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Friday, June 04, 2010
The Albany Academies e-newsletter
Week of May 31
Legacy of Dreams -- June 19
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Join us for the 2010 Legacy of Dreams on Saturday, June 19 at the Fort Orange Club in Albany. All proceeds from this event benefit the athletic programs at Albany Academy for Girls & The Albany Academy. It promises to be an evening of celebration of the many opportunities for our student-athletes.
Invitations have been mailed for this event.
Be on the lookout for an auction preview next week! |
REGISTER ONLINE FOR THE LEGACY OF DREAMS.
Please contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at (518) 429-2432 or
collins-schroedera@albanyacademies.org with any questions.
US end-of-year ceremonies honor students & faculty
The Final Assembly for Upper School girls and Last Chapel for Upper School boys were special celebrations for all students, faculty and parents on Wednesday in the AAG Auditorium & Caird Chapel, respectively.
Several awards were presented to faculty and students. Following the ceremony on the AAG campus, senior girls were handed their yearbook in the Senior Lounge.
Faculty members Jeanne Birch, Dr. Stephen Brown, Dr. Jamie Howard, Sara Howard, Bill Rosenberg & Matt Streifert were honored for excellence in teaching. Technology Department Chair Peggy Goold was honored with an Academy chair for her years of service; she will be retiring at the end of this school year.
We will include a full listing of all student recognition & spring athletic awards in the summer issue of A2 magazine.
End-of-year picnic brings Academy community together
Friendship, food, fun and music filled our campus on Wednesday as our community came together for an end-of-year picnic on the AA Quad.
Thank you to the Albany Academies Parents Association for planning and coordinating what was a great event for both current and newly enrolled families. The Museum Guards -- including John Cattini (Form III) & Anthony Parente (Form III) -- played for the crowd; faculty members Bob Neudel and Karen Schimmer coordinated yo-yo demonstrations and face painting, respectively; and John MacAffer P'12, '14, '17 cooked hamburgers and hotdogs for all!
Special thanks to Deb Nelson P'10, '13, Mary O'Connor P'11, Tracy Straight-Freed P'11, '13, Tammie Jones P'13, '15, '19 & Nancy Carey Cassidy P'13, '15 for their assistance with the picnic.
Seniors complete May Projects
Our seniors have wrapped up their May Project experiences at companies and organizations throughout the Capital Region. This week, we decided to take a look at an aspiring chef who worked at Jack's Oyster House in Albany. Brendan Callanan (Form VI) was on assignment to conduct the following write-up.
"Lauren Sirianno '10 worked at Jack's Oyster House for her May Project experience to get a taste for the field that she hopes to work in some day. Lauren served under the head chef at Jack’s, and was primarily involved with prep work in order to make things easier for the sous chefs. Lauren hopes to become a pastry chef, and had a great introduction to the field by Jack's pastry chef Tom who taught her many of the dessert recipes on the menu. Lauren began each day by making mashed potatoes for the chefs to use for an entire day. She believes that the knowledge and discipline that she gained from the experience will be invaluable in the long run. Lauren will be attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY this fall where she hopes to fulfill her culinary aspirations."
Please plan to join us on Wednesday, June 9 for the May Projects Fair in the Silipigno Athletic Facility on the AAG campus where students will display their work and discuss their experiences.
Class of 2010 welcomed as alumni/ae
Pictured (left to right) are senior girls in the AAG Cafeteria; Monica Oberting '91 P'19, '21, Susan Sneeringer '72 P'01, '04, '08, AAG Alumnae Council President Lynne Hutter Kimball '97, Rosemary Walsh '77 P'07, '09, '10, '13 & Margaret Lamar King '65; and senior girls enjoying a lighter moment.
Pictured (left to right) are Head of School Dr. Douglas North '58 & George Shichen (Form VI); senior boys enjoying their lunch; and AA Alumni Association President Mike Criscione '80 & faculty member Scott Young.
Members of the AAG Alumnae Council joined our senior girls for a special breakfast prior to Final Assembly on Wednesday; our senior boys were joined by members of the AA Alumni Association for a luncheon on the AA Quad.
Both events were an opportunity to welcome the seniors as alumnae and alumni and encourage them to stay in contact with the Academies and each other.
Thank you to AAG Alumnae Council President Lynne Hutter Kimball '97 & AA Alumni Association President Mike Criscione '80 for sharing a warm welcome to the students!
