Berlin: Middle School/High School Hosts County-Wide Student Music Festival

Pictured is the Rensselaer County School Music Association senior chorus. Photo provided.

Berlin Middle School/High School recently hosted the Rensselaer County School Music Association (RCSMA) All-County Ensemble Festival with four musical performances composed of select ensembles from 14 school districts within the county.

This festival’s program featured an elementary chorus, a senior chorus, a jazz ensemble and a junior band. Each ensemble also featured renowned local conductors, including: Katie Gardiner, elementary chorus; Christina Pizzino-Catalano, senior chorus; Brian Carucci, jazz ensemble; and Michael Graves, junior band.

Ensembles are made up of the local districts' most outstanding and committed student musicians, with the intent that they will bring the music ensemble lessons they have learned back to their schools to positively influence their own district-wide music program.

Students enjoy working with peers from other schools and benefit from the expertise of their guest conductors.

“I really enjoyed working with our conductor Michael Graves, as well as with all the other students,” said Brett Harris, a  tenor sax player in the junior band. “He definitely pushed us to our full extent, and we worked together like a well-oiled machine.”

The RCSMA holds two ensemble festivals a year and a scholarship festival in the spring. The participating districts take turns hosting the event. According to Berlin High School Choral Director Leslie Eliashuk, hosting allows a district to showcase its facilities and gives a chance for the whole school to be involved.

“It’s good for bigger school districts to be able to come to Berlin to see what we bring to the event,” she said. “We use the entire school, from our food service to student tour guides. Even our student musicians not selected for the event participate through ensemble assistance and light operation – it’s a community effort.”

The next festival will be held Feb. 1 at Troy Enlarged City School District, featuring the county’s junior choir, elementary band, jazz choir and senior high band.

 --Jennie Grey

--Please note my new contact information below--

Education reporter
The Saratogian and The Record newspapers
20 Lake Ave.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com
Office: 518-290-3898
Work cell: 518-222-2109

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Curt Breneman Named Dean of Science

 


Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently announced the appointment of Curt Breneman as dean of the School of Science, effective Jan. 1, 2015. He was appointed acting dean of the School of Science in June 2014.

Before that, Breneman has served as head of the university’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology since 2010.

“Dr. Breneman has a distinguished record of interdisciplinary research, entrepreneurial thought and educational leadership,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “I am delighted to make this appointment.  He has passion for all aspects of science and technology that will create a heightened level of energy and collaboration at Rensselaer and the School of Science. His contributions and leadership will further our vision of the New Polytechnic, which is enabled by the Rensselaer Plan 2024.”

Breneman said, “It’s an exciting time for the Rensselaer School of Science, and I’m thrilled to lead our talented faculty, staff and students in changing the world through innovation and exploration. We are a dedicated and diverse community of scholars committed to achieving the full promise of Rensselaer by reaching across boundaries to apply science to the common purposes of life.”

Breneman’s research is in the field of computational chemistry and predictive cheminformatics, with emphasis on both computational drug discovery methodology and materials informatics methods. His materials informatics work led to his appointment as an adviser to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy/National Institute of Standards in Technology Materials Genome Initiative program.

He joined the School of Science at Rensselaer in 1989, was promoted to associate professor in 1996 and became a full professor in 2002. He was named acting head of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in 2010, and appointed as department head in 2012.

Breneman has led the Rensselaer Exploratory Center for Cheminformatics Research during the past nine years. He is the author of more than 100 journal articles, 16 book chapters and numerous refereed conference proceedings, and holds a patent on his molecular property descriptor technology (PEST), which has been licensed by several major pharmaceutical companies. His RS-Predictor drug metabolism method is currently in use across the drug discovery industry, and his YAMS materials informatics software has been supported by the Office of Naval Research and licensed by a major aerospace company. Breneman’s CHELPG atomic charge algorithm was used to parameterize several major molecular force fields and is an integral part of the Gaussian series of quantum mechanical software, which is used by thousands of universities and companies worldwide. 

