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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Albany Academies e-newsletter
Week of May 10
Middle School Festival of the Arts
Our celebration of the arts continued today with our Middle School Festival of the Arts in Caird Chapel on the AA campus.
Parents were treated to a band and choral performance from our 5th & 6th grade students this afternoon. They also had the chance to view some spectacular student artwork.
Our 7th & 8th grade students will present a band, strings and choral performance this evening beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Caird Chapel. We hope that you will join us to show your support for the arts!
Albany Children's Book Festival -- this Saturday, May 15
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Please plan to join us for the Second Annual Albany Children's Book Festival this Saturday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Silipigno Athletic Facility on the AAG campus. Encourage your family, friends and neighbors to attend this free community event!
We have 37 children's and young adult authors and illustrators confirmed for the festival along with a Storybook Parade at 10:15 a.m. (children can come dressed as their favorite storybook character) led by Head of School Dr. Douglas North and his wife, Dr. Ellen Cole; and special visits from the Tulip Queen, the Tri-City Valley Cats mascot and a juggler! There will also be workshops, presentations and readings for children and adults throughout the day. |
In addition, we will announce the winners of the Picture Book Writing Contest -- some of the winners are Academy students! Fifty seven entries were judged by local authors; all entries will be on display at the festival.
Thank you to the sponsors of the Book Festival: Austin & Co., Aviemore, CDPHP, The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, Drs. Decker, Sbuttoni, Boghosian, DiCerbo & Lawless, M & T Bank, AAPA, The Book House, MM Hayes, SEFCU, Shalimar Restaurant, Smalline and Harri, Attorneys, and the Spotlight Newspapers.
BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN OF THE FESTIVAL!
Visit www.albanyacademies.org or www.albanychildrensbookfestival.com for more information.
Deadline to order Spirit Wear is this Thursday!
Please note that the deadline to order Spirit Wear items has been extended until this Thursday, May 13. We have a great line of items for the spring such as t-shirts for girls and boys, a zip-up jacket and hats.
If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Freed at freeds@berk.com.
AAG SPIRIT WEAR ORDER FORM
AA SPIRIT WEAR ORDER FORM
LS students display artistic abilities
The Lower School hallways on both the AAG & AA campuses were buzzing on May 7 as the Lower School Festival of the Arts brought together students, parents and faculty members to celebrate some outstanding student artwork, a dance performance by the Lower School girls, and a choral and sword performance from the Lower School boys.
Special thanks to Arts Chair Greg Cummings and Arts Department faculty members Martha Houghton, Matt Streifert, Kristen Witham and Ann Morris for putting such special events together!
A celebration of the arts at AAG
Our AAG Evening of the Arts celebration on April 30 brought a number of Academy parents to the AAG campus to enjoy a reception, view some incredible student artwork and take in dance performances from our Middle & Upper School students.
Special thanks to Arts Chair Greg Cummings and Arts Department faculty members Jane Chasin, Diana Westbrook and Cathy Teitelbaum '65 for organizing this special event. Thank you also to the Albany Academies Parents Association for providing the food and refreshments for the reception.
May Projects have begun!
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Our seniors have begun their May Projects at a variety of companies and organizations throughout the Capital Region, including The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Times Union, First Playable, Tech Valley Communications, Jack's Oyster House, WMHT, Fortitech, Albany Institute of History & Art and Cotton Hill Studios.
One of our seniors, Brendan Callanan (Form VI, pictured at left), is conducting his May Project internship in the Marketing & Communications Office at the Academies.
He will be working on a variety of projects in our office, including writing and editing stories for our parent and alumni/ae electronic newsletters and A2 magazine as well as assisting with upcoming events. Please welcome Brendan to our office! |
"Over the course of May, I will be working as an intern for the Marketing & Communications Office at our school where I will be assisting Mr. Doling and Ms. Wendth in writing the school's newsletter as well as taking an active role in school functions. Mr. Doling and Ms. Wendth have been great in introducing me to the wide array of jobs that the department undertakes, and I look forward to learning more about the field of public relations." -- Brendan Callanan
Brendan will be assisting us as we reach out to some of our seniors to profile their May Project experiences in upcoming electronic newsletters. He also wrote a number of stories for this week's electronic newsletter.
Mark your calendars for the May Projects Fair on Wednesday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Silipigno Athletic Facility on the AAG campus. More information will be forthcoming!
Academy student at Intel competition
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Alydaar Rangwala (Form V, pictured at left) is currently in San Jose, CA competing in the highly prestigious Intel International Science & Engineering Fair.
He is joined by more than 1,500 high school students from around the globe at the world's largest international pre-college science competition.
Alydaar is presenting his project titled "UVA1 Skin Irradiation Modulates the Migration of Dendritic Cells: A Novel Mechanism for the Potential Beneficial Effects of Phototherapy on Systemic Disease."
Judging takes place all day today, a special awards ceremony will be held on Thursday and the grand awards ceremony will be held on Friday. We wish Alydaar the best of luck! |
Giving back for a great cause
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The Gates House "Practice for Peace" initiative turned out to be a great success with 100 soccer balls collected to donate to the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing.
