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Albany, NY 12207
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Albany Middle School Students Play to Win

ABOVE: North Albany Academy winning team member Sa'adah Garbey with LEGO trophy. 

On Saturday, December 3, 2005 students from Philip Livingston Magnet Academy, Stephen & Harriet Myers Middle School and North Albany Academy played to win in the FIRST LEGO League robotics tournament, "the Ocean Odyssey Challenge," at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The tournament was sponsored by LEGO, RPI and GE and was supported by nearly 100 GE volunteers and RPI students and staff. Albany students competed with 16 teams from across the Capital Region. North Albany Academy's team took home first prize in Robot Design. Myers Middle School students took third in the same category. The Livingston student team took home first place for Performance. All of the winning teams received LEGO trophies. To complete the Ocean Odyssey Challenge, student teams build and program a LEGO robot that addresses the study and protection of the health, biodiversity, and productivity of oceans.

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The City School District of Albany serves more than 9,000 students in 19 elementary, middle and high schools. The district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students in addition to neighborhood schools. The district is more than halfway through its comprehensive facilities project to newly build and/or renovate nearly all of its elementary and middle schools. The ultimate goal of the facilities project is to provide schools with the resources necessary to help students succeed in the 21st Century.