News

• Abrookin to host community dinner -- Get a gourmet meal at a great price at a Community Dinner to be hosted Wednesday by the chefs-in-training at Albany High School’s Abrookin Career and Technical Center. Students will prepare a five-course meal from scratch from appetizer to dessert under the guidance of Chefs Paul Moyer and Lisa Valentine of Abrookin. Dinner sittings begin at 5 p.m. and run every 15 minutes until the last one at 6:30 p.m. (MORE)

• Junior debates at Puerto Rican/Hispanic youth leadership assembly -- Albany High School junior Wilfred Lopez was selected to be a member of the Capital District Delegation to the 2013 Angelo Del Torto Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute held March 23-25 at the New York State Capitol. Lopez was one of some 200 students chosen from throughout the state to participate in the program, which is designed to develop leadership skills in Latino and Hispanic youth. The weekend included networking activities, career-building workshops and intensive training on the state legislative process. Lopez also debated in a mock legislative session held in the state Assembly chamber.

• Senior earns Model UN award -- Albany High School senior Christopher Bangert-Drowns earned an award of outstanding recognition at a recent Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C. Bangert-Drowns was a delegate from Oman in the League of Arab State Committee at the Model UN, held March 21-24 at George Washington University. Some 2,000 students from the United States and around the world participated in the conference.

• Winter varsity teams get scholar-athlete kudos -- Four winter varsity teams at Albany High School have received scholar-athlete recognition from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The recognition is given to teams with a composite grade-point average of 90 or greater. Boys' teams named are swimming and diving and indoor track. Girls' teams named are bowling and basketball. NYSPHSAA designates a predetermined number of athletes from each team who have their GPAs used to calculate the team average. (MORE)

• Student artwork included in regional exhibit -- Two photos and a sculpture by Albany High School students have been accepted for review in the 14th Annual High School Regional Juried Art Exhbition and will be on display at a local gallery through the end of April. The exhibition, which opens March 26 at Albany Center Gallery, will feature the work of more than 100 high school students from 21 Capital Region schools. (MORE)

• Abrookin student chef excels at competition -- Senior Jessica Penny’s finesse with food earned her a third-place medal Wednesday at a regional SkillsUSA competition and a berth at the upcoming state-level competition. SkillsUSA is a national organization for career and technical students that hosts competitions in a variety of fields. Students are given hands-on assignments in their chosen field and a deadline in which to complete them. Local business and industry leaders oversee and evaluate the students' work. (MORE)

• Theatre Ensemble to present West Side Story -- Albany High School’s award-winning Theatre Ensemble will present four performances of West Side Story, the enduring musical that brings Romeo and Juliet to the sidewalks of 1950s New York City. The play opens with a 7 p.m. performance on Thursday, April 18. Additional performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, with a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 21. (MORE)

• Section II champs again! -- Dominating from start to finish, Albany High's girls' basketball team on March 4 brought home the school's first Section II championship in 15 years, beating Bethlehem 64-47 at the Times Union Center. The Big 10-champion Lady Falcons (20-1) led 20-13 after the first quarter and 31-20 at halftime. After the opening minutes of the third quarter, the lead never dropped below 10 as the Lady Falcons, ranked No. 9 in the state, thrilled a loud and proud Albany High contingent urging them one step further than a year ago. (MORE)

• Senior gets another top pianist award -- Albany High School senior Christopher Bangert-Drowns once again has won a master award for a piano performance -- this time with a Tchaikovsky piece. Bangert-Drowns recently took first place at the master level in the New Russia Cultural Center’s 2013 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, one of several events at the Albany-based center’s month-long Russian Winter Festival that ended March 2.  (MORE)

• Albany High students learn life-saving CPR skills -- More than 600 Albany High School students learned the life-saving skill of hands-only CPR Jan. 28-29 thanks to a partnership with the City of Albany, the Albany Fire Department and the American Heart Association. Visit our District News section to read more.

• Car project a smashing good lesson -- The Times Union and FOX/Ch. 23 reported Jan. 15-16 about the work that students at Albany High's Abrookin Career and Technical Center did painting a "crush car" for a monster-truck rally at the Times Union Center.

• Willingham-Hurst top pick for all-star team -- Albany High School senior Emia Willingham-Hurst is the top selection on the WNYT/Ch. 13 Girls' High School All-Star Basketball team for the 2012-13 season. Check out her feature story Jan. 10.

