Oct. 24, 2025

Collage of photos: students at Homecoming with Falcon mascot, JROTC students at Homecoming with flags, Anna Ustin and seniors on girls' soccer team

Important update: water bottles

For the safety and well-being of our students, teachers and staff, starting on Monday, Nov. 3, students will not be allowed to bring metal water bottles or thermoses to school or to after-school activities. This includes, but is not limited to, Owala, Hydroflask, Yeti and Stanley metal drinkware containers.

Upon request, students can receive a reusable water bottle, courtesy of the Albany Booster Club.  

Please be sure to talk with your student at home about this and plan accordingly. 

Per our City School District of Albany Wellness Policy, students will be permitted to carry transparent, plastic, sealable water bottles to support consistent access to fresh drinking water throughout the day.  


Magnificent masons

Students from Art Erbe's Construction Technology II and Construction Technology III classes enjoyed a fascinating, hands-on job shadow experience at Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local Union #2 Training Hall on Wednesday! Check out this news story about their experience and photos of them working alongside masons, learning techniques for properly mixing and applying mortar with trowels while laying both brick and cement blocks.


Six Falcons to perform at the Area All-State Music Festival

Six brilliant Albany High School musicians have been selected to participate in the Area All-State Music Festival of the New York State Music Association (NYSSMA) on Nov. 22 at Proctors Theatre!

Margaret Ardrey, Celine Casasola and Anna Ustin will perform in the mixed chorus, Eli Stanwicks and Cameron Volk will perform in the symphonic band and Aidan Carlson will perform in the symphony orchestra.

Congratulations to each of these dedicated students for this outstanding accomplishment! Check out this news story to learn more!


Spectacular sports

  • On Oct. 18, our girls’ tennis team had a strong performance in the Section 2 tournament hosted at Shenendehowa. In the singles bracket, the highlight of the competition for our Falcons goes to Azia Barao for her huge second round win vs. Niskayuna. A shout out to our number one doubles team of Audrey VanAmburg and Rikame Ayahao who took a first-round win 10-1 vs. Maple Hill in the doubles bracket.

  • Congratulations to our unified bocce team for their 5-4 win over Colonie on Wednesday! Check out this news story to read about their upcoming tournament!

  • On Thursday afternoon, our boys' soccer team faced off against Shenendehowa in their quarterfinal game. It was a thrilling competition, with our Falcons ultimately succumbing to Shen in overtime, 2-1. We are proud of our team for giving it their all on the field at yesterday's quarterfinal and throughout the season.

  • Winter sports season is right around the corner! Read about the registration process in this news story.

October Spirit Week

Student Government has queued up a festive and fun October Spirit Week, which will take place Monday, Oct. 27–Friday, Oct. 31. Check out this graphic with all the daily themes!


Parent Student Teacher Association Meeting on Oct. 28

Parents and students, your voices matter! Join us for our Parent Student Teacher Association Meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m.! Visit our calendar event to learn more.


Parent University: Teletherapy Info Session on Oct. 29

Our district is committed to supporting the well-being of our students and supporting their mental health. With that in mind, we’ve partnered with Cartwheel Health Services to provide teletherapy, family check-ins and guidance, and psychiatric care – all with licensed clinicians and no waitlists. 

Come to our Parent University at Albany High on Oct. 29 from 6-7 p.m. to learn more and check out this news story with helpful details about this initiative! 


FAFSA FRIDAY: Friday, Oct. 31

Our first FAFSA Friday of the school year is on Oct. 31 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Students and families must book an appointment to participate. Check out this news story with details on how to prepare for your session and how to book an appointment.

Our next FAFSA Help Session event is on Thursday, Nov. 6 from 3-6 p.m. Visit our calendar for more details!


School photos are coming soon!

Students in grades 9-11 will have their photo taken during gym class on one of the following dates: Monday, Nov. 3-Thursday, Nov. 6. (Link below includes the schedule so students and families can determine the day and class period for their school photo session!)

Students in grade 12 are reminded to book their senior photo session. Senior photos will be offered Monday, Dec. 8-Thursday, Dec. 11 and Monday, Dec. 15-Friday, Dec. 19.

Check out all the important details for school photo days in this news story!


Creating a future-ready Albany

On Oct. 24, faculty and staff from the City School District of Albany gathered at Albany High to envision a future-ready Albany. It was wonderful welcoming so many district leaders and educators to our building to share the incredible career and technical education learning spaces and programming we have to offer. Check out this news story to learn more.


Register for Ski Club by Friday, Oct. 31!

We have extended the sign-up deadline for Albany High students in grades 9-12 to would like to participate in ski club for the 2025-26 school year! The final deadline for sign-up is Friday, Oct. 31. 

Paperwork / fees to turn in to Albany High:

  • For all returning and new ski club participants, the following items are due by Friday, Oct. 31 to Mr. Vacanti (room 1311):
    • Filled out and signed permission form: hard copies are available in Mr. Vacanti's room (1311) or online via this Google Document.
    • Filled out Google Form.
    • $200 bus payment (check to “Albany High School” or cash).

Online registration / fees to complete for Jiminy Peak:

  • All participants must fill out the Jiminy Peak online registration form by Friday, Oct. 31. 
    • Step 1: Visit the Jiminy Peak snow sports program landing page and enter the school username and password. The school username is 00SG-AHS and the school password is ALBANYHIGH26! (You must utilize our school's dedicated link and log in credentials so when you set up your personal username and password at checkout, your child is tagged to our Albany High ski club program in their system.)
    • Step 2: Select the items you need to purchase for your student. All participants must purchase the lift tickets. Additional options include lessons and ski/snowboard equipment rental. During checkout, you will create a personal username and log in so your purchase information is on file.

After-school tutoring at Albany High

Falcons, do you need extra help with your coursework? Join us at our after-school tutoring program, which runs Monday through Thursday from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in room 2235. If you need extra help with your classes, come join us and get some support from Albany High teachers. Hope to see you there!


Join us for Heroes Cabaret Nov. 7-9!

The Albany High Theater Ensemble is thrilled to present our fall musical Heroes Cabaret which will run Friday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 9! 

Come help us pick Albany's next superhero at this one-of-a-kind production directed by Rose Biggerstaff and stage managed by seniors Millie Casanova and Freddy Lizardo!

Show times are as follows:

  • Friday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m.

General admission tickets are $15 and student tickets are $5. 


Albany High communications

We hope you enjoyed this Albany High weekly update! As a reminder, to avoid overwhelming your inbox with lots of messages throughout the week, we curate this weekly communication on Fridays at this webpage with important updates and exciting news to keep our Falcon families "in-the-know." Feel free to bookmark this page so you always have the important details you need at hand.

We also have dedicated Albany High social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. Follow us to see lots of great photos and reels!


Exciting events coming up soon

This is a list of events coming up that we want to draw particular attention to for students and families! These are just some of the great things happening here at Albany High, and remember you can view our full calendar to see them all!

OCT
31

FAFSA Friday (10/31)

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

NOV
6

FAFSA Help Sessions (11/6)

3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

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