The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
April 30, 2021
The Skim

  • Spring Gathering
  • CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
  • A Note from the Health Office Regarding Allergy Symptoms
  • A Note from the Health Office Regarding Food
  • Don't Forget to Order Lunch
  • Upper School Fine Arts Spring Presentation
  • Upper School Theatre and Filmmaking Spring Theatre Production
  • Lower School Spring Picture Days
  • Bender Summer Writing Class
  • A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
  • AAG Grade 8 Honors Project Presentations
  • Cum Laude Inductions
  • Senior Athletes Recognized
  • Yearbooks
  • Virtual MS/US Summer Class Registrations
  • Hannaford Helps Schools
Dear Friends,

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week. 

The impulse to formally honor teachers dates back to 1953 when Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded Congress to proclaim a National Teachers’ Day. In doing so, she wrote that “teachers are, of course, among the most important people in our nation. Day in and day out, they are at work preparing the future citizens of the U.S. I have always felt that we did not give an honorable enough place in our communities to the teachers. Next to parents, they are the most important people in our communities.”

I think Mrs. Roosevelt had it absolutely right. Teachers and the professional staff who support their work are indeed the most important people in our community. 

Especially this year. Beginning in March of 2020, our faculty have continuously evolved their practice to meet the needs of the moment. They have taught remotely. They have taught in person, masked, and distanced while perpetually sanitizing their classrooms. They have also simultaneously taught remotely and in person, while masked and distanced and continuously sanitizing their classrooms. They have also “pivoted” between all of these modes and myriad other demands at a moment’s notice. 

I don’t want to imagine what the year would have been like for our students without their dedication and diligence. 

If ever there was a moment to show gratitude for their work, I believe it’s now. If a teacher has touched your life, I encourage you to reach out to them over the next week in the spirit of appreciation and gratitude. As a school, we will be doing our best to do this too, and I look forward to comparing notes next Friday!

Sincerely,
We are busy getting ready for Spring Gathering at 7:00 p.m. tonight! We are excited to share a tribute video to Matthew Bender IV '49, P'78, '80, '82, GP'15, '18, '20, a toast to our senior families, the winner of the $2,500 shopping spree at Frank Adams Jewelers raffle, and the amazing auction items (watch as the competitive bidding unfolds). Check it out! SG2021.givesmart.com.
April 30 CDC Risk Assessment for Schools in Albany County
A Note from the Health Office Regarding Allergy Symptoms
 
It’s spring! Along with the nicer weather comes seasonal allergies. Unfortunately, symptoms of COVID and allergies can be very similar, so please don’t assume that the symptoms your child is experiencing are “just allergies.” There is an emerging trend in some local schools that students who presented with what first appeared to be allergy symptoms were, in fact COVID-positive. 

If your child has nasal congestion or a runny nose, please reflect this on the Magnus App morning symptom survey, and follow the return to school protocol. Any siblings of the symptomatic student should also be kept home until a diagnosis is confirmed. As always, please contact your school nurse for any questions/concerns.
A Note from the Health Office Regarding Food

Please remember as we head into our end-of-year celebrations that students and families are not permitted to send in food that is shared with other classmates during lunch, end of year events, or classroom celebrations.  Thanks for your understanding.
Don't Forget to Order Lunch!

In-person learners should order lunch ASAP using the FLIK Dining App. This will give Chef Derek and Chef Adam time to order the proper amount of food to prepare. Unfortunately, when student lunch orders are not placed on time, it can cause a shortage of food options and a delay in lunch service.

Orders should be placed by parents of students in Lower School and Middle School. Parents of Upper School students: please remind your child to place their order.

Special Note: Please be advised that starting on May 1 we will be unable to offer sandwiches or wraps due to supply chain and quality issues. Hard rolls and wheat bread are available for deli sandwiches.
Upper School Fine Arts Spring Presentation

For those who might have missed this past Wednesday's presentation or for those that would like to see the full version of the highlighted performances, please click here.
Upper School Theatre and Filmmaking Spring Theatre Production

The Upper School students will present the play "13 Ways To Screw Up Your College Interview." It will be available On Demand all day on Saturday, May 8 only. To view the show, please click here and follow the instructions.

If you have any questions, please contact Rich Johnson.
Lower School Spring Picture Days
iSmile Studios will be on campus on May 3 & 4 for The Albany Academies Lower School's Spring Picture Days!

May 3 - AA Campus
  • PreK - 9:15am
  • Kindergarten - 9:45am
  • Grade 1 - 8:50am
  • Grade 2 - 9:30am
  • Grade 3 - 8:35am
  • Grade 4 - 10:20am
  • Remote Learners - 10:40am

May 4 - AAG Campus
  • PreK - 8:03am
  • Kindergarten - 8:45am
  • Grade 1 - 9:40am
  • Grade 2 - 9:20am
  • Grade 3 - 10:00am
  • Grade 4 - 9:00am
  • Remote Learners - 10:20am 
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, the weeks of June 21 and 28, is full. There is plenty of room in the second session, the weeks of August 9 and 16.

Times: 40-minute classes of 4 or 5 students. Grades 9 and 10 8:30-9:10am or 9:20-10:00am. Grades 11 and 12: 10:20-11:00am or 11:10-11:50am. These times are subject to change depending on the number of students that enroll in each grade level.

