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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
The Albany Academies e-newsletter
Week of April 27
AROUND THE ACADEMIES...
A celebration of the arts!
The annual Evening of the Arts celebration was held yesterday evening throughout the foyer and halls of the East Campus.
Parents and students had the chance to enjoy a reception, view beautiful student artwork, hear choral performances from Middle & Upper School students, and watch Middle & Upper School dance performances.
Special recognition goes to the Arts Department for its efforts with coordinating such a special event at the Academies.
New Fine Arts Chair selected
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Greg Cummings (pictured at left with 5th grade boys) has been selected as the Fine Arts Chair at The Albany Academies beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. In this crucial role, Greg will be responsible for the continued development and enhancement of our Fine Arts program at the Academies.
Greg has worked with young people, their families and other dedicated professionals for more than 30 years. He most recently served as a faculty member from 2002-2007 in the Arts Department of The Bullis School in Potomac, MD – an independent, coeducational college preparatory school with students in grades 3-12.
At Bullis, Greg was charged with educating Middle & Upper School students about acting, directing and playwriting as well as serving as a director and advisor to young men and women. |
Academies students give back to others
Our Spring Community Service Day held on April 24 sent more than 500 students and faculty into the greater community on a mission to help others.
The students visited more than a dozen nonprofit organizations in the Capital Region to perform a variety of tasks such as cleaning and painting at Gilda's Club in Latham; planting flowers at The Langan School of the Center for Disability Services; restoring two housing sites in Albany for Habitat for Humanity; creating placemats and handbags for families at Ronald McDonald House; and, much more!
WRGB CBS 6 ran a piece on Friday morning discussing the Community Service Day activities and WNYT NewsChannel 13 was at Gilda's Club to film our 3rd grade girls assisting with clean-up work at the facility. In addition, the Spotlight Newspapers will be running photos and a caption from Community Service Day in an upcoming publication.
"Community Service Day at the Academies is very special," said Mark Eisenhardt P'18. "I was lucky enough to join the 3rd grade girls at Gilda's Club in Latham during the day. The energy of the place was palpable, like walking on air. The girls spent two hours cleaning balls from the jumping pit with diluted bleach solution; they really worked and persevered. The Class of 2018 is a great group of girls and you should all be proud!"
Congratulations to all of their students for the excellent impression they made in the community once again!
Academies students recognized for excellence
Three students -- Hannah Kuhar '09, Matt Kandath (Form VI) and Rajiv Raghavan (Form VI) -- were selected to receive scholarship awards from the New York State Board of Regents for its Information for Holders of 2009 Series Scholarships for Academic Excellence.
Congratulations to the three students for this impressive honor!
The importance of environmental sustainability
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7th grade students took part in a special environmental sustainability program on April 24 at the Academies. As part of the presentation, Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Mark N. Eagan, CCE (pictured at left) spoke to the students about sustainability in our community and the importance of understanding their role in conserving energy.
He also emphasized the need for businesses to take an active role in leading this effort. The goal of the seminar was to bring awareness to this important issue for all Middle School students in an effort to turn it into a more extensive interdisciplinary unit for the 7th grade.
The program also involved Michael Phinney, an Architect with the firm Phinney Design Group -- a company that focuses on environmentally-friendly homes and buildings.
The students will have more opportunities to develop the theme next year and continue to help spread awareness to the Academies community. |
Swine Flu update
We sent out correspondence to all parents yesterday with an update on the Swine Flu outbreak that has been reported in Mexico, the United States and other parts of the world.
There have been no reported cases of Swine Flu at the Academies as of April 29. However, we will continue to monitor the entire school population with county and state health officials.
The Albany Academies consults with county and state health officials on all matters related to communicable disease. The county routinely monitors disease outbreaks in school populations, and is working together with the New York State Department of Health to increase this surveillance effort at this time.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Academies to take part in NYSAIS conference
Our school will be prominently featured at the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) conference titled "Teaching with Technology: Best Practices from Classroom Teachers" this Friday, May 1 at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn as Director of The Center for Teaching and Learning Alex Brosowsky will conduct a presentation about personalized teaching instruction.
Alex will discuss how to use assistive technology to differentiate instruction from 10:30-11:30 a.m. His presentation will be broadcast live over the Internet!
2009 Prom a magical night!
More than 150 Academies students gathered this past Saturday at The State Room in Albany for the 2009 Prom. Students enjoyed the new venue and had a wonderful time dancing the night away!
