as well as our science and environmental studies faculty for providing this opportunity as well as a series of webinars and experiences that provide students with the opportunity to learn from and interact with highly respected expert practitioners in the Water-Sanitation-Hygiene (WASH) sector. 

Local, national, and global WASH challenges are incredibly consequential in a multitude of ways yet rarely addressed in anything approaching a systematic fashion at the secondary school level. This series represents a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn more about these critical issues (and about careers in WASH-related fields).  

The featured guests for the school’s WASH webinars are all very accomplished, dedicated professionals with extensive international experience, and a few are leading international authorities. Please see this webinar schedule showing names and dates, and mini-bios of the participants, and spread the word to any students who might be interested!
Poetry Contest

The Middle School girls submitted almost 80 poems for our first poetry contest of the year, which was on the theme of "Water." Many thanks to Mr. Fitzmaurice for selecting our winners!
 
First place: "Water" by McKenzie M '27
Second place: "Haiku" by Faye C'29
Third place: "Memories" by Messina S '26
 
Honorable Mentions: 
"Little Drops of History" by Lily K'27
"Waterfall of Doubt" by Cora H '28
"One With the Rain" by Laurel R '27
"A Little Girl Waking up on a Cold Winter Day" by Melody L '27
Industry Professional visits the Upper School Theatre Arts Class
Actor Happy McPartlin is a Swing on the Broadway show "Come From Away" which recently reopened and now has a film version of the show. She recently visited the Upper School Theatre Arts Class via Zoom to talk about her experiences in all aspects of the industry, the recording process, and being part of the show.
A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
This Tuesday our 4th Grade Beginning Band students had their first rehearsal of the school year! 
Kindergarten students in Señora de Rosier's classroom learned new Spanish vocabulary this week about the body. Students practiced drawing the face, "la cara" by listening for directions on what part of the face to draw. 
AAG Grade 5 English has been busy learning all about literary devices with our Explained by Experts Project. Once they defined and provided examples of their term, they presented the information to the class. It was fun to see all the creative ideas!
Charles B.'27 created a petition for a water filling station for the third floor. After pitching his idea to the AA Middle School and collecting signatures room by room, he and his advisor, Coach Penrose, met with Mr. Lauricella. Charles not only took pride in delivering the petition, but expressed his ideas and reasoning for such a need in our building. We look forward to seeing where Charles’ efforts lead! 
Mr. Young's Anatomy and Physiology classes are studying the cell cycle. Students are using our WiFi-enabled microscopes to find whitefish cells in the different phases of the cell cycle - interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. They must be able to explain the characteristics of each phase as they capture the images.
This week the Middle School Garden Club completed the construction of their terrariums! During the project they learned how to create the different layers of their containers in order to provide good drainage. Afterward, they decided whether to have an open or closed terrarium. Finally, they headed out to our school’s wooded area to collect moss and other plant life to put the finishing touches on their beautiful miniature gardens.
The AAG Second Graders are enjoying getting back out on the ice for P.E. skating!
Pre-k girls are wrapping up their tree study with a look at birds. Today they compared and contrasted birds with guinea pigs.
AA First Grade students read about towers in Science class and worked on building one that stays together when in front of a fan on low.
Athletics
Congratulations to members of the AA Class of 2022 who were recently celebrated by the Varsity Football team.

AA Varsity Football
James G., Nick F., Alex B., Ryan H., Eber J., Michael N., Jack F., Will F., and Pharoah C.
The AA Modified Cross Country Team competed in the Burnt Hill - Balston Lake Invitational last Saturday October 16. The Team came in 8th out of 18 Teams. They are now training hard to compete in the Colonial Council Championships on Friday October 29.
Week at a Glance
Monday, October 25
Day 3
2:20pm Alumnae/Alumni Speaker Series

Tuesday, October 26
Day 4

Wednesday, October 27
Day 5
8:15am AAG Lower School Assembly
12:00pm AAG Middle School Assembly

Thursday, October 28
Day 6
8:15am AA Lower School Chapel

Friday, October 29
Day 1
10:00am - 10:40am Lower School Halloween Bingo Session 1 (Zoom)
11:20am - 12:10pm Lower School Halloween Bingo Session 2(Zoom)
12:20pm Grades 5 & 6 Halloween Costume Contest
2:20pm Lower School Halloween Parade
3:15pm International Students Get-together (AAG Courtyard)
3:20pm Grades 7 & 8 Halloween Social (AAG Dining & Events Center)
Looking Ahead
November 2 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Forum
November 2 Parent/Student - Teacher Conferences (No Classes)
November 7 Admissions Open House
November 11 Veterans Day (School Closed)
November 12 Professional Development Day (No Classes)
November 5 - 6 Fall Production: Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
November 17 Admissions Asked and Answered Information Session
November 23 Thanksgiving Feast
November 24 - 26 Fall Break (School Closed)