Breneman is a fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and served the ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry as both treasurer and fundraiser for 10 years, and then as chair of the division in 2010.

Breneman earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California at Los Angeles and a doctoral degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara for his work in physical organic chemistry. Immediately prior to joining Rensselaer, he performed postdoctoral research at Yale University in the field of theoretical and computational chemistry.

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. For nearly two centuries, the Institute has been a driving force behind breakthroughs in engineering and science in virtually every arena – from transportation and infrastructure to business, medicine, outer space and cyberspace. As it approaches its bicentennial anniversary, the institute continues to define the New Polytechnic, a fresh paradigm for teaching, learning and research that applies advanced technologies and knowledge to empower fresh collaborations across disciplines, sectors and regions to address large, multifaceted global challenges.

Today, more than 1,350 undergraduate students and 360 graduate students are enrolled in the School of Science at Rensselaer. The School of Science’s seven academic departments conduct interdisciplinary

research in data analytics and predictive modeling; water, energy, resilience and sustainability; computational science, security and simulation; biomedical science and applications; and materials at the nanoscale.

The School of Science is one of five schools at Rensselaer, through which students at all levels are engaged in and researching a wide array of critical 21st century challenges. In addition to Science, the university offers more than 145 programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels in the schools of Engineering; Architecture; Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; and the Lally School of Management; as well as an interdisciplinary degree in Information Technology.

--Jennie Grey

--Please note my new contact information below--

Education reporter
The Saratogian and The Record newspapers
20 Lake Ave.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com
Office: 518-290-3898 
Work cell: 518-222-2109

 

Ballston Spa: Wood Road Elementary Students Donate Thanksgiving Baskets

The annual Wood Road Elementary School Turkey Shoot was held recently for students and families. People played a variety of basketball contests and ended with a parent/staff “knockout.” Free ice cream cone coupons were provided by Stewart's Shops to the winners. The event was organized by physical education instructor Kevin Dayton and the Wood Road staff. They collected enough food to provide 14 families with a complete Thanksgiving dinner, including a turkey donated by Hannaford. More than 60 kids from grades K-5 and about 50 parents participated in this annual event.
 

 

Wood Road Elementary School Principal Dave Blanchard takes a shot at the basket with the fifth-graders as they participate in the annual Wood Road Turkey Shoot. Photo provided.

--Jennie Grey

--Please note my new contact information below--

Education reporter
The Saratogian and The Record newspapers
20 Lake Ave.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com
Office: 518-290-3898
Work cell: 518-222-2109

Saratoga: Waldorf High School Raises Money and Food for Backstretch Workers

L-R: Alex Mercier, Cynthia Wright, Abby Karp, Emily O'Donnell, Dani Armstrong, Lilah DuBoff, Christian McMillan, Frank and June McCleneghen The Waldorf High School has only 47 students, but they just donated more than $600 and more than 150 food items to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America to help benefit backstretch workers in Saratoga Springs. The team leading the fundraiser had hoped to be able to help three children of backstretch workers by raising $225. The extra funds will let the students help a fourth child, as well as provide the Race Track Chaplaincy of America with gift cards to help other families now and throughout the year. Lead by a group of six students, the group reached out to parents, community members and younger students, as well as their classmates, to get the entire school community involved. "The size of our school lets everyone take a big part in something -- giving back," said Christian McMillan, Class of 2015. Other students on the leadership team were Alex Mercier, Class of 2017; Abby Karp, Class of 2016; Emily O'Donnell, Class of 2016; Dani Armstrong, Class of 2018; and Lilah DuBoff, Class of 2018. The annual fundraiser was the most successful in all the time the students have been supporting the backstretch workers. The student leaders were very aware of their privilege, especially this time of year. McMillan said, "We're all getting together with our families and having so much food at this time of year, and there are families out there struggling to get food on the table. The team wanted to make this the greatest year ever and really support these families as best we could." The donations were made to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America - New York Chapter. Race Track Chaplaincy Field Director June McCleneghen said, "Race Track Chaplaincy is not just in Saratoga during racing or training season, but is involved year 'round with backstretch workers and their families who stay in the Saratoga area." The school's leadership team hopes this drive inspires the Waldorf community to continue to support the backstretch workers throughout the year. "We want people to continue to donate," McMillan said. "Now that they have more information about these people and the important role they play in our community and our economy, we hope our community continues the giving-back process." McCleneghen was amazed by the response from the school. "School staff, students and families are a true blessing to our ministry," she said. --Jennie Grey --Please note my new contact information below-- Education reporter The Saratogian and The Record newspapers 20 Lake Ave. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com Office: 518-290-3898 Work cell: 518-222-2109