Summer mailing on the way
Please note that a summer mailing will be coming in July and that many items for the start of the 2010-2011 school year will be posted to our Academies website over the next month.
The 2010-2011 Academic Calendar has been added to the Academies website. Please note that the calendar does not yet include Community Service Days, Professional Development Days or Parent-Teacher Conferences.
2010-2011 ACADEMIC CALENDAR
2010-2011 UPPER SCHOOL SUMMER READING & MATH ASSIGNMENTS
2010-2011 MIDDLE SCHOOL SUMMER READING & MATH ASSIGNMENTS
The 2010-2011 health forms are now available on the website as well.
VIEW THE 2010-2011 HEALTH FORMS.
Below is information about each form:
Physical and Immunization Record -- must be completed within 12 months of the start of the school year or sports practice. Physicals are required for students in Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grades 2, 4 and 7-12. The deadline to submit the form is August 9.
Dental Health Certificate -- an optional form requested by the New York State Department of Education for students in Kindergarten and Grades 2, 4, 7 & 10.
Student Health History -- must be completed annually for all students. The deadline to submit the form is August 9.
Medication Permission -- must be submitted for any prescribed or over the counter medication. This includes Tylenol and Advil.
Self-Administered Medication Permission -- must be completed by an M.D. to allow your child to carry and self-administer any medication during school hours.
Athletic Travel Emergency Information -- must be submitted prior to your child's participation in sports. One form per year for students in Grades 7-12. The deadline to submit the form is August 9.
Interval Health History -- must be completed one week prior to the first day of each sport season. One form per year for students in Grades 7-12.
Health Policies and Procedures -- may be found on the Academies website
If you have any questions, please contact AAG School Nurse Nancy Lozman, R.N. at (518) 429-2300 or lozmann@albanyacademies.org or AA School Nurse Lenore Palladino, R.N., M.S. at (518) 429-2403 or palladinol@albanyacademies.org.
A beautiful day for a parade...
Members of the Cadet Corps marched at the 2010 Memorial Day Parade on May 31 in Albany. Our students -- led by Cadet Corps Director Ron Hutchins -- did an outstanding job representing The Albany Academies.
A dinner and ceremony was held that evening in Caird Chapel to celebrate the accomplishments of the Cadet Corps over this past year and to thank the students, parents and faculty for their dedication and time.
6th grade girls celebrate AAG tradition
The annual Renaissance Faire, held on May 28 in the AAG Courtyard, has become a 6th grade spring tradition for the girls.
The event is an interdisciplinary project that includes History, Language Arts, Dance, Music, Art and Latin. The students each formally research an important historical figure from the Renaissance; they then write and produce a play featuring a May Day festival and the historically relevant figures from their research.
This year's Renaissance Faire was a grand culmination of their outstanding efforts.
Thank you to faculty members MaryEllen Tomson and Sandra Nelson for working with the girls.
The science behind volcanoes
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Form I Latin students have been translating stories about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The students also created models of Mount Vesuvius and "erupted" the volcanoes in class on Tuesday using Diet Coke and Mentos.
Middle School Science teacher Bob Neudel visited Latin class to explain the chemical reaction between the soda and candy.
He also supplied Mentos Launchers, which allowed the students to "erupt" their volcanoes using seven Mentos at once. |
MS student recognized for invention
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Joey Aiello '16 (pictured at left) was selected as a finalist at the New York State Invention Convention Annual Awards Program held on May 27 at the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium.
One hundred finalists were selected out of 1,442 entries with the top 25 entries announced at the event.
Joey's inventive Cheese Grater caught the attention of all in attendance and was cited as an example of being creative by guest speaker John Nelson, Ph.D., Principal Scientist, Biosciences at GE Global Research.
Joey's idea came from an interview with his mother and went through several prototypes before the finished product was created. This was the first year that our school participated in the event.
Congratulations to Joey on this impressive accomplishment! |
MS boys learn about positive thinking
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Barry Jessee (pictured at left) spoke to our Middle School boys about positive thinking and optimizing human effectiveness as outlined in Dr. Stephen Covey's book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Behavior on May 27.
Mr. Jessee worked at Albany International for 31 years in various roles and ended his career as Vice President of Human Resources, Training and Development.
He served as a teaching assistant to Dr. Covey while attending Brigham Young University and developed a passion for his thinking about effective and positive human behavior.