The maximum number of students enrolled in each session is 20. To sign up for the Bender Summer Writing class, please contact Mr. Pascone.
A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms
AAG second grade celebrated Earth Day by reading the book, One Plastic Bag. The girls learned about a special group of women that worked together to crochet purses from plastic bags in Gambia. In addition to cleaning up their community, it also helped to prevent their goats from becoming sick when they ate the discarded bags. The second graders were inspired to recycle their own plastic bags into bracelets!
The robotics team (Botman) competed in the NY Excelsior Remote Qualifiers this past week. Teammates have worked tirelessly to design, build, and program the robot to compete in this year’s challenge, Ultimate Goal. The robot performed very well during the remote competition, but more importantly, the team’s detailed documentation of their design process earned them the Think Award. Their Engineering Portfolio was the best out of the 28 teams that competed. In earning the Think Award, Botman advances on to the NY Excelsior Regional Championship, which will take place the week of May 30.
Mrs. King visited and participated in rehearsals for the Spring theatre production with the Upper School Theatre/Filmmaking class.
AP Physics 1 students take measurements to experimentally determine the rotational inertia of a bowling ball.
The third grade girls are learning about the history of AAG! The girls are placing important events from school history, US history, and their personal histories on a shared class timeline. They are also examining artifacts from the school archives to learn more about how historians learn about the past by studying what people have left behind.  
AA second graders are working on building, or spelling, longer, trickier words. 
Mrs Bemis' Calculus class made models representing how Calculus is used to find volume of solids of revolution during their last week of class.
Fourth grade scientists dissected a squid this week to learn about external and internal structures and functions!
AA Grade Six students spent the week creating Board Games for the conclusion of the Elijah of Buxton Unit. They spent their time in class today playing both the games in the room and the games that the Zoom learners created. The boys really enjoyed playing the different types of games that were created by all groups.
AAG Grade Eight Honors Project Presentations

The Eighth Grade Honors Project is an optional, independent, year-long endeavor during which students can delve into any topic they choose. They have the option to investigate a brand new area, or pursue an already existing passion about which they feel compelled to learn more. This project is student-designed, and carried out with the guidance of a faculty member. This is an opportunity for students to learn more about a subject, while also learning about themselves. The projects that these students have been working on diligently all year are now finally going to be presented to the MS throughout the month of May! This year, there are 17 8th graders who have completed work on a plethora of topics.

Week of May 3
Madilyn B. - "Canines Sniffing Covid"
Zooey H. - "A Climate Catastrophe"
Dalia E. - "Have you ever heard arguing parakeets?"
Sokhna D. - "Senegal and its Values"
Zaahra N. - "Minority Groups in Our World: The Uighurs"

Week of May 10
Kevin H. - "The Harmonica and Jaw Harp: The World's Oldest Instruments"
Kevin L. - "Crumbling from Within"
Patrick C. - "Creative Cooking"
Sonnet E. - "Dogs During the Pandemic"
Gianna R. - "What is Your Fear"
Poem D. - "The Disappearing Bees"

Week of May 17
Samantha V. - "Samantha Studies Seashells at the Seashore"
Sophia E. - "Uniforms, Yay or Nay?"
Ava K. - "Spirit for Spirits"

Week of May 24
Charles X. - "A Taste of Chess"
Johner S. - "Is Homework Effective?"
Nikash R. - "How does Music Affect Your Mind and Body?"

Parents of these students may contact Lauren DeGeorgia for Zoom information to view the presentations.
Cum Laude Inductions

The Cum Laude Society honors superior scholastic achievement and community engagement. We are proud of this year's inductees and congratulate them on this outstanding achievement!
On Thursday, April 22, the following AAG students were inducted into The Cum Laude Society: Emily B. '21, Tia de W. '21, Grace G. '21, Nyasha J. '21, Xiaoyu L. '21, Renee P. '21 and Carol W. '21.  
On Tuesday, April 27 the following AA students were inducted into The Cum Laude Society: Nick F. '21, Zain J. '21, Alex L. '21, Jay M. '21, Josh M. '21, Sam M. '21, Oliver N. '21, Alex O. '21, Erik P. '21, Bodey R. '21, Silas S. '21, and Eli T. '21.
Senior Athletes Recognized
On Friday, April 23, the following Seniors on the AAG Varsity Soccer team were celebrated: Maddie F., Marlee O., Caroline B., and Bella M.

Congratulations Seniors!
On Monday, April 26, the following Seniors on the AAG Varsity Volleyball team were celebrated: Shriya S., Sara M., Sophia H., Mianna J., Olivia D., Coco T., Sara D., & Kaylee C.

Congratulations to our Seniors!
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 May 15.

To order a yearbook for AAG enter passcode: 101411068383919
To order a yearbook for AA enter passcode: 10131170417192
Virtual MS/US Summer Class Registrations

Registration is now open for the following classes:

Classes for Credit
July 5-August 13, 8:30am-11:00am
  • Algebra 1
  • Geometry
  • Pre-Calculus
  • Env. Geology

Skills Classes (Non-credit)
July 5-23, 8:30am - 9:30am
  • 5/6 Math Skills
  • Adv Algebra
  • 7/8 English
  • 11/12 English

July 5-23, 9:45am-10:45am
  • 7/8 Math
  • Int Algebra
  • 5/6 English
  • 9/10 English

July 26-August 13, 8:30-9:30
  • 7/8 Math
  • Int Algebra
  • 5/6 English

July 26-August 13, 9:45-10:45
  • 5/6 Math
  • Adv Algebra
  • 7/8 English

For registration questions, please contact Karin Epstein, Director of Summer Programs.
For math specific questions, please contact Robert Bischoff, Math Department Chair.
Hannaford Helps Schools

Through May 29, The Albany Academies can earn money from the Hannaford Helps Schools program by shopping at the Hannaford store at 183 Delaware Ave in Delmar. If you purchase 4 participating Hannaford Helps Schools items, you will receive a receipt for 3 School Dollars at the register. Please place that printout into our school's slot in the Hannaford Helps Schools collection tower at the front of the store. Customers who shop with Hannaford To Go can give their School Dollar printouts to the associate handling their groceries and let them know which school slot to put them in.