Ballston Spa: Financial Aid Awareness Evening Held

 

The Ballston Spa Central School District Guidance Department hosted a financial aid awareness evening at the Ballston Spa High School Nov. 6. Students in the 11^th and 12^th grades, and their parents/guardians  attended the helpful evening for the latest information on the financial aid process. The event included a presentation from Diane Corbett, director of financial aid at the New York State University at Albany. 

Additional information is available on the guidance section of the district website at www.bscsd.org, or call 884-7150, ext. 236.



--Jennie Grey


--Please note my new contact information below--

Education reporter
The Saratogian and The Record newspapers
20 Lake Ave.
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com
Office: 518-290-3898Work cell: 518-222-2109

Hudson Valley Community College: Annual Open House Held

Hudson Valley Community College held its annual open house Nov. 10, with more than 1,000 individuals attending at 80 Vandenburgh Ave. in Troy. Prospective students interested in full-time or part-time coursework came to the event showcasing the college’s 75+ academic programs and wide array of student services. Lunch and tours of the campus were also provided. Admissions, financial aid and student support service administrators were present, as well as department chairs, faculty and advisors of the college’s four academic divisions: business, engineering and industrial technologies, health sciences, and liberal arts and sciences. Students can earn associate degrees and certifications in those four schools. Founded in 1953, Hudson Valley Community College is one of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system. Hudson Valley has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, and is known as a leader in distance learning initiatives and worker retraining.The college has 75,000 alumni. --Jennie Grey --Please note my new contact information below-- Education reporter The Saratogian and The Record newspapers 20 Lake Ave. Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com Office: 518-290-3898 Work cell: 518-222-2109

Ballston Spa: Clean Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College High School Program Holds Business Breakfast

The Clean Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College High School program, a New York State Pathways in Technology Early College High School Program, hosted a Business and Education Breakfast Nov. 5 at Hudson Valley Community College’s Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies.

Area business leaders and professionals were invited for a complimentary breakfast to learn how to get involved with this innovative education model that directly connects area students to workforce experience. There was an opportunity to hear from current business partners about how they are involved and also a student project exhibition demonstrating firsthand the work the students are doing in the four pathways of clean energy; computer information systems, entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership, and nanotechnology/mechatronics. These interactions with the business community are not only informative, but also beneficial to the students, giving them an authentic audience to view their work and an opportunity to secure feedback.

Speakers included Mike Ladd of Cisco, a New York state education client executive; Paul W. Loomis, Gilbane Building Co. controller; Nicolle Monast, manager of educational initiatives at CAPCOM Federal Credit Union; and Todd Shimkus, president of Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

Launched in the 2011-2012 school year in collaboration with New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Hudson Valley Community College, the The Clean Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College High School program provides current high school students with opportunities to develop college and career-readiness skills and to pursue college coursework. The program currently enrolls 203 students from 21 school districts throughout the region.

--Jennie Grey

--Please note my new contact information below--

Education reporter

The Saratogian and The Record newspapers

20 Lake Ave.

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

jgrey@digitalfirstmedia.com

Office: 518-290-3898

Work cell: 518-222-2109