SARATOGA SPRINGS — After 30 years, the Academy for Lifelong Learning has left its host and sponsor Empire State College. SUNY ESC and the ESC Foundation Board recently voted to dissolve the relationship as of Dec. 31, 2022.
The Academy is now incorporated as Academy for Lifelong Learning Saratoga Region, Inc. and has ventured out as its own nonprofit organization, fulfilling the vision of being the premier non-credit adult learning center in Saratoga and surrounding counties through inclusive educational and social opportunities that enhance the lives of more and more adults as they age.
The Academy continues its mission of providing lifelong learning for adult learners in the Saratoga Region and beyond. Look for the Academy’s winter course information on the new website at www.allsaratoga.org. Courses start this week.
Check back for information on upcoming spring courses in March for noncredit classes starting mid-April. The Academy is currently looking for community classroom space to hold some of its spring courses.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Public Library (BSPL), The Friends of the Ballston Spa Public Library, and the BSPL Board of Trustees, announced they have received a $100,000 award from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust, to support a new reading room addition as part of the library’s master plan.
The project will bolster the Library’s public spaces and programming to better serve the public, according to a statement issued by the library, and is expected to result in an increase in the number of public programs offered and in the number of programs hosted at the library by partner groups.
The Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust was established to benefit nonprofit scientific, medical, educational, cultural, religious, and charitable organizations by funding projects and programs in memory of the Trust’s founder, Alfred Z. Solomon.
Photo courtesy of Schuylerville Central School District.
SCHUYLERVILLE —The Albany FireWolves Lacrosse Club recently spent three days at Schuylerville Elementary School, helping to introduce the game of lacrosse to students in grades 3-5.
The FireWolves are members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League, and plays its home games at MVP Arena in Albany. The team’s volunteer initiative, “Part of the Pack,” is a program that provides opportunities for area schools or lacrosse clubs to work with the FireWolves on learning the basics of the sport, enhance skill development, and interact with professional players in a casual atmosphere.
Students in grades 3-5 physical education classes with teachers Morgan Cornell, Julianne Torres, and John Wilson all participated in the ‘Part of the Pack’ experience.
Schuylerville families have also been invited to the team’s home game against the Toronto Rock on March 25. Tickets are available for district families at a discounted cost of $15. Students will also join the team on the field for player introductions and the National Anthem.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs City School District has opened kindergarten registration for the 2023-24 school year. All student registration is done online through the SchoolTool Portal.
Please submit online registration during your corresponding time frame based on what letter your last name starts with. Please note that building assignments ARE NOT determined on a first come, first served basis.
• A – C: Jan. 16- Feb. 5
• D – H: Feb. 6- Feb. 26
• I – M: Feb. 27- March 19
• N – S: March 20- April 9
• T – Z: April 10- April 30
Once you have completed the SchoolTool registration and uploaded all required documents, click on submit and the information will be sent to the Registrar’s office for review. Please note that your child’s registration will not be considered complete unless we have received all required documents. Visit the student registration page for information.
Please note that if your child was previously registered for Pre-School Special Education services, Head Start, the UPK program, or, if you previously submitted the online census form, you must still submit the kindergarten registration forms.
The District will conduct in-person screening during the first week of June. Dates and times will be announced at a later date. A Virtual Kindergarten Information Night has been scheduled as a WebEx on Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. A WebEx link will be shared prior to Jan. 12.
If you have any questions regarding the necessary documents, a problem accessing the online registration forms, or if you have a neighbor or friend who has not received registration information, please contact the Registrar’s Office at 518-583-4789.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs City School District is seeking community input on candidates for the eighth annual Hall of Distinction. The Saratoga Springs City School District Hall of Distinction provides an opportunity to honor and celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the graduates of the school district.
The program was designed to instill in students the concepts of achievement and excellence, with the Hall of Distinction Inductees serving as exceptional role models. Their personal accomplishments, either to their individual fields of endeavor or to the broader community, exemplify what SSCSD students may attain through initiative and commitment.