• Albany High breaks blood donation record -- Once again, Albany High School students and staff have donated life-saving blood in record amounts. On Jan. 10, the American Red Cross Northeastern New York Region collected 95 pints of blood at the school, the most ever given in a single drive. Those pints could save up to 363 lives, according to the Red Cross. Another first for the Albany High blood drive: Principal Cecily Wilson rolled up her sleeve to donate for the first time. (MORE)

• Student film earns 'best screenplay' award -- A film project by two Albany High School students has been named "best screenplay" in the 50-Hour Film Contest. Min Dum Drøm is the title of the short film by senior Dennis Dominguez and sophomore Jose Vega, students in teacher Mark Sickler's video production class. Dominguez directed the film and Vega created the music. Dominguez also appeared in the film. (MORE)

• Channel One News, a daily news program for teens broadcast via sattellite to 6 million middle and high school students in the United States, featured Albany High School's "NanoHigh" partnership with the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The NanoHigh program was the first of its kind at an American public high school when it debuted at Albany High in 2007. CBS produced the segment. 

• Bennett, Vasquez lead Albany High chess team to title -- Tristan Bennett and Hermon Vasquez took first place in their respective categories Dec. 8 to lead the Albany High School chess team to victory in the Right Move Chess Tournament in Schenectady. Albany High won 14 of a possible 16 points to win the event for the first time in three years. Bennett went 4-0 to capture the championship in the highest-ranked "Kings" section and Vasquez also went 4-0 to win first place in the "Knights" section. Brock Leno and Zach Benson each had three wins and placed second and third, respectively, in the "Knights" section and Brandon Bethea had two wins and placed fourth in the "Knights" section. All Albany High varsity chess players are rated with the United States Chess Federation and maintain their rankings with regular chess coaching and competetive tournament play. The Chess Club meets every Thursday after school in the Discovery cafeteria and chess coaching is available on Mondays after school in the Innovation Academy office.

• Albany High musicians among best in the state -- Two Albany High School seniors recently performed in ensembles composed of top music students throughout New York State. Justin Dimase was one of only two alto saxophone players selected to participate in the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Conference All-State Jazz Ensemble, which performed Dec. 1 in Rochester.  June Criscione performed in her second Conference All-State String Ensemble, this time as first violin, sixth chair. The String Ensemble also performed Dec. 1. Another senior, Hillel Adler, was selected to perform in the Conference All-State Choir but could not attend last weekend's rehearsals and concert because of family commitments. (MORE)

• Varsity teams earn scholar-athlete kudos -- Six fall varsity teams at Albany High School have received scholar-athlete recognition from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. The award is given to teams with a composite grade-point average of 90 or greater. Girls' teams named are soccer, swimming, tennis, cross country and volleyball. The boys' team named is cross country. (MORE) 

• Lady Falcons cruise to a 4-0 start -- As Yogi Berra might say, it has been déjà vu all over again for the Albany High School girls’ basketball team to start the 2012-13 season. (MORE)

• Germano competes in Nike nationals -- Albany High School senior Philo Germano competed in the Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon on Dec. 1. Germano, the top area qualifer at the Nov. 24 Nike regional meet and the Section II champion this fall, finished 82nd out of 196 runners in the national event in Portland. Visit our Athletics section to read more about Germano's outstanding season. 

• Senior wins essay contest on democracy -- Albany High School senior Christopher Bangert-Drowns has won a “Voice of Democracy” audio-essay contest sponsored by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars.(MORE) 

• Germano wins Section II, makes history -- Senior Philo Germano's win at the Nov. 2 Section II cross country championships was one for the Albany High School history books. Germano is the first Albany High student to capture a Section II cross country title. He ran the 3.04-mile course at Saratoga Spa State Park in a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 18.04 seconds -- almost three seconds faster than his closest competitor. (MORE)

• Senior stellar on many fronts -- When Albany High School senior June Criscione took the ACT exam last spring, she didn’t think it went well. She got a perfect score. “Obviously I did better than I thought,” she said. “My classes must have prepared me well.” (MORE)

• Bangert-Drowns wins top pianist award -- Albany High senior Christopher Bangert-Drowns recently won the master award at the 11th annual Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition at Blessed Virgin Mary of Częstochowa Church in Latham. The regional competition is held each year and features top local student pianists competing at three levels: novice, apprentice and master.  This is Bangert-Drowns’ second victory at the Chopin competition; he won the apprentice award in 2007.He received a $1,000 savings bond and performed at Sept. 16 concert at the church, where he played Scherzo in C Sharp Minor and Etude Op. 25 No. 12.

• Seniors Adler, Criscione named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists -- Albany High School seniors Hillel Adler and June Criscione have been named semifinalists in the competition for prestigious National Merit Scholarships, ranking them among the top students in the United States. Visit our District News section to read more.

• Albany High alumna Cecily Wilson named interim principal at her alma mater -- Cecily L. Wilson, an Albany High School graduate who returned from an Ivy League education to teach in her hometown, has been named the interim principal at her alma mater, Superintendent Raymond Colucciello, Ed.D., announced June 25. (MORE) 

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