Dear Friends,

It was another action-packed week at The Albany Academies! The professional community is looking forward to Professional Development Day on Monday and celebrating Valentine’s day on Tuesday with a spirit day. Next week, I am also eager to see our Upper School Winter musical, Cyrano de Burger Shack, with performances on February 17 and 18.

Unfortunately, we continue to experience a steady increase in individuals reporting some form of illness, either COVID or respiratory. With that in mind, please follow the procedures our health offices laid out below if your child is not feeling well. You may wish to also practice mitigation methods in crowded settings.

As predicted, several summer camp offerings sold out this week. If you have yet to sign up for camp and want to do so, now is the time!

Finally, congratulations to all of our scholar-athletes on a competitive winter season. They continue to draw accolades from the local press, with many teams well-positioned for post-season competition. Thank you to all the coaches, staff, and parents who provide the support needed for such excellent outcomes.

Best wishes for a fun Super Bowl Sunday!

Warmly,

Chris Lauricella

Head of School

WINTER ILLNESS NOTIFICATION

As cold and flu season is in full swing, The Albany Academies have seen an increased number of students and staff with symptoms of influenza, gastrointestinal viruses, Strep throat, and COVID. 

As a reminder, please keep your child at home if they are sick. If your child is sick, please continue to test for COVID-19 and keep them at home until they are without diarrhea or vomiting for 24 hours and are fever-free for 24 hours without medication.

Please contact your child's campus health office if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for helping keep our school community healthy.

The Albany Academies Health Office

NYSSMA Festival Registration

This year The Albany Academies will be participating in the NYSSMA Festival held at Farnsworth Middle School (Guilderland) on May 19^th and 20th. If you are interested in participating, please see Ms. Kouloriotis for a form to fill out or email the following information to kouloriotisa@albanyacademies.org:

• Name
• Grade
• Instrument/Voice Range
• NYSSMA Level
• Is this a Jazz solo? 
• Composition Title
• Required Movements
• Composer/Arranger
• Manual Page Number (if known)
• Preferred Day/Time:  
• Friday PM
• Saturday AM
• Saturday PM
• Cost:
• I-IV $16
• V-VI $24
• All State- $30

All forms/emails must be submitted to Ms. Kouloriotis no later than Friday, March 17th. Please make checks payable to "The Albany Academies."

Important Reminder about School District Bus Transportation Deadlines

If your student requires busing to or from The Albany Academies for the 2023-2024 academic year, the deadline for requesting this service from your home school district is soon coming due.

While many districts have a different deadline date, some do require registration requests back by March 1^st for the following academic year.

Your family received notification about this from your home district, including forms to request busing next year. This information is mailed to your home address from your home district office, however it is also available on your home school district's website, often under a "transportation" tab.

Your home school district's administrative office is the best direct point of contact if you need help with busing requests. If you require additional assistance, please contact Andrea Faragon.

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 by February 15, 2023. 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.

Please note - each year requests for financial assistance exceed our financial aid budget. Aid is therefore allocated on a first come, first serve basis and is carefully managed in conjunction with the Admissions and Re-Enrollment processes. Financial Aid decisions will be communicated together with Re-Enrollment Contracts. Preference will be given to families that complete their financial aid submissions by February 15, 2023.

Winter Musical: Cyrano de BurgerShack

An updated, modern-day version of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” “Cyrano de Burgershack” tells the story of the eloquent Cyrano, king of the local BurgerShack, who can’t seem to win the love of his best friend, Roxanne.  Then she confesses her love for the attractive new burger-flipper, Christian, and Cyrano decides that playing Cupid and helping the tongue-tied Christian win Roxanne over is better than sitting on the sidelines, how can anything go wrong… 

Family Fun Month

Sunday, February 12, 1 – 3:00 p.m.

Families are invited to participate in a guided snowshoe exploration at Thatcher Park. Space is limited and RSVP’s are required.  

International Taste of the World Festival

The Albany Academies will host the 12th annual International Taste of the World Festival on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the Silipigno Athletic Facility.

We are inviting Academies families and student groups to share food and information about the cultural heritages represented in our community. If you are interested in participating by sponsoring a food table with a cultural display, providing entertainment and/or offering an interactive activity or craft, please click here for a registration form.

From the AAPA

Family Bingo night has been rescheduled to Tuesday, March 14, 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 

Lego Drive

The Robotics Team is holding a Lego Drive! Do you have any unwanted Legos taking up space in your house? Donation boxes are set up in the front lobbies of both buildings. The team will sanitize and repackage all of the donated Legos to be distributed to local kids programs to encourage kids interest in STEM.

A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms

Fourth Grade Girls participated in a Classical Indian Dance class taught by guest teacher Bajal Patel. We hope to infuse what we learned into our choreography for the spring arts performance! Many thanks to Mrs. Patel for sharing your knowledge with us.