Potential candidates must have graduated from Saratoga Springs High School at least ten years ago and must exemplify our District’s educational philosophy through an outstanding social contribution to the broader community by making a difference in the lives of others; and/or outstanding professional contribution to, or achievement in, their field of endeavor.
A committee composed of community members, former and current high school administrators, and former and current high school teachers will review the nominations and select the honorees. Individuals will be recognized in the spring at Saratoga Springs High School. The exact date and time have not been determined yet.
Nominations are accepted through the online Hall of Distinction Form, available on the district’s website. All recommendation/application forms must be submitted by Jan. 31.
SCHUYLERVILLE — National Milk Day is observed every January 11th, celebrating the first home delivery of milk inside sterilized glass bottles sealed with waxed paper back in 1878. This year, King Brothers Dairy of Schuylerville has made its own special delivery to celebrate the day.
Along with mascot Queenie, the Schuylerville-based dairy delivered over 4,000 bottles of their award-winning milk to schools in the Saratoga Springs City School District.
“Queenie greeted students getting off the bus,” said Jan King, one of two King brothers. “She brought 4,000 bottles of chocolate milk and 200 bottles of 2% milk for the kids.”
Last autumn, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets awarded King Brothers Dairy gold in the Fluid Milk category for Small Processors and gold in the Chocolate Milk category for dairies of all sizes at the New York State Fair.
“This has been a great opportunity for King Brothers Dairy,” Jan said. “It’s the first time we have ever been able to partner with a school district to have an event like this. The team loved seeing how excited the students were to receive the milk. And the cafeteria staff had just as much fun!”
The milk was provided at no cost to the students. In addition, school cafeteria staff wore custom “Legen-Dairy” t-shirts to honor King Brothers Dairy and National Milk Day 2023.
Sarah Zdobnikow of the King Brothers Dairy team also participated in the celebration.
“It’s so rewarding to see the kids eager to get one of our bottles of milk,” she said. “Many students already know and love us, while for others, this was their first time trying us out. One of my favorite moments was when a student thanked me as they walked by with their milk, adding ‘this chocolate milk is so good!’”
Eric Bush, the School Lunch Director for the Saratoga Springs City School District, was happy to see how the students reacted to the event.
“Everyone, from leadership and teachers to the students, were thrilled to have King Brothers Dairy on-site for National Milk Day,” he said. “This event was a huge success, and we would love to collaborate with the Dairy to have their milk and Queenie return to our schools for future events.”
MALTA — The Malta Sunrise Rotary Club expects to award two scholarships in 2023 to two graduating high school seniors. The first-place selected student will be awarded a one-time scholarship of $1,000. Additionally, a one-time $500 scholarship may be awarded to the runner-up scholarship finalist.
Applicants should demonstrate strong involvement in community service and excellence in their core curriculum education as shown by a minimum 90 high school GPA. Consideration will be given to financial need as shown by the expected family contribution on the FAFSA.
The applicants must reside in the Town of Malta, including the Village of Round Lake. This may include students enrolled at Ballston Spa High School, Shenendehowa Central Schools, any accredited private or parochial schools, and students participating in an accredited home-school program, as long as their legal residence is within the Town of Malta.
Postal addresses within the Town of Malta vary. School district officials and officials at Malta Town Hall may be able to assist you if you are uncertain about whether you qualify as a Malta resident.
The applicants should plan to attend any accredited university, college, community college or vocational/technical institute beginning in the fall of 2023.
Payment will be made directly to the student upon receipt of the award or disbursed in a manner in compliance with the student’s school district policies.
The deadline for receipt of all required application materials is February 24, 2023. Applications are available in school counseling offices and/or by inquiry to Malta Sunrise Rotary Scholarship Chair Paul Phillips: 518-584-4625 or email paulandjeanp@yahoo.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Every year, Saratoga Arts solicits high school art teachers representing schools from Saratoga, Fulton, and Montgomery counties, to submit artwork from their top three students.
The work is installed in the Main Gallery space at 320 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs for the public to see the amazing talent of local high school all-stars.
