AP Highlights

Congratulations to the varsity football team on winning the Section 2 Class A championship for the first time in school history, following their 20-6 victory over Burnt Hills on Nov. 16, 2024!

#WinnersInThe3Cs

Averill Park CSD participants of the Girls on the Run program recently completed their final 5K in Albany! Way to go!

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What a great time was had at the first-ever Algonquin's Got Talent on Nov. 21, 2024! Those in attendance enjoyed 15 student and teacher acts that stole the show. AMS raised $1,243 dollars for its school pantry program! Way to, AMS! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

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As a result of a great fundraising effort by WSL students and their families, Principal Keri Rosher kissed a pig in front of all students and staff!

As top fundraisers for this year's Fun Run, Madyson and Mason McAvoy were Principals of the Day on Nov. 13, 2024 at PES! They had a full schedule of principal duties including greeting fellow students at arrival, making morning and end-of-day announcements, having meetings with staff to review the building's sensory space and enjoying lunch with SRO Nikles and friends.

Principals McAvoy & McAvoy gave a presentation to Superintendent Dr. James Franchini on the new playground equipment and plan for installation. During the afternoon PES Pride assembly, the principals gave the equipment presentation to the student body.

Thank you Madyson and Mason, for your fundraising efforts and your hard work as principals!

On Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, the MHSL PTA hosted its annual Science Fair! Students in grades 1-5 researched, designed and presented on a variety of science and technology related topics. Special thanks to our guest presenter, Dr. Aubrey Hillman, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Albany, and our guest judges. Kudos to all of our amazing student (and future scientist) presenters. Great job by all! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

On Nov. 20, 2024, 40 APHS art students attended a field trip to Mass MoCA! Students participated in a guided tour and viewed current exhibits, including Osman Khan, Amy Podmore, James Turrell and Jeffrey Gibson. This was an awesome experience for all involved! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

On the latest episode of the Every Student Every Day Podcast, Superintendent Dr. James Franchini speaks with Girls on the Run Capital Region Program Coordinator Karina Black, Averill Park CSD Girls on the Run Program Coordinator and coach Ashley Champitto and Heart and Soul coach Jenna Brand about the Girls on the Run program's mission, the recent final 5K featuring 45 Averill Park students and more! All of the episodes are available here or wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

Grade 6 TEAM students used LEGO Spike kits in the library on Nov. 14, 2024 in order to learn more about coding and computational thinking, as part of the NYS Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards. Students were able to develop their critical thinking and troubleshooting skills, while having fun!

Mrs. Engel’s APHS Global 9 classes had the opportunity to use the Virtual Reality headsets with National Geographic Expeditions to head to Ancient China, The Great Wall, and view important religious sites around the world!

Thanks to Northshire Bookstore, students at Poestenkill Elementary, Miller Hill-Sand Lake Elementary, and West Sand Lake Elementary Schools enjoyed an in-person visit from author Jessie Janowitz. Ms. Janowitz discussed how an author hooks a reader by exploring different elements of storytelling.

The AMS Kiwanis Builders Club would like to say thank you to the Averill Park CSD community for donating MANY food items for its food drive and 346 pairs of socks for AMS Socktober to benefit the Albany VA!

Congratulations to all nine of our varsity teams for being named NYSPHSAA Scholar-Athlete teams for the 2024-25 fall season! Way to go, student-athletes!

#WinnersInThe3Cs

#AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

Our students at Miller Hill-Sand Lake Elementary School enjoyed going to school on Nov. 13, 2024 for Crazy Hair/Wacky Hat Day! Even Principal Denis Sibson joined in on the fun!

Superintendent Dr. James Franchini stopped by WSL to read a Thanksgiving story to Kindergartners!

The APHS Angler Club and Environmental Science classes recently toured the Warren County Fish Hatchery! Students learned about how the fish are obtained as eggs, incubated, hatched, and transferred to grow in their spring-fed raceways.

It's safe to say our students at PES LOVE their school lunches! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

Recently, several colleges and APHS alumni spoke to APHS students about careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics!

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Congratulations to the October 2024 PES Proud recipients for following the three PES pillars: Be Safe, Be Kind and Be Respectful!

WSL K-Kids enjoyed a visit from 1st grade teacher Laura Zalucky, who presented on the work that the Stars For Our Troops Organization does!

Susan Wells, the founder of Stars For Our Troops, has visited our WSL K-Kids in prior years about the organization. Susan's group recycles flags, made in the USA, by cutting out the stars and packaging them with a poem for Veterans. Our K-Kids assembled approximately 500 packages of individual stars with poems. Additionally, students made thank you cards for Veterans, as their service project.

Our K-Kids were joined by Sand Lake Kiwanis member Pat Lane and several teachers for the project.

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Through the generosity of the Averill Park Education Foundation (APEF), our three elementary schools´ 4th grade classes hosted a Native American cultural education program delivered by Perry Ground, Traditional Master Storyteller and Cultural Educator, as an Artist in Residence!

