The Albany Academies coordinate single-sex and coeducational learning environments to develop diligent students of high character who become curious, critical thinkers.
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The Skim
- The Albany Academies Announce $3 Million Gift from Former Student
- Spring Musical
- One Family Referral Campaign
- Contagious Illnesses Policies and Health Monitoring
- Summer Camp Registration Now Open
- Spring Gathering
- Henry House Drive for Ronald McDonald House
- Annual Fund
- Around Campus
- AA Pre-K Favorite Arctic Animals
- AAG Lower School Health & Wellness
- Wizard of Oz Day
- AAG Peer Leadership Program
- Varsity Swimming & Diving
- Varsity Ski Team
- Transportation Reminder
- Form II Parent Information Night
- Student Opportunity: Essay Contest
- Mid-Winter Dinner to feature John McClintock '57
- Journey to Success
- Short Read: The Yale Happiness Class, Distilled
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Dear Friends,
Any week that ends with the announcement of a $3,000,000 Legacy Gift to the School is a good week! (See below.) I hope you will join me in offering up grateful thoughts about Mr. Gifford, whose legacy we plan to honor by deploying a significant portion of these funds in support of our faculty.
I also want to thank the 21 families who have referred 32 prospective students to the school via the “One Family” program. We know that satisfied families are our best means of promotion, so it’s never too late to refer a student and become eligible for a $250 tuition credit!
After months of preparation and rehearsal, tonight is the opening of the winter musical, “Spamalot.”
Congratulations to all of our young thespians and adult ingenues.
If yesterday’s in-house previews are an indication, it will be a wonderful production!
What does it take to be truly happy? This is the essential question at the heart of the most popular course offered at Yale University,
a version of which is now available as a free online course.
I've included an Atlantic article at the end of this email that distills this course into a short read, should you be interested.
Finally, a gentle reminder that we are in re-enrollment season and would truly appreciate having contracts returned by February 21
st
(contracts were emailed out on February 3
rd
). In order to ensure accurate planning for next year, we will not schedule a student for 2020-2021 until we have received his or her executed re-enrollment contract. We will begin the scheduling process on February 24
th
.
Have a great (long) weekend!
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The Albany Academies Announce $3 Million Gift from Former Student
The Albany Academies have received a $3 million legacy gift from a former student, with the potential for an additional $750,000 donation after final probate. The bequest, one of the largest legacy gifts the schools have ever received, came from Robert L. Gifford, who died in 2018 at his home in Sarasota, Florida.
Gifford was born in Troy and graduated from The Albany Academy in 1940. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at Harvard University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. After completing his education, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served the country for 30 years, ending his Navy career as a captain.
A large portion of the gift – $1 million – is being directed toward the newly created Gifford Faculty Innovation Awards, which will present five $10,000 awards annually to faculty members to help them bring new and innovative teaching ideas into the classroom.
Faculty members will be required to complete an application and those will be reviewed by an external advisory board whose members will select grant recipients. Each grant will be made for one academic year and is intended to support the creation of a new program or piece of curriculum; $6,000 of each grant will be directed toward materials or training and the remaining $4,000 will supplement the teacher’s salary. Applicants must be able to provide evidence that the program or curriculum can be sustainable beyond the first year and also provide a way of measuring and presenting student outcomes, which will then be presented on an annual basis.
The Gifford legacy gift also will be used to support professional development programs and training for the Academies’ faculty. In addition, $1 million of the bequest will be dedicated to ongoing capital improvements on the campus.
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The Fine Arts Department at The Albany Academies Presents Monty Python’s SPAMALOT: School Edition
Featuring students in grades 9-12, Monty Python’s SPAMALOT: School Edition is lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a cow, killer rabbits, and some French people. The Broadway production won three Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. Please stop by for this outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake that will delight you as they search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”
Tickets are free and available at the door for each performance.
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Click here
for more details (there's an
incentive
for this!) and the referral form.
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Contagious Illnesses Policies and Health Monitoring
With a particularly virulent flu this season and the emergence of Coronavirus, I want to remind you about the commitment we make to the health and well-being of our students, and how you can help us keep this commitment.
While preventing all illnesses in a school environment is all but impossible, we make every effort to contain them. To do this, we have policies in place for illnesses that occur during the school day and guidelines for reporting sick students, particularly for diagnosis or symptoms considered potentially communicable.
To help guide our efforts, we regularly monitor CDC and Health Department alerts and respect their mandates. Conversely, the Health Department relies on schools to accurately monitor and report illnesses, and we adhere to New York State mandated reporting of illnesses affecting at least 8% of the school population.
You can help these efforts by following these guidelines:
- Keep your student home from school when they are ill with fever, vomiting or diarrhea until they are symptom-free for 24 hours without medication.
