Dear Friends,

Happy Founders' Day! Today we celebrated the founding of Albany Academy for Girls with a hallway display of uniforms throughout the years, archival objects in our Drawing Room, and morning meeting announcements about noteworthy alumna, including Jane Lathrop Stamford and Clara Harris. There are online resources available if you’re interested in learning more about the rich history of The Albany Academies.

Congratulations to all involved in bringing Cyrano de BurgerShack to the stage last week. It was a spectacular performance!

Enrollment contracts for the 2023-2024 Academic Year were emailed this week. Thank you to all those families who have already returned them! We rely on enrollment information to make decisions about schedules and sectioning, among other things, so kindly return your contract by the March 13th deadline.

Next week we will be concluding Black History Month. In addition to class work studying notable figures and events in black history, students have shared their learning in Morning Meeting and Chapel each morning in February. Many of these presentations have been done by middle school students who present to upper school students. By student request, the Upper School will conclude Black History Month with a celebratory dress day on February 28. Community members are invited to dress in pan-African colors, as described below.

Finally, yesterday’s weather and a forecast of another possible storm next week prompt me to republish our snow day procedures below. I know that school closing can be inconvenient for families, and it is not a decision we make lightly. However, I hope you can understand that the Academies serve families and students (many of whom are new drivers) across our region who experience a range of weather conditions depending upon location.

Sincerely,

Chris Lauricella

Head of School

Founders' Day Celebrations



Today is Founders' Day! We are celebrating 209 years of Albany Academy for Girls with cupcakes and an archival presentation in the Drawing Room. Click here to see more photos.

Snow Days. To Stay Open or Closed During Inclement Weather?

How do we make this challenging decision?

A priority on safety. During inclement weather, our priority is our students and professional community's safety and welfare. We also often rely on the decisions of some of our 17 sending public school districts as they provide transportation services for students and will often keep buses off the road in a snow event as a matter of public safety.

We know closing can be inconvenient. While safety is our priority, we know that snow days can burden families due to childcare and work schedules. Therefore, please know that we do not decide to close lightly.

Delays. We will either be closed or open during a weather event. We do not have a delayed opening option because of the complexity of student travel within the region, with multiple entities transporting students.

The decision process. Each storm is different, but tracking a potential closing decision begins when a long-term forecast indicates that a significant weather event is possible. Considerations include current and forecasted weather, the readiness of our facilities to operate, and potential driving conditions.

The school relies on data from the National Weather Service, which provides regular updates on storms and the statistical probability of their impact. Whenever possible, we will try to make a closing decision the night before a weather event if there is a high degree of certainty about the forecast and storm impacts.

When an evening decision is not possible, the school’s administrative team members usually begin gathering information from local districts at 4:30 am, making a closing decision by 5:45. However, in fast-changing conditions (i.e., freezing rain, clippers, lake effect snow), we could decide as late as 6:00 am. 

Snow day communication. When we decide to cancel school, we will notify the community via our parent notification system with an automated phone call, text, and email. The notification system pulls contact information from Blackbaud, the school’s student information system, so it is imperative to update this. Many local media outlets are also alerted and broadcast our closing. Closing notification is also posted on The Albany Academies website and social media pages.

Make the safest decision for you. The regional nature of our enrollment is such that students and members of our professional community travel as far as 60 miles to come to school. We know that these commuters may have very different weather conditions in their locality than what we are experiencing on campus. Therefore, in some weather events, we may elect to remain open and rely on the judgment of families to determine whether travel to the school is safe for them. We will fully support these decisions and any needs that arise from them.

Communicate your decision. If you believe it is unsafe for you to commute to school, either take the day off or delay your departure until your local conditions improve. In either case, if we are open, please contact us and let us know your decision.

Remote learning. The school will NOT be using remote learning on snow days. Accommodation for a reasonable number of snow days is designed into the school calendar. We can catch students up with any missed classes upon their return to school and still meet the objectives in our lesson planning.

Upper School Community Dress Day, February 28

Celebrating Black History Month

Upper School students have organized a celebratory dress day in honor of the conclusion of Black History Month. Upper school community members are invited to dress in Pan-African colors for the day.

Regional Receptions for the Academies Community

The Office of Admissions is hosting a series of regional receptions for current and prospective families to meet and network with each other. The first regional event will occur at the Saratoga Golf and Polo Club on Tuesday, February 28, from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Drinks and appetizers will be served. To register, please contact the Office of Admissions at (518) 429-2348, by email at admissions@albanyacademies.org or by visiting our online registration portal. The Saratoga Golf and Polo Club is located at 301 Church St. in Saratoga Springs. The second regional reception will be at the Chatham Brewing Company on Tuesday, March 7 at 4 p.m.

Poetry Out Loud Competitions

Two students are representatives of The Albany Academies in the Poetry Out Loud semifinal competitions.