Mr. Jessee has taught Dr. Covey's philosophy in 14 countries and throughout the U.S. He and his wife recently returned from serving an 18-month mission trip in Romania. |
Giving back to benefit others
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The 6th grade boys finished their community service project by delivering more than 600 snack items to the Ronald McDonald House in Albany.
The snacks will be used for guests at the house as well as visitors in the Ronald McDonald Room at Albany Medical Center.
Congratulations to these civic-minded young men! |
AAG girls embark on China 'trip'
Our Pre-K & Kindergarten girls packed their bags, boarded a plane and buckled their seat belts for a special trip to China on May 26.
The students took off from their classroom on the AAG campus, landed safely and then traveled the hallways with their suitcases to World Languages Chair Donna Keegan's classroom to experience a first-hand look at China.
Madame Keegan welcomed the girls and showed a slideshow from the trip back in March that included many of our students, parents and faculty members. Madame Keegan also had artifacts and pieces of clothing from China on display for the girls. Fortunately, there was no turbulence on the trip and everyone arrived back safely!
Pre-K girls showcase their many talents
Our Pre-K girls had their final swim class for the 2009-2010 school year on May 25. The girls showed their parents the skills that they learned during their swimming lessons with AAG Aquatics Director Bonnie Morse-Gillham and AAG Physical Education teacher Erica Milliken. The girls did a wonderful job demonstrating a variety of swimming strokes.
The girls also held an Authors Day on May 18 in their classroom for parents and Lower School students to view the books that they created during the school year. The girls did a great job serving as authors and illustrators!
Best-selling author visits AAG students
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Best-selling young adult author & illustrator Coleen Murtagh Paratore P'12 (pictured at left) inspired our 3rd grade girls during a special visit on Wednesday in which she discussed her work and the process of becoming an author.
Ms. Paratore is the author of 12 novels, including The Wedding Planner's Daughter, her best-selling debut that blossomed into a popular series worldwide and has been optioned for a movie; two award-winning picture books: 26 Big Things Small Hands Do and Catching the Sun; SUNNY HOLIDAY; Mack McGinn's Big Win; The Funeral Director's Son; Forget Me Not; Kip Campbell's Gift; and A Pearl Among Princess. She has two new novels set to come out in 2010.
A resident of Troy, NY and mother of three sons, Ms. Paratore enjoys inspiring others, sharing the joy of writing and capturing "firefly moments" with audiences of all ages. |
She was also one of the participating authors at the recent Albany Children's Book Festival.
The 'art' of Peruvian dance
In conjunction with faculty member Martha Houghton's trip to Peru last summer and subsequent partnership with a school in Cusco, Peru, our 3rd grade girls are participating in an interdisciplinary project including Art, Dance, Spanish and Peruvian culture.
Faculty members Ms. Houghton, Ann Morris, Veronica Puente-Windle and Kerry Martinez have been involved with the project. The girls wove brightly colored belts in art class, viewed slides of Peru, read a Peruvian story in Spanish, and discussed various aspects of Andean culture.
The girls will wear their costumes as they dance an Andean style folk dance during the AAG Lower School Closing Ceremony on Friday, June 11 at 8:30 a.m. in the AAG Auditorium.
Helping to save lives
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The Red Cross Club presented a check for $1,000 to the American Red Cross on May 24 in Caird Chapel on the AA campus.
American Red Cross Heroes Campaign Chair Ellie Alexander was on hand to accept the check and speak to the Upper School students in attendance about the important work that the organization does on a daily basis.
Pictured at left are members of the Red Cross Club with Ms. Alexander in Caird Chapel. |
Register now for 2011 Ecuador trip!
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As part of the cultural exchange that we have opened up between our school and Ecuador, we will be offering an 11-day excursion to Ecuador in March 2011 that will include visits to the capital city of Quito, Otavalo and the Galapagos Islands.
Students will have the opportunity to learn about biodiversity and wildlife conservation in one of the most ecologically diverse places on Earth. Current Spanish III students may have the opportunity to meet their pen pals in person.
The cost of the trip is $3,500 and includes hotel stay, all meals and guided tours.
Students can now register for the trip! |
For more information, contact faculty members Veronica Puente-Windle at windlev@albanyacademies.org or Kristen Burns at burnsk@albanyacademies.org or Science Department Chair Bo Buran at burand@albanyacademies.org.