Perry Ground is a Turtle Clan member of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Perry has been a storyteller and educator for over 25 years and enjoys working with students of all ages to teach about the history and culture of native peoples. His programs include information that meets the expectations of the New York State ELA and Social Studies Curriculum. Students learned from Mr. Ground about life in a longhouse village through artifacts. Additionally, he told traditional stories that have been told for years through "stories from the people of the longhouse". The students especially enjoyed playing "beaver pelts for beads – a colonial trade simulation game".

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Mr. David Linden-Darrow and his wife, Mrs. Robin Linden-Darrow, both seasoned West Sand Lake retired favorites, came back to West Sand Lake Elementary School to visit our third grade classes! Mr. Linden-Darrow was a 5th grade science teacher here are WSL for a bit of time before he retired. He is a beloved teacher, as many students still talk about him. He and Mrs. Linden-Darrow came to teach us all about Milkweed and the life cycle of the seed.

Click here to check out awesome takes on turkeys in disguise as a creative writing exercise by Mrs. Guyer's 3rd graders at WSL!

AMS math classes participated in a teambuilding activity where they built towers out of spaghetti, marshmallows, string and tape! The lesson focused on learning from mistakes and developing a growth mindset.

More photos: https://www.averillpark.k12.ny.us/2024/11/13/ams-math-classes-focus-on-teamwork/

Students in Mr. Kozlowski's Fundamentals of Construction class at APHS recently tested their cardboard boats at the Sand Lake Town Beach on Reichards Lake. Students were tasked with designing a boat, using both mechanical drafting and computer-aided design techniques, that met various parameters. Students could use cardboard, one roll of duct tape, hot glue, and two board feet of lumber to build their boats. The boats needed a name, to be able to hold an average-sized ninth grader, and to stay floating for five minutes with 60 pounds of weight. All boats met the challenge, and one boat "the floating chair" didn't take on any water at all!

Current and former WSL K-Kid members worked alongside members of Girl Scout Troop 1727 to rake leaves on Veterans Day in support of local veterans. The Town of East Greenbush's annual Veteran's Day raking event has been a yearly tradition for several Averill Park students and families, and this year proved to be another fun-filled day. Thank you to all the families who came out to help!

Ms. Dorazio was the lucky winner of the big raffle prize of having the Superintendent, Dr. James Franchini, cover class at the recent AP Transforms 2024 professional development event!

While Ms. Dorazio had a well-deserved period off, the students had a great time getting to know Dr. Franchini and enjoying a game of kickball!

Check out the offerings from AP Community Education.

Learn more here.

The PES K-Kids hosted a very successful Thanksgiving food drive and filled over 22 boxes of food! The K-Kids created Thanksgiving cards to distribute with the food items to families in need. Students also colored Thanksgiving placemats and pictures that will be distributed at the VA Hospital.

The K-Kids have developed wonderful bulletin boards the past two months. This month, students came up with a patriotic turkey to recognize veterans while also celebrating all of the things we have to be thankful for!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Cronin and Drew Canaday on being named the Warriors of the Week for the week of Nov. 18, 2024!

Elizabeth - Placed 48th out of 121 runners in a time of 20:05.3 at the NYSPHSAA Class B Championships.

Drew - Rushed for 98 yards on 14 carries and 2 TD's to help AP defeat Burnt Hills 20-6 for the Section 2 Class A championship.

#WinnersInThe3Cs

Mrs. Guyer's 3rd grade students celebrated the 50th day of school in fun fashion, by dressing up like the 1950's sock hop!

From Nov. 25-Dec. 16, 2024, the AMS Builder Club will be collecting winter clothing to be donated to those in need. Hats, scarves, mittens, etc. will be greatly appreciated! A donation box can be found outside the AMS main office!

SL@AMS (Service Learning at AMS) will be hosting a cookie gram fundraiser throughout the month of December! Cookie grams are a nice gesture to send to your child, a student or staff member with a positive message attached before the holiday break! Parents or guardians can purchase cookie grams for $1 at any of the holiday concerts before they start (Dec. 5, 2024 and Dec. 11, 2024). If you are not attending a concert but are interested in purchasing, please reach out to Katelyn Baker at Bakerk@apcsd.org. Students can purchase them for their peers or teachers during their lunch period from Dec. 5-13, 2024! All proceeds go to the AMS Food Pantry.

The Transformation Project with Nopiates Committee, Arts Letters & Numbers, Sand Lake Center for the Arts, and local artists aims to raise awareness and support for substance use disorder through artistic expression. Advanced registration is necessary due to limited space. All workshops are free!

Please visit https://www.artslettersandnumbers.com/transformation-project and/or scan the QR code for more information!

Have something you would like to see covered on the website/social media? Email our Communications Technician at crosiera@apcsd.org.

Website: averillpark.k12.ny.us
Location: 146 Gettle Road, Averill Park, NY, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AverillParkCentralSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @AverillParkCSD