• Jakob D. '23 is an entrant in an in-person competition at Hudson Valley Community College on Friday, February 24, at 5:00 p.m. Spectators are welcome to attend the competition in the Bulmer Telecommunications Auditorium.
• Katrina P. '23 is an entrant in the virtual competition, which will be streamed live on Saturday, February 25, at 11:00 a.m. Spectators can visit nypol.org to view the live stream.

NYSSMA Festival Registration

This year The Albany Academies will be participating in the NYSSMA Festival held at Farnsworth Middle School (Guilderland) on May 19 and 20. If you are interested in participating, please see Ms. Kouloriotis for a form to complete 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.

Winter Musical

Last weekend cast, crew, and pit members performed this year's musical of 'Cyrano de BurgerShack'. It was a modern retelling of the classic and timely story of being true to yourself, no matter what others may say. The students have worked since early November on music, choreography, acting, stage combat, lighting, sound, set design, costume design, and set construction. Even though the process begun with the production team of Mr. Johnson, Mr. Streifert, and Ms. McDonald, along with pit support from Mr. Essery and Dr. Brower, the week leading up to and the performance itself was entirely run by the students themselves. This is a first in Academy history that the main stage show has been student run. The is a rarity because of the requirements that are needed to expertly run each part of the show and it is a rarity to have such a tightknit and cohesive complete ensemble (cast, crew, pit) and all are there to make each other better and to cheer on each other in every moment. This was a show like no other. If you missed it, or if you'd like to see some highlights, please click here to view our show highlight page.

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 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 

Please mark your calendars for the next AAPA meeting: March 2, 8:00 am,

Schellenberger Alumni/ae Center, 93 Academy Road

Guest Speaker

Dr. Spyros Pavlostathis visited AP Environmental Science and Environmental Sustainability classes earlier this week as a guest speaker. Dr. Pavlostathis, Professor Emeritus, Environmental Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology, is recognized for his expertise in the areas of biotechnology and bioprocess engineering. Students had the opportunity to engage with him about his most recent research which involved the effect of antimicrobial solutions from the poultry industry on wastewater treatment. Dr. Pavlostathis brought great energy to this topic, and we hope to collaborate with him again in the future.

A Glimpse Into Our Classrooms

The Advanced and AP photography classes visited the University at Albany's museum and collections. They viewed the exhibit Near & Far: Six Photography Portfolios from the University at Albany Fine Art Collections, as well as receiving a tour of the University Fine Art Museum Collection. 

PK Dance had fun practicing the dance skill "Arabesque." Each dancer was given a party favor ring to work on proper alignment and focusing beyond their fingers while performing the movement. 

Hard work and perseverance pay off in Preschool! Our students use their fine motor journals to practice writing the letter of the week!

The First and Third grade boys got together last week to make valentines to help spread love and kindness throughout the school.

Grade 6 students racing their SPIKE Prime Hoppers that they modified for speed and trajectory performance in Robotics class.

Students in Dr. Bean's English 11 class are preparing to write their declamations by analyzing past exemplar declamations and posting their analysis as a video on Flip.

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

Summer Math Credit Classes:

Algebra 1, Geometry and Pre-Calculus

June 20-July 31 in person 8am-11am $1,250

Registration information coming soon. 

For math specific questions, please contact Math Dept. Chair, Bob Bischoff at bischoffr@albanyacademies.org

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 lengthy 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, the 2023 brochure and LEAP class charts are available on our website. Please contact Karin Epstein at epsteink@albanyacademies.org or 518-429-2332 with any questions.

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 Honorary Committee, please click here. It promises to be a very special evening!

Athletic Competitions - February 25



Saturday, February 25, 2023

12:00 p.m. AA JV Squash vs. Williston Northampton School (Away)

4:30 p.m. Academy Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Schalmont (Sectionals Game) (Away @ Averill Park)

*Tickets are required to attend NYSPHSAA Section 2 events. Please click here to purchase tickets for the AAG Varsity Basketball Sectionals competition.

February 27, 2023

Day 4

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

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

February 28, 2023

Day 5

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

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

8:20 a.m. AAG Lower School Assembly (Auditorium)

5:00 p.m. Regional Reception (Saratoga Golf and Polo Club)

March 1, 2023

Day 6

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

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

2:20 p.m. Course Selections Assembly for 2024, 2025 & 2026 (Caird Chapel)

March 2, 2023

Day 1

8:00 a.m. AAPA Meeting (Schellenberger Alumni/ae Center)

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)

March 3, 2023

Day 2

AA Charter Day Celebration

Winter Term Ends

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

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

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

March 4 - AA Charter Day

March 6 - Alumni/Alumnae Association Speed Mentoring

March 8 - Upper School Assembly - Alumni/Alumnae Speaker Series

March 10 - AAG Ring Dares

March 11 - Taste of the World Festival

March 13 - Parent/Student-Teacher Conferences (No Classes)

March 14 - AAPA Family Bingo Night

March 15 - Admissions Open House

March 16 - AAG Ring Dinner

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 17 - Professional Development Day (No Classes)

April 28 - Spring Community Service Day

April 29 - Spring Gathering