The Air National Guard will transport the deflated soccer balls in the personal kits of the troops to be inflated and distributed to Afghani children during the ANG deployment this summer in Afghanistan.
Pictured (left to right) are Chief Master Sergeant Morrell of the Air National Guard with Conor Sullivan (Form V) during a presentation in Caird Chapel on May 6. |
Exploring the rain forest
Our 1st grade girls have been doing a great job of learning about different animals and cultures of rain forests. The girls have had a very hands on experience thanks to first grade parent Kathleen Ashton, who brought in clothing, artifacts and paintings from her time living near a rain forest.
The students have also completed research projects about their favorite rain forest animals as well as sampled different fruits, vegetables and spices indigenous to the rain forest. Their work will be on display in the Lower School hallway.
We applaud their hard work over the past weeks!
In the News
Congratulations go out to our 2010 National Merit Scholar semifinalists: Dana Gough ‘11, Elizabeth Robinson ‘11, Ilia Karp (Form V), Alydaar Rangwala (Form V) and Paul Rapoport (Form V). The five were among 50,000 semifinalists selected out of more than 1.3 million high school seniors who took the PSAT this past fall.
Isabelle Heukensfeldt Jansen '10 has been selected as one of the recipients of the GE Corporate Winners program. As part of the program, Isabelle was asked to nominate a teacher who has had a profound impact on her education, and she selected faculty member Dr. Jamie Howard. Both Isabelle and Dr. Howard will be honored at an awards luncheon at the GE Global Research Center in Niskayuna on June 1.
Kudos to Sally Hwang '12 for earning a score of 100% on violin level V at the NYSSMA solo festival last year. This is an impressive accomplishment, especially considering that Sally was only a freshman at the time and level V is the second highest level possible. She will be competing at level VI this year, and we wish her the best of luck!
Christopher Fron (Form VI) was recognized as a Capital District Scholar/Football Athlete at a special awards ceremony held by the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, Capital District Chapter on Monday at the Holiday Inn Turf in Albany. The selection process takes into account the following criteria: grades, leadership ability, football ability and community service.
Academy student part of championship rowing team
Sarah Gannon '11 was one of eight members of the Albany Rowing Center to win the "Girls Senior 8" event recently in the Section II State Rowing Championships -- defeating defending nine-time champion Saratoga.
The girls will go on to the national competition this summer in Cincinnati, OH. Congratulations to Sarah and the other members of the team!
Exploring nature's beauty
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Members of the Hiking Club -- led by Associate Director of Admissions Drew Lentz -- took part in a 2 1/2 mile hike at Plotterkill Falls in Schenectady County this past weekend. Several hikes will be announced in the upcoming weeks and over the summer.
This is the third year of the hiking club, which teaches students about hiking and camping safely.
Pictured (left to right) are Matt Flynn (Form III), Max Yanover (Form VI), David Barra (Form VI) and Mr. Lentz at Plotterkill Falls. |
IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS
Mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:
****Middle School Musical -- May 19
2-4 p.m., AAG Auditorium
A reception will follow in the AAG Cafeteria.
****Middle School "Dinner On Us" Information Session -- May 20
5-6:30 p.m., AAG & AA
The event includes a light dinner, information session and campus tours. Please spread the word that all prospective Middle School families are welcome to attend.
****Senior Boys vs. Faculty Basketball Game -- May 21
4:30-6 p.m., AA Gym
****Preschool Teddy Bear Picnic -- May 28
10-11:30 a.m., Preschool room, AA
Prospective families can meet our Preschool teachers, spend time in the classroom, and take part in storytime, music, coloring, crafts and outdoor play. All prospective families should RSVP to Shellie Carr in the Admissions Office at (518) 429-2348 or carrs@albanyacademies.org.
****Community Picnic -- June 2
3:30-4:30 p.m.
More information will be forthcoming about this event!
Summer Camp begins June 14!
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Summer Camp 2010 at the Academies is filling up quickly and we hope that your children will join us this summer. We will be offering a wide variety of courses through our LEAP Camp along with sports camps, a drivers education course and an SAT Prep Course.
If you or someone you know would like a printed brochure, please contact Director of External Affairs Ann Wendth at (518) 429-2385 or wendtha@albanyacademies.org.
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SUMMER CAMP 2010 BROCHURE
SUMMER CAMP 2010 REGISTRATION FORM
REGISTER ONLINE FOR SUMMER CAMP 2010.
Legacy of Dreams -- June 19
BECOME A CORPORATE SPONSOR.
LEGACY OF DREAMS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP FORM
Please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (518) 429-2432 or
collins-schroedera@albanyacademies.org with any questions.
If you have any questions or comments about this electronic newsletter, please contact Ann Wendth, Director of External Affairs, at (518) 429-2385 or wendtha@albanyacademies.org, or Adam Doling, Communications Associate, at (518) 429-2344 or dolinga@albanyacademies.org.
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2010-2011 ACADEMIC CALENDAR
SPRING/SUMMER 2010 ISSUE OF A2 ACADEMIES MAGAZINE
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Stay up to date with our Online Calendar
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