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Thursday, December 03, 2009
The Albany Academies e-newsletter
Week of November 30
IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS
Barnes and Noble Book Fair -- This Friday, December 4
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Are you looking for some great gift ideas for the holidays? Plan on joining us for the 2009 Barnes and Noble Book Fair – hosted by the Albany Academies Parents Association -- this Friday, December 4 anytime between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. at Barnes and Noble in Colonie Center.
We are once again offering a special voucher to present at check-out; a percentage of the net sale will be donated to our Distinguished Authors Series.
This year's festival will feature a variety of activities for Academies families and the general community.
****Enjoy Storytime at 5:30 p.m. with a chance to meet Curious George
****Hear stories read by the Tulip Queen & her Court at 7 p.m.
****Listen to poetry readings and oral reports on Native American & Dutch legends from Middle School students at 8 p.m. |
CLICK HERE FOR THE FLYER.
CLICK HERE FOR THE VOUCHER.
Don't miss this community-building event!
College Night -- December 7
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Our College Counseling Department will be hosting a mandatory College Night program for all juniors at the Academies and their parents on Monday, December 7 from 7-9 p.m. in Caird Chapel, AA.
The event will feature an interactive presentation of the college admission process with author, motivational speaker and former Dean of Admission Peter Van Buskirk.
Students will find out what happens to their college application behind closed doors. |
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES
Winter Concert -- December 10
Pictured (left to right) are Kevin Kim (Form VI), Zacchary Filanova (Form IV), Peter Schmitz-Morfe (Form IV) & Melanie Argoff '10; Su-Min Lee '13; and Robert McCormick (Form III) & Kevin Rico (Form III) from the Upper School Band rehearsaing for the Winter Concert.
Join us for the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 10 from 6-8 p.m. in Caird Chapel.
There will be performances by the Middle School Boys Chorus and Middle & Upper School Girls and Boys Band.
Students have been rehearsing a variety of pieces for the concert, including "Fanfare Prelude on Finlandia," a Mozart medley, "Sleigh Ride" and "Instant Concert."
An evite was sent last week to all parents. We hope to see you at this special event!
Lower School Boys Concert -- December 17
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The AA Lower School Concert will be held on Thursday, December 17 at 2 p.m. in Caird Chapel.
All parents are welcome to attend this holiday performance.
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Wassail -- December 17
Pictured (left to right) are the 4th grade girls rehearsing a Modern Dance routine for their Wassail performance.
The annual Wassail performance is set for Thursday, December 17 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. and 7-9:30 p.m. in the AAG Auditorium.
The morning Wassail performance will include girls in Pre-K through Grade 6 and the evening performance will include girls in Grades 7-12.
Wassail will feature a dance & choral performance from our girls (morning & evening performances) & Upper School choral performance from our boys and girls (evening performance only).
An evite was sent on Tuesday to all parents. Please make plans to attend this wonderful holiday tradition.
Senior Breakfast -- December 18
The Senior Breakfast will be held on Friday, December 18 beginning at 7:30 a.m. in the AAG Cafeteria.
You will be receiving a form next week that provides details about student arrival times, proper dress and other pertinent information. Please watch for it!
AAPA hosts holiday luncheon
Pictured (left to right) are Elizabeth Rutnik P'15, '18, Aimee Uccellini P'15, Carla Henderson P'16, '18, Jennifer Hayes P'16, '18 & Natalie Naigles P'11; faculty members Kate Bernardi, Jane Conway & MaryEllen Tomson; and Barbara Featherstonhaugh P'10, '13, Susan Maider P'16, Kathleen McNamee P'12, '13, 16, Isobel Connell P'16, Kim Marks P'14, Diana Carpenter P'15 & Roxanne Delarge P'09, '13.
The Albany Academies Parents Association hosted a fabulous luncheon for our faculty and staff on Wednesday in the Drawing Room and Caird Chapel.
"It was a wonderful lunch and the faculty truly enjoyed themselves. Thank you so much!" -- Susan Rimkunas, AAG Preschool through Grade 8 Director
"The luncheon is one of the nicest events of the year. Everyone looks forward to it; the food is wonderful, the parents gracious, and most of all, it makes the faculty feel valued and appreciated." -- Karen Schimmer, AA Lower School Librarian
"The AAPA put on an amazing lunch. Thank you and Happy Holidays!" -- Robert Bigley, faculty member
"The luncheon is a great way to show our gratitude and appreciation for the faculty and staff that are so essential to our children's lives at The Albany Academies." -- Debra Nelson P'10, '13, AAPA President
Special thanks to the AAPA for coordinating this event.
A winter holiday treat
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The 7th grade girls performed a Winter Holiday Show for the residents of St. Peter's Rehabilitation Center this afternoon.
Attendees enjoyed holiday songs, instrumental tunes, skits and dances.
The girls have worked with St. Peter's Rehabilitation Center throughout the school year as part of their community outreach program. |
Holiday fundraisers
Students at the Academies have coordinated a number of community fundraisers recently.
The 11th grade girls are collecting wish lists for Northeast Parent & Child Society to provide unwrapped toys and basic all-year necessities to needy families throughout the region.
The Pennies for Patients Coin Drive to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is running through December 11. This is a House Competition -- points will be awarded for the most money raised; the Cadet Corps will receive a dress down day if it raises the most money.
The 8th grade girls are working with The Make-A-Wish Foundation as part of the organization's Adopt An Angel campaign -- which will run until just before Winter Break. All funds raised will go towards granting the wish of a local child.