- All infections requiring antibiotics require the student to remain home until the student has been treated for a full 24 hours.
- Students diagnosed with the flu or more serious illnesses or illnesses resulting in absence of five or more consecutive days of school must present a doctor’s note clearing them to return to school upon immediate arrival at school.
- Please notify school of absence as early in the day as possible. It is most important for tracking illness trends for you to include your student’s symptoms or diagnosis in the notification.
We appreciate your partnership in keeping our school environment healthy and safe for all who attend.
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Summer Camp Registration Now Open!
We are offering a number of camps for children in Pre-K through Grade 10, including our highly popular LEAP Camp, Leaps & Bounds Adventure Camp, Little Leap, Classic Day Camp, Musical Theater Camp-Frozen Jr., Adventures in Sports, Rocketry Camp, Science Academy, Baseball Academy, Driver's Education and a Leadership and Life Skills Program. Join us for a week, two week session or the whole summer! All camps include lunch and snack.
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Plan to join us at Spring Gathering 2020
Consider joining the Honorary Committee, becoming a sponsor, or attending Spring Gathering!
This annual event - to be held on April 25, 2020 at Franklin Plaza - benefits today’s students by helping to ensure that the Academies remain accessible to all deserving young men and women. Proceeds from the event support the financial aid and merit scholarship programs at our school.
Registration is now available:
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Henry House Drive for Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region provide a home away from home for families of seriously ill children seeking treatment at nearby hospitals. The Ronald McDonald House in Albany has 25 bedrooms and serves over 650 families per year. The Ronald McDonald Family Room, located within the Children's Hospital at Albany Medical Center, offers families support and a comfortable respite while remaining close to their ill child and caregivers.
Henry House kicked off a can tab drive this week to support the Ronald McDonald House. AA Middle and Upper School students will receive one point for their house for each can tab donated. Collection bottles are set up outside of the Main Office. AA Lower School is collecting single serving sized snacks to fill the snack cupboard at the Ronald McDonald House.
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...to consider a gift to the Annual Fund. We are grateful for all the ways our current parents support our school.
Happy Valentine's Day from the Institutional Advancement Team!
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After researching polar bears by reading numerous books and taking notes, AAG Pre-K students engaged in a fun activity building polar bear dens out of mini marshmallows with Sixth Grade buddies. Baby dinosaur toys stood in for the polar bear.
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This week Dr. Brower's Latin II class presented research projects on various aspects of Ancient Roman culture. Parker L. '23 researched Roman games and reconstructed the Ludus Latrunculorum ("Game of Robbers"). He taught his classmates the rules and they had a great time playing the game.
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Ms. Crisafulli's Grade 8 English class had fun this week working on the historical context from
Animal Farm to the Russian Revolution through a puzzle activity.
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AA Pre-K Favorite Arctic Animals
The AA Pre-K
class worked so hard in the library the last few weeks learning about different animals that went along with a winter theme. They studied the polar bear, arctic fox, and penguin! They each had the opportunity to pick and share a favorite fact they learned Way to go Pre-K!
Click Here
to view their video about their favorite arctic animals.
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AAG Lower School Health & Wellness
The last AAG Health and Wellness lesson focused on families. The book
The Family Book
by Todd Parr or
The Great Big Book of Families
by Mary Hoffman was read to the students during the lesson. The girls then explored the diversity and uniqueness of families. The lesson offered the opportunity for students to share and learn about each other's families and to be able to identify some similarities and some differences. After some discussion they drew a photo of their family. Their drawings are on display in the Lower School hallway across from the Health Office. Each drawing represents how families are unique, but also how we share the common bond of caring for one another.
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Wizard of Oz Day
On Thursday, February 27, The Albany Academies will be hosting a Wizard of Oz Literary Immersion Day. To help make Wizard of Oz Day extra special, February 27, 2020, will be an optional dress up day. Students who wish to participate may dress up as a character from the Wizard of Oz. Students who wish not to participate should wear their school uniform on this day.
There will also be a "No Place Like Home" Goods Collection. Albany Academy for Girls will be collecting men's and women’s deodorant, children’s diapers, pull ups, and wipes to be donated to Equinox, a local shelter.
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AAG Peer Leadership Program
Our Peer Leadership program will continue next year and our current Peer Leaders presented this program to the Sophomore class on Wednesday. All sophomores had the opportunity to pick up an application. The application process will involve a written application, teacher recommendations, individual interviews and a group interview. Eight sophomores will be chosen to be Peer leaders in their Junior year.
All applications are due to Mrs. Lovett by 3:00 p.m. on February 18.