ATHLETICS
Sectional results
Caroline Gersuk '10 scored five goals to lead the AAG Varsity Lacrosse Team to its third straight Class C Section II title with a 15-7 victory over Glens Falls on May 26 at the University at Albany. Kaitlin Pericak '11 had three goals and Bridget Malicki '11, Polly Grey '11 and Emma Malicki '11 had two goals each. Leddy Sullivan '10 finished with 14 saves for the Bears. The team will compete in the state regional this Saturday, June 5 at 8 p.m. at the University at Albany.
The AA Varsity Track & Field Team won the Class B Sectional title for the second consecutive year on May 28, the first time that the school has won back-to-back titles since 1979-1980 and the first time ever repeating as a Class B school. The victory also marked the first time in school history that the team has won consecutive championships in both the Colonial Councils and Sectionals. The Cadets had individual wins from Jelanie Currie (Form IV) in the long, triple & high jumps (he was also fourth in the 110 high hurdles) and Zach Nelson (Form VI) in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs (he also took fifth in the 800 meter run and second in the 3000 steeplechase). The team had second place finishes from Chris Fron (Form VI) in the pentathlon and Renel Potter (Form VI) in the shot put; Robert Jones II (Form III) cleared 11 feet in the pole vault to take third.
NYS Golf Championship
Tim DiStefano (Form VI) will be competing in the New York State High School Golf Championship this weekend at the Robert Trent Jones Course at Cornell University. Tim is the top seed of the nine-member Section II team. The tournament -- a two-day, 36-hole play event -- will crown both individual and team champions. AA Director of College Counseling & AA Varsity Golf Coach Jak Bestle -- the Section II Golf Coordinator -- will accompany Tim and the team to Cornell. We wish Tim the best of luck!
Accolades
All seven of our varsity spring sports teams achieved New York State Scholar Team recognition for their outstanding GPAs. The team GPAs were as follows: AA Varsity Tennis Team -- 95.996; AAG Varsity Track & Field Team -- 93.988; AA Varsity Track & Field Team -- 93.481; AAG Varsity Lacrosse Team -- 92.13; AAG Varsity Softball Team -- 91.113; AA Varsity Baseball Team -- 90.638; and AA Varsity Lacrosse Team -- 90.315. Congratulations to all of our scholar-athletes!
The Northern New York Speedskating Association selected Julia Randall '15 from the Capital District Speedskating Club as a co-recipient of its "Most Improved Skater" award for the 2009-2010 skating year. Julia and the other co-recipient will have their names engraved on a plaque that hangs at the Olympic Speedskating Oval in Lake Placid, NY. Julia accomplished her goal of breaking the one minute mark in the 500 meter race on several occasions; placed first in her age division in many of her race competitions this year; has developed fantastic passing skills; and won a bronze medal at the Empire State Games. We are very proud of Julia!
Kelsey Burhans '13 was fortunate to participate in a one-on-one training session with Craig Thorpe-Clark, Head Coach of the University of Pennsylvania Mens Squash Team. Mr. Thorpe-Clarke served as Head Coach of both the Mens and Womens Squash Teams at Vassar College and is one of only four individuals in the U.S. to have been awarded a prestigious Level 4 coach designation from the Squash Racquets Association in England.
Mark your calendars
Please make note of the following important events; they can also be found on the Online Calendar at www.albanyacademies.org.
****AAPA meeting -- June 8
8 a.m., The Buttery, AA
We strongly encourage all parents to attend as the AAPA will be voting on the 2010-2011 slate of officers and allocations to our school.
****May Projects Fair -- June 9
6:30 p.m., Silipigno Athletic Facility, AAG
Join us as our seniors showcase the work that they did during the month of May.
****AAG Lower School Closing Ceremony -- June 11
8:30 a.m., Auditorium
****AA Lower School Closing Ceremony -- June 11
10 a.m., Caird Chapel
****AAG Middle School Moving Up Ceremony -- June 11
Noon, Auditorium
****AA Middle School Closing Ceremony -- June 11
1:30 p.m., Caird Chapel
****AAG Commencement -- June 14
10 a.m., tent at AAG
****AA Commencement -- June 15
10 a.m., AA Football Field
****2010 Legacy of Dreams -- June 19
6 p.m., Fort Orange Club, Albany
Invitations have been sent out.
Enroll your child in Summer Camp now!
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.
SUMMER CAMP 2010 BROCHURE
SUMMER CAMP 2010 REGISTRATION FORM
REGISTER ONLINE FOR SUMMER CAMP 2010.
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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