This year, Saratoga Arts encouraged submissions of both visual artwork and written artwork, with the theme Ekphrasis in mind. Looking to the quote, “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks,” said by Simonides of Ceoa, as a definition, we hope that all viewers of the exhibit will walk away questioning how visual artwork can inspire the written word, and the written word can inspire the visual.
Opening Night was Friday, Jan. 13 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition will run from Jan. 14 to Feb. 4.
Saratoga Arts is a 501c3 organization founded in 1986 by and for artists across all genres.
BALLSTON SPA —The Ballston Spa Central School District is hosting an evening program for parents focused on a personal and open discussion about depression, mental illness, and suicide; as well as how to speak about it with the youth in our school community.
The “No One Walks Alone” program will be presented by Donna Thomas and Dr. Jaime Arnoff of James’ Warriors.
Parents and interested adults are invited to attend the program on Jan. 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Ballston Spa High School Library. Light refreshments will be provided and childcare for school-age children is available (please arrive at 6:15 p.m. to register children for care in the BSHS cafeteria). BSHS students will be providing several activities for the children.
The event is scheduled to be live-streamed on the BSCSD YouTube Channel. For additional information, please visit James’ Warriors or contact Ballston Spa CSD K-12 Health Education Instructional Teacher Leader Lisa Perrone at lperrone@bscsd.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —It isn’t always easy to teach children to read. However, when there’s a dog in the equation, things can change rather quickly.
Lynn O’Rourke, the K-2 reading teacher at Lake Avenue Elementary School, has been offering “dog therapy” to second-grade students at the school for over 20 years. The program was forced to undergo a lengthy pause due to COVID-19, but O’Rourke said they are preparing to bring dogs back into the classroom.
“I just got approval for a couple dog handlers in December, right before break,” said O’Rourke. “I’m hoping by next week we can get all the permission slips in and have all the dogs start visiting the school.”
Students visit O’Rourke’s classroom and read to a therapy dog, which she said helps the students get enthusiastic about reading.
“The dogs come into my room, and then a group of students will come to my room, and they each take turns reading to the dog,” O’Rourke said. “They have time to ask questions about the dog to the dog handler.”
Students typically read to the dog for about 15 minutes and are provided a reading certificate with an image of the dog.
“It’s a great program just for kids to feel good about their reading, and create confidence,” said O’Rourke.
O’Rourke has been running the program for 23 years, she said, noting the program has helped increase reading participation and has “taken the stigma off” her classroom.
“Because students kind of think, ‘Well, if you have to go to Mrs. O’Rourke’s room, then you have to get help with reading’,” she said. “But now they all associate the dog with my room, so everybody wants to come to my room.”
O’Rourke said that some of her students have told her that reading to the dogs is “the best part of second grade.”
“And the kids help each other, which is nice,” said O’Rourke. “The adult doesn’t necessarily intervene with corrections, the kids help each other. It builds a nice little camaraderie with the kids.”
She also said that being in a small group “reduces stress and anxiety for the students,” offering them a comfortable place to improve their reading abilities.
Prior to COVID, O’Rourke said she had roughly eight to ten therapy dogs that would rotate in her classroom daily.
“I literally had a dog every single day in my classroom,” O’Rourke said. “Students were able to come in and read with the dogs, and they love the different certificates with the different dogs.”
Now, over two years since the last time a dog entered her room, O’Rourke is “starting fresh.”
“I don’t have any of my old dog handlers for various reasons,” said O’Rourke. “Right now, I have three dogs that have gone through the approval process. I’m always just looking for a few more if possible.”
In order for a dog to join the classroom, it must be a certified therapy dog through Therapy Dogs International and has to be approved by the Saratoga Springs City School District. Anyone interested must fill out a pair of forms, which are in turn sent to the district superintendent to be approved. To access these forms, email O’Rourke at l_orourke@saratogaschools.org.
“There’s a lot of positive impacts with the program, and it’s been pretty good over the last 20 years,” O’Rourke said.