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Varsity Swimming & Diving Team
Congratulations to our Varsity Divers on their outstanding performances last night at Sectionals! Andrew C. '23 placed 2nd with a new PR of 396.85; James G. '23 placed 3rd with a PR of 394.20 ; Michael A. 21 placed 4th with a PR of 383.40; and Charlie A. '23 placed 11th with a score of 261.80.
Good luck to the Varsity Swimmers as they compete in the Sectional Preliminary heats today and the Sectional Final heats on Saturday morning!
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Varsity Ski Team
The Varsity Ski Team finished their season with competing at Sectionals this week. Congratulations to the athletes on a great season!
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Transportation Reminder
The following districts will not be transporting Academies students during the week of Monday, February 17, 2020 through Friday, February 21, 2020:
District
Bethlehem Central School District
Brunswick/Brittonkill CSD Central School District
East Greenbush Central School District
Guilderland Central School District
Lansingburg/Menands
Mohanasen Central School District
Niskayuna Central School District
North Colonie Central School District
Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District
Schodack Central School District
Shenendehowa Center School
Shenendehowa Central Schools
South Colonie Central School District
Troy City School District
Voorheesville Central School District
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Form II Parent Information Night
Form II Parent Information Night will be held on Thursday, February 20, at 6:00 pm in the Tucker Library at AA.
Dr. Scott Milliken will introduce the Upper School program. All parents attending will learn about the Upper School course request process. The Director of College Counseling, Mr. Jak Bestle, will share information on our college process, and the 2020-2021 Form III Dean, Mr. Bo Buran, will speak about the Form III experience. There will also be a Q&A session with the advisor your son will have during Upper School.
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Student Opportunity: Essay Contest
Albany-Tula Presents the
2020 Essay Contest
Youth Saving the World
For Capital Region high school students through 1st year in college
- First Prize: $1000.
- Second Prize: $500.
- Third Prize: $250.
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The most popular class in the history of Yale University was inspired by a paradox: Even when people, conventionally speaking, succeed—get into a top college, make lots of money, or accumulate prestige and accolades—they are often left feeling unsatisfied.
It’s a problem that may be particularly acute at a place like Yale, but the lessons of the class, called “Psychology and the Good Life,” are widely applicable—they address fundamental features of the human mind that make it difficult to appreciate things that seem like they’d be great.
<Click Here to Keep Reading>
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Week at a Glance
February 17 - 21, 2020
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Monday, February 17
Day 1
Presidents' Day - School Closed
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Tuesday, February 18
Day 6
Admissions Visiting Week
11:30 a.m. AA Upper School Advising
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Advising
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Wednesday, February 19
Day 1
Admissions Visiting Week
8:15 a.m. Admissions Middle School Information Session (Drawing Room & Trustees Room)
11:30 a.m. AA Upper School Clubs
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Chapel (Caird Chapel)
2:20 p.m. AAG Senior Honors Trimester 2 Presentations (Library Classroom)
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Thursday, February 20
Day 2
Admissions Visiting Week
8:20 a.m. AA Lower School Chapel (Caird Chapel)
12:00 p.m. AAG Grades 3, 4 & 5 Ronald McDonald House Read-a-thon Launch (Auditorium)
12:15 p.m. Middle School & Lower School Pops Concert (Caird Chapel)
3:05 p.m. AAG Senior Speeches (Auditorium)
3:15 p.m. AAG & AA Grade 7 Science Symposium (Stevens Center)
5:30 p.m. AAG Grade 8 Parent Meeting (AAG Library)
5:30 p.m. AAG Key Club Induction (Auditorium)
6:00 p.m. Form II Parent Information Night (Tucker Library)
6:00 p.m. Alumni/ae Mid-Winter Dinner (Jack's Oyster House, Albany)
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Friday, February 21
Day 3
AAG Founder's Day Celebration
Admissions Visiting Week
12:15 p.m. AA Middle School Ice Skating & Basketball
2:20 p.m. AA Upper School Extended Advising
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Looking Ahead
2/25/20 AA Lower School Coffee
2/27/20 Wizard of Oz Day
2/27/20 Alumnae Association Journey to Success
2/29/20 International Taste of the World Festival
3/2/20 Lower School Conferences (No Lower School Classes)
3/3/20 AA Middle School Parent Coffee
3/4/20 AA Charter Day
3/4/20 AAPA Board Meeting
3/6/20 AA/AAG Grades 5 & 6 Skate Party
3/6/20 AA/AAG Grades 7 & 8 Snowflake Dance
3/7/20 Science Bowl Team Competition
3/9/20 Spring Sports Begin
3/11/20 AAG Grade 4 Play
3/12/20 AAG Grade 3 Wax Museum
3/12/20 Admissions Lunch On Us
3/16/20 - 3/27/20 Spring Break
3/30/20 Classes Resume
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