Eastern Rensselaer County's Community Newspaper
Families interested in nature-based, out-of-the-box education are invited to an Open House at Mountain Road School on Tuesday, February 10, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Prospective families (kids are welcome too) can enjoy a cup of tea, learn about the school, tour the classrooms and campus, and meet with teachers and students.
[Read more…] about Mountain Road School Sets Open House For February 10
by Bea Peterson
On Wednesday morning, as part of Catholic Schools Week and Animal Appreciation Day, students at St. Mary’s Academy were visited by two very different canines. The first visitor was Zoe, a beautiful German shepherd from New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, NY. [Read more…] about Dogs Visit St. Mary’s Academy
Catherine “Catt” Gagnon, of Rensselaer, a sophomore at Darrow School in New Lebanon, is now making final preparations to compete in the USA Fencing (USAF) 2015 Junior Olympic Championships to be held in Richmond, VA, February 13 to 16.
Gagnon, who has been fencing since she was 9 years old and is a member of the Beaches Saber Club of Troy, qualified for the Junior Olympics after placing 34th out of 117 competitors in the junior division at the 2014 USAF National Championships in Columbus, Ohio, last summer. She had qualified for the nationals by competing earlier in the year at a tournament held at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.
“I am very excited. This is a big opportunity for me,” said Gagnon, who has fenced at the college level with students in the RPI Fencing Club in Troy. She has also been invited to compete with the Fencing Club at SUNY Albany. The experience, she said, gave her the confidence to compete in the Olympic qualifier against opponents from across the country at varying skill levels. “I surprised myself,” she said. “I was fencing against opponents with more experience and skill, but I did pretty well.”
Gagnon has also used her fencing experience to complete an independent study program in fencing at Darrow. In addition to the Junior Olympics, she also hopes to compete in the USAF Summer Nationals to be held in San Jose, CA, June 27 to July 6.
submitted by Donna Cuddihy
St. Mary’s Academy and Immaculate Conception Parish of Hoosick Falls participated in a service project that helped homeless people living in an emergency shelter at Interfaith Partnership for the Homeless in Albany. Immaculate Conception Parish provided ingredients for a meal, and St. Mary’s Academy students prepared, served and enjoyed the meal while spending time with the shelter guests.
Darrow School invites all prospective students and families to attend one of two upcoming Open House sessions on Monday, January 19, and Monday, February 16.
Hosted by the Admissions Office, Open House events feature an opportunity to experience Darrow School. The visit will include an opportunity to learn in-class with students, an interview or information session, lunch with students and teachers, and tours of Darrow’s facilities and historic Shaker campus. Tour highlights include:
• student exhibits in Darrow’s state of the art, 12,000 square foot Joline Arts Center;
• the Samson Environmental Center and The Living Machine – a wastewater treatment facility, and
• the historic service-learning program, Hands-to-Work.
Darrow’s challenging and individually focused college preparatory curriculum features a unique combination of classroom instruction, hands-on learning and environmental consciousness. Our beautiful mountainside campus is a National Historic Landmark and provides an ideal educational setting.
Any interested families with students who will be entering grades 9 through 12 are welcome to attend the Open Houses. Darrow has a rolling admissions policy and offers mid-year enrollment on a limited basis.
To register, to request more information about Darrow or to apply online, please call 518-794-6006, email admission@darrowschool.org or visit www.darrowschool.org.
by Bea Peterson
On Thursday, December 11, members of the community had an opportunity to visit Hoosac School as students and staff celebrated the school’s 123rd Boar’s Head and Yule Log pageant. [Read more…] about Hoosac School Boar’s Head And Yule Log Celebration
Parents and children in grades pre-k through 8 are invited to an Open House at Mountain Road School on Tuesday, January 13, from 9:30 to 11:30 am. Prospective families (kids are welcome, too) can enjoy a cup of tea, learn about the school, tour the classrooms and campus and meet with teachers and students.
“Mountain Road School has been providing progressive, heartfelt education from preschool through eighth grade since 1975. We provide a comprehensive education in a compassionate setting – kind of like a one room schoolhouse for the modern age,” said Director of Outreach, Anne Undeland. “Since this Open House takes place during school hours, families can get a genuine sense of the school in action – it’s a great opportunity,” she said.
The Mountain Road School is known for its innovative, multi-aged classrooms, visionary nature based curriculum and nurturing child centered philosophy. As alumna Anna Milkowski (now a science instructor at Phillips Academy, Andover) wrote, “Mountain Road remains an experience that speaks to my identity, the place where as an energetic rural kid I ran around outside, made things and first came to enjoy school…This is an important little school.”
The Open House is also an opportunity to view Mountain Road School’s new home in the lovingly restored 1788 Hand House, situated on 20 acres of fields, woods and streams.
Mountain Road School is located at 4565 County Route 9 in New Lebanon, NY. The mailing address, which works with many GPS systems, is 4565 County Route 9, East Nassau, NY 12062.
For additional information, visit the school’s website at www.mountainroadschool.org. or contact Anne Undeland, Director of Outreach, at 518-794-8520.
submitted by Margaret Merwin, St. Mary’s Principal
The eighth grade class at St. Mary’s Academy in Hoosick Falls is sponsoring a dress down day each month of the school year with several charities in and around the Town of Hoosick receiving the proceeds. [Read more…] about St. Mary’s Academy 8th Grade Community Service Project
Terri Burdick, Scholarship Chair of Bennington Elks 567, announced that the Elks are offering scholarships to area high school seniors. The “Most Valuable Student Scholarship” applications are now available but can only be obtained online. The deadline for returning these completed applications to the Bennington Elks or your high school guidance office is December 5, so now is the time to act!
These scholarships are open to any U.S. high school senior and the online forms are also used to judge local scholarships given by the Elks. Don’t delay! Go to www.elks.org/ENF/scholars and begin the process. Deadlines are critical.
Once the application has been downloaded, return the completed applications as soon as possible!
Students may also obtain information about the Legacy Awards (for children and grandchildren of Elks members) and the emergency grants (for children of deceased or totally disabled Elks).