The Schools for Schools Club is holding a book drive through December 11. Please consider donating any unneeded college textbooks and adult fiction & nonfiction books -- no children's book or romance novels. All books must be of good quality and have covers. The books will be donated to Atanga Secondary School, our sister school in northern Uganda.
Please consider donating to one of these initiatives.
NEWS FROM THE ALBANY ACADEMIES PARENTS ASSOCIATION
Spirit Wear available for the holidays
"Members of the Albany Academies Parents Association -- along with administration and the student council presidents -- came together to select some great spirit wear items for students and parents in all divisions at the Academies.
We are excited to announce that we will be able to offer one of the items in time for the holiday season. A limited supply of Academies blankets will be available at $35 each. They will arrive on campus before the holidays, hopefully by December 10.
These blankets -- made of sweatshirt material and with The Albany Academies logo -- are 84" in width and 54" in height. They will be available in red and navy blue and will make a great gift for family members and friends during the holidays.
We will keep you posted on ordering details and delivery dates for the blankets as well as additional spirit wear items." -- Tracy Straight-Freed, P'11, '13 & Tammie Jones P'13, '15, '19
ATHLETICS
Equestrian star signs with University of South Carolina
Pictured (left to right) are Kelsey Hart '10 speaking with Scott Morlock of Fox 23 News; Brian Hart, Director of Athletics Paul Gallucci, Kelsey Hart, Director of Physical Education Elizabeth Hemstead, Pam Hart & Brianna Hart '15; and Kelsey Hart speaking with Joe Calderone of Capital News 9.
Kelsey Hart '10 officially signed her National Letter of Intent with top-ranked University of South Carolina at a special press conference on November 23 in the Drawing Room.
Kelsey joins a University of South Carolina Women's Equestrian Team that is currently ranked #4 in the nation for NCAA Equestrian Teams. She has been an honor roll throughout her high school years and a member of the National Honor Society the past two years.
Congratulations to Kelsey and her family on this special event.
Highlights of the week in athletics
ALBANY ACADEMY FOR GIRLS
The AAG Varsity Basketball Team lost a nail-biter to Cohoes 55-54 on Tuesday. Cohoes sunk 1 of 2 free throws with 2 seconds remaining on the clock to seal the win. Jill Verde '10 and Amanda Cioffi '10 combined for 39 points for the Bears while Amanda also had 10 rebounds. J'Vanay Santos '12 also had a double-double with 10 points and13 rebounds, and Shelby Benson '10 chipped in with 7 assists. Congratulations to the girls on a tremendous effort.
In other AAG news, the AAG Varsity Hockey Team lost to Lake Placid Central 3-1 on November 20.
THE ALBANY ACADEMY
Manny Pollard (Form IV) of the AA Varsity Swim Team placed first in a diving event against Mohonasen and Schalmont on December 1 with a score of 221.50 points -- breaking Judd Davis' 30-year-old school diving record. Congratulations, Manny, you make us all proud!
Tournament MVP Nolan Hart (Form VI) sank a 3-pointer to give the AA Varsity Basketball Team a four-point lead with two minutes to play and he made three of four free throws down the stretch to seal a 57-50 win over Lansingburgh on November 28 in the championship game of the Catholic Central Roundball Classic. Congratulations to the team for their outstanding effort.
In other AA news, the AA Varsity Hockey Team lost to Berkshire 12-2 on Wednesday.
All athletic schedules -- Varsity, Junior Varsity, Freshman and Modified -- for the winter season are available in the Athletics section of our Academies website.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
AROUND THE ACADEMIES
Exploring the Hudson
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The 7th grade boys recently completed an interdisciplinary project based on the 400th anniversary of the Henry Hudson expedition and discovery.
The project gave the students an opportunity to improve their research skills, computer skills and brainstorming. Various topics were selected to provide a well-rounded view of Hudson and the river that he explored.
The boys gave presentations during a special Middle School assembly on November 19.
Pictured (left to right) are Ankit Baghel (Form I), Tycho Niessen (Form I) and Gordon O'Brien (Form I) with their Hudson River poster. |
Celebrating scientific accomplishments
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The 10th grade girls have been researching individual accomplishments during the Scientific Revolution as part of their World History II class.
Students have been evaluating the scientists' accomplishments in light of the fact that the Catholic Church and Political Leadership at the time would have frowned on any ideas that varied from what they viewed as acceptable.
Since the ideas of the scientists would have been unacceptable, the students created WANTED posters from the viewpoint of disgruntled leadership in Europe. The posters contain information about what the scientist accomplished as well as how he/she altered ideas during the 15th and 16th centuries. |
A 'whale' of a project
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The 3rd grade boys have been learning about whales during the school year as part of the Literacy Stars program -- which promotes the importance of children reading together in small groups.
The whales theme was selected since the boys began the year learning about the history of The Albany Academy and Herman Melville. Four groups of students each read various books, including The Whaleship Essex (the true story behind Moby Dick), Amazing Whales and different versions of Moby Dick. The Whaleship Essex and Amazing Whale groups created a factual whale quilt as their final project while the Moby Dick groups created a comic book based on the classic tale. |
The boys are also working on a life size whale to truly understand the magnificence of this massive mammal. Pictured are the boys in the AA Wrestling Room working on their whale project.
The Albany Academies is committed to developing the potential of the whole individual by building a community that fosters scholarship, leadership, character, service, and creativity. Our Compass of Core Values includes responsibility, self-discipline, compassion, ingenuity, respect, service, integrity and perseverance.
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
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