October 29, 2020
 
 
Hello, Friends,
There is a great deal happening in our athletics program and around campus that I’m happy to share with you.
Athletics
AAG Varsity Golf Team players and Coach Adamowski were interviewed on October 14 by WTEN News Channel 10 during their home match. You can see the WTEN story here. The team has concluded its season just this week and again was undefeated. Team members were also interviewed by Spectrum News recently about their successful fall season and the exciting future of the program. You can see the Spectrum News story here.
Over the past few weeks, AAG and AA student-athletes have been taking advantage of off-season training opportunities resulting from postponed competitions for soccer, volleyball, cross country, and football. The girls and boys have been working in grade-level cohort groups on individual sport-specific skills and on improving their physical fitness levels. It’s been great to see our students back with their peers getting exercise outside on the fields and courts. Academy Strong!
Albany Academy Varsity Golf Coach and AA College Counselor Jak Bestle recently celebrated a big milestone – his 250th consecutive win in regular-season matches over 18 years of competition. What an impressive accomplishment! The School marked this achievement with a special cake in Coach Bestle’s honor. Please join us in congratulating him.
Arts
The arts are also alive and well at the Academies. A courtyard concert has been held for students and faculty over the past few weeks during our dress-down Fridays. Rehearsal for a virtual play to be held in November has also begun. It’s so exciting to see these arts events taking shape.
Admissions
This week we kicked off a digital campaign to promote our upcoming virtual open house on November 7 from 1 to 2 p.m. If you know of a family who is interested in learning more about the Academies, please encourage them to register for the event here: albanyacademies.org/admissions/event-registration We continue to hear from families who are interested in enrolling their children mid-year and wish we could accommodate everyone. Many of our classes are now full due to space constraints in classrooms.
Annual Fund
We hope you will consider making a gift to our Annual Fund for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Our goal is to raise $780,000 to cover the unexpected expenses we are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Giving is easy: An envelope for your donation was included in the recent edition of the A2 magazine, or you can make your gift online here. We will also be participating in Giving Tuesday, a movement to create an international day of charitable giving, on December 1, so watch for details on that soon.
A2 Magazine
I hope you have all received your copy of A2 by now. Please let us know what you think of this latest issue. Your opinion matters to us! Our next issue will be sent in late April/early May.
An Unexpected Treat
Finally, I was pleasantly surprised this past week with a visit from a special alumnus from the Class of 1937 – Dr. Wayne Wilkins! Wayne, who lives in Williamstown, MA, rode over to Albany with a friend to show off his alma mater! I have visited with Wayne many times over the years and was so happy to see his smiling face again! Although Wayne could not come inside the building due to our COVID visitor policy, we chatted outdoors and caught up on many things.
As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions or ideas to share. Stay well!
Ann Wendth
Chief Advancement Officer