Academies hosts Forensics Tournament
Our school served as the host for the New York State Forensic League Finals Tournament on April 24 & 25. Ayldaar Rangwala (Form IV), Ankur Patel (Form V), Tyler McCarthy (Form V) and Max Yanover (Form V) competed in the event.
Our school will also be hosting the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament from May 22-24 for all students who have qualified nationally. We will be hosting many of the debate events during the tournament.
Lower School boys receive safety presentation
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Gordon McClean (pictured at left), our School Resource Officer from the Albany City Police Department, visited the Academies this past Tuesday to speak with the Lower School boys in the McNamee Library on the West Campus about the importance of stranger safety.
His focus was on prevention and how to respond to different situations in order to protect yourself.
The boys were engaged throughout his presentation and asked a variety of probing questions to the officer. |
ATHLETICS
AA graduate tapped as Hockey Coach
Eric Cavosie '98 has been named the new Head Coach of the Boys Hockey Program -- part of the New England Prep League -- beginning with the 2009-2010 school year.
Eric will be charged with leading the hockey program at the Academies, including focusing his energy on implementing strategies and overseeing the development of hockey players at all levels; he takes over for Dave Rider ’73, who will step down after more than 30 years as head of the school’s hockey program. Coach Rider will begin serving as the Boys JV Hockey Coach next season.
Eric spent 13 years at the Academy as a student before joining the hockey program last year in an effort to assist in the rebuilding of the program. He played for four years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and coached for four years for the Troy-Albany Youth Hockey Association after graduating from RPI; he has extensive experience coaching youth hockey.
Rewind: A look back at the sports week that was
The Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team defeated Columbia 10-6 this past Monday and Academy of the Holy Names 14-7 on April 24.
The Boys Varsity Baseball Team lost to Cohoes 9-5 on April 24 and beat Watervliet 7-3 on April 22.
The Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team defeated Lansingburgh 14-4 this past Tuesday and Schuylerville 16-7 this past Monday.
The Boys Varsity Tennis Team defeated Cohoes 7-0 this past Tuesday and Voorheesville 7-0 this past Monday.
Next week, we will take a more in-depth look at all spring sports at the Academies!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upper School Spring Concert
May 2, 7 p.m.
Caird Chapel, West Campus
Strides for a Cure
May 3, 10 a.m.
The Annual Strides for a Cure event in memory of Solomon Jochnowitz-Kahn '06 will be held on Sunday, May 3 beginning at 10 a.m. at Robison Track on the West Campus.
Strides for a Cure is a 3-mile walk beginning and ending at Robison Track. All proceeds benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
CLICK HERE FOR THE STRIDES FOR A CURE REGISTRATION FORM.
Explore Empower Engage Science Tech Engineering Mathematics Expo
May 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Mildred Elley, 855 Central Avenue, Albany
Free event, open to the public, designed for students in grades 6-12
Summer Camp 2009 -- New friends & exciting opportunities!
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There is still time to register for Summer Camp 2009 at the Academies! We will be offering crucial lifesaving courses in First Aid, CPR, AED training and Babysitting through our new Red Cross programs.
Meanwhile, your son or daughter can get a leg up on the competition with our SAT Prep Course taught by our own Upper School Director Scott Milliken & Upper School faculty member Jim Poole '68.
In addition, we will once again be offering our popular LEAP Camp with exciting courses such as Cooking, CSI Academy, Band Camp and Outdoor Skills & Thrills. Many of the camps begin on June 8! |
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR SUMMER CAMP 2009.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SUMMER CAMP 2009 BROCHURE.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Renewable Energy summer program
The Center for Power Electronic Systems at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has summer opportunities available to a limited number of high school students to get familiar with renewable energy sources and systems.
Fundamentals of renewable energy and storage systems will be discussed, and the focus is on converting the energy from wind, solar, hydrogen, and others to usable electrical energy. The role of power devices and power electronics system in energy conversion will also be discussed.
There is no cost for the program, which is open to all high school students and runs from June 29-July 3. The deadline to apply is June 10.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.
OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
Don't miss The Scarlet Pimpernel!
Director of Chorus Matt Streifert will be appearing as Armand St. Just in the Schenectady Light Opera Company's production of The Scarlet Pimpernel this Friday, May 1 through Sunday, May 3.
The performances will be held at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Schenectady Light Opera Company's theater located at 829 State Street in Schenectady. Tickets are $22 and can be purchased online at www.sloctheater.org (use coupon code SP2009).
The Scarlet Pimpernel is an action/adventure show based on Baroness Orczy's famous 20th century novel about the French Revolution. The book and lyrics are at times funny and at others horrifying, while the music is moving and passionate.
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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