AAG Fourth Graders have been reading Greek Mythology. They each made a creative representation to illustrate a myth and share with the Lower School. Congratulations to the girls for all of their creativity!  

Adah Keegan DeRosier - AAG '10, Director of the Highgate Vermont Library and Community Center, met with the AAG Kindergarteners over Zoom. Adah spoke about her job at the library, gave a tour of her library and read the girls a story.  

Seniors and Chinese Honor Society members, Almitra G. and Isabel C., came to the Grade 1 Library class to teach the girls about Chinese New Year and taught them some Chinese words.

The Albany Academies Mathcounts Team (grades 6-8) competed in the regional competition on Saturday. Ahana G. '27, Sam W. '27, James S. '28, and Maya S. '29 braved the -15 degree weather to compete in a variety of math challenges against the Top Middle School Math Students in the Capital Region. Ahana G.'27 came in 10^th overall, qualifying her for the live countdown round.

AA Grade 8 students made ice cream on Wednesday as part of their chemical engineering unit in STEM.

6th graders in STEM cheer on their Spike Prime hopper robots in a race testing their building and coding skills.

Students in Mr. McNally’s Principles of Engineering class design and built balsawood bridges. The class submitted their bridges into the 2023 Model Bridge Competition that is part of National Engineer’s Week. The bridges will be judged on aesthetics, model efficiency and maximum load at failure.

One of our Flik employees, Steven Watson, was the winner of a contest offered by FLY 92.3. Radio show hosts Jake and Libby delivered cupcakes that Steven shared with the Lower School boys during lunch on Thursday.

Students in the Chinese Enrichment Program work on writing Chinese characters with Mrs. Yu and work on their family projects.

Black History Month

Using the book "28 Days," by Charles R. Smith as a guide, MS students and the US student council have coordinated slideshows and daily presentations to the student body on important events and people throughout history.

AAG First Graders and PreSchool are learning to keep their smiles bright during National Children’s Dental Health Month. Hygienists were teaching the students how to care for their teeth and gums. Thanks to the hygienists they now know importance of dental health so that they can maintain their happy smiles! 

Online registration for summer camp is open! 



Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-serve basis. We have a variety of camps for students entering Pre-K through twelfth grade! 

We have a number of camps already at capacity with a wait list:

Musical Theatre-Grades 3-6

Musical Theatre-Grades 7-12

Science Academy-Robotics & 3D Printing-Grades 5-6 & 7-9

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

Mid-Winter Gathering to Feature Actor and Alumnus

The Mid-Winter Gathering, sponsored by the Alumni Association, will be held on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 6:00 pm at the UAlbany ETEC Building on the Harriman Campus.

The featured speaker will be Armen Garo '73. Parents are encouraged to attend the event! For more information about the gathering and Armen, please click here.

Save the Date for Spring Gathering

Our annual Spring Gathering will be held on Saturday evening, April 29 at the Albany Country Club. For more information and to join the Honoray Committee, please click here.

Athletic Competitions - February 10 - 11

Friday, February 10, 2023

5:00 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - NEPL vs. Exeter Academy (Away)

5:00 p.m. AA JV Basketball vs. Fonda-Fultonville (Home)

6:30 p.m. AA Varsity Basketball vs. Catholic Central (Home)

7:00 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - CDHL vs. LaSalle (Away)

Saturday, February 11, 2023

9:00 a.m. AA Varsity Swimming & Diving Last Chance Meet (Home)

12:00 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - NEPL vs. Exeter Academy (Away)

1:15 p.m. AA JV Squash vs. Millbrook (Away)

4:30 p.m. AA Varsity Hockey - CDHL vs. CBA (Away)

February 13, 2023

Professional Development Day (No Classes)

February 14, 2023

Day 3

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. AAPA Family Bingo Night

February 15, 2023

Modified Schedule

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

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

12:00 p.m. Admissions Lunch On Us (Trustees Room)

3:30 p.m. Afterschool Winter Enrichment Programs

February 16, 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

6:00 p.m. Mid Winter Gathering

February 17, 2023

Day 5

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

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

7:00 p.m. Winter Musical - Cyrano de BurgerShack (Caird Chapel)

Saturday, February 18, 2023

7:00 p.m. Winter Musical - Cyrano de BurgerShack (Caird Chapel)

February 20 - School Closed - Presidents' Day

February 21 - 24 - Admissions Visiting Week

February 24 - AAG Founders Day

February 28 - Admissions Regional Prospective Family Reception

March 2 - AAPA Meeting

March 3 - Winter Term Ends

March 4 - AA Charter Day

March 10 - Upper School Course Selection Assembly

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