AP Highlights

Pep Rally 2024 at APHS was a blast for students in grades 9-12!

Click here for more pictures!

Click here to check out the 2024 AP Magazine!

Congratulations to the 61 newest additions to the APHS Chapter of the National Honor Society, who were inducted on Oct. 24, 2024!

On the latest episode of the Every Student Every Day Podcast, Superintendent Dr. James Franchini speaks with Averill Park Education Foundation (APEF) President Tara Lindheimer, 2024 APEF Community Award recipient and Sand Lake Merchant owner Amanda Goyer and Miller Hill-Sand Lake Elementary School Principal and 2024 APEF Educator Award recipient Denis Sibson about the APEF Gala on Nov. 15, 2024 at the Old Daley on Crooked Lake, their definitions of community and next steps for the APEF. All of the episodes are available here or wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

A spooky good time was had at AMS for Halloween 2024! Click here for more photos!

Ms. Rees' APHS students had fun outside tracking the velocity and distance traveled of their pumpkins after being launched from their homemade catapults! Click here for more photos!

The Averill Park CSD Food Services Department recently offered fresh, local apples, apple cider and cider donuts during lunch to all students, as students took the #BigAppleCrunch! Check out some more photos from Algonquin Middle School here!

The tradition continues! Principal Denis Sibson read "Big Pumpkin" to the kindergarten classes at Miller Hill!-Sand Lake Elementary School on Halloween! We look forward to this every year and the kids love it!

Elementary students and staff recently had the opportunity to meet and laugh with author Alan Katz! This in-person author visit was arranged by our friends at Northshire Books in Saratoga. Mr. Katz is known for his humorous picture books, poem collections and jokes, which students in all grade levels enjoy. He has also written for many animated and live-action shows, as well as jokes for famous comedians. Mr. Katz really loves his job of making people laugh, but he's serious about doing it without hurting anyone's feelings. His message that you can have fun and still be kind was well-received by our young students.

Grades K-5 at WSL and PES had successful Fun Runs on Oct. 18, 2024 as a result of their fundraising efforts!

Click here for more photos from both Fun Runs!

Congratulations to Stella Toomajian and Liam Fitch for being named the Warriors of the Week for the week of Oct. 28, 2024!

Stella - Helped her team defeat Burnt Hills 49-39 by winning the 50 freestyle and also being part of the winning 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay teams.

Liam - Anchored a defense that did not allow a goal in 2 sectional games.

#WinnersInThe3Cs

Several faculty and staff members of the Averill Park Central School District participated in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Washington Park in Albany on Oct. 20, 2024! It was a beautiful day to celebrate courage and hope for those whose lives have been affected by cancer. The team is proud to announce it has raised over $1,000 for the cause.

Averill Park High School held its annual career fair on Oct. 29, 2024. This year, there were over 35 vendors and representatives from colleges, military, careers, and trades programs who shared information with our students.

Career fair coordinator Mr. Kozlowski said "we had a great and diverse turnout this year. Students had many opportunities to meet experts in a variety of fields. We are eager to continue to grow this opportunity each year."

A great time was had by all. A huge thank you to all those who participated!

After learning the importance of providing food for those in need and supplying approximately 400 items for a local food pantry, West Sand Lake Elementary School students participated in a Harvest Run! Click here for more photos!

PES Principal Joshua Gela recently taught 4th graders how to play kickball!

The AMS community responded in a huge way to the food drive to support the AMS Student Food Pantry and the Sand Lake Kiwanis Holiday Food Drive! With 1,344 items collected, AMS surpassed its goal of 600 items! As a result, students were extended the privilege of wearing costumes to school on Halloween. AMS would like to thank everyone who donated to the food drive. A special thank you goes out to Ms. Schielke and her students for their efforts counting and organizing the food items!

Averill Park CSD Superintendent Dr. James Franchini and Board of Education President Samantha Hicks and Board member Lauren Jacobs were joined by APHS student Pamela Berger, a member of the Questar III BOCES New Visions: Pathways in Education program for the New York State School Board Association Convention in New York City!

SRO Nikles recently stopped by PES to talk about Halloween safety and read 2nd grade students a Halloween story! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

Mrs. Guyer's class at WSL used a white crayon to write words and then a marker to color over the white crayon as they learned about homophones!

The APHS Angler Club held their October meeting after school Oct. 30, 2024 and welcomed Crooked Lake resident Gary Favro! Mr. Favro and Angler Club member Jonathan Hale demonstrated how to fix lures and spool fishing lines on poles. Members learned the importance of maintaining their open water gear in the off season months and shared fishing stories from this past year.

WSL 4th grade students from Mrs. Nizinkirck, Mrs. Rakus, and Mrs. Strano’s homerooms created salt dough maps of New York State! Students have been learning about geography in their Social Studies classes, and they were so excited to share some of what they’ve learned about NYS geography. In this hands-on project students first had to make the dough. Then they used it to create their NYS maps. Finally, they painted their maps. A great time was had by all! Students will continue their geography lessons as they learn more about topographic maps and contour lines

Mrs. Milkiewicz facilitated a baking opportunity in her Family and Consumer Sciences class at AMS! Students worked together to measure, mix and bake apple muffins. They also made delicious fruit smoothies! Ingredients were utilized by leftover breakfast items to reduce waste and repurpose. Awesome job, Mrs. Milkiewicz and FACS class!

Check out the offerings from AP Community Education.

Learn more here.

The APHS Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club recently sponsored a table in all lunches about the use of drugs and how this affects mental and physical health of our students.

Our friends from Dyken Pond recently stopped by WSL to educate our 3rd graders about owls!

On Oct. 18, 2024, the AMS SL@AMS club hosted a Pink-Out to raise awareness and collect funds to donate to METAvivor, Inc to go towards Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer research. SL@AMS was able to fundraise over $200 by selling pink pins and bracelets! We appreciate all of our staff and students who were able to help us support this cause!

Additionally on the same day, WSL staff showed unity for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink!

AP alumni Olivia Maddalone recently shadowed her former teacher, Mrs. Guyer, at WSL as she works towards a future career in education! Welcome back, Olivia! #AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

Empowering students as change-makers! The Questar III BOCES program, Improving Schools through Student Empowerment, is dedicated to uplifting student voices and fostering inclusive school communities where empathy, teamwork, and cultural awareness thrive. Through interactive sessions and action planning, students build skills to lead discussions on diversity, equity, and inclusion—equipping them to bring positive change back to their schools. This program empowers students to engage with diverse perspectives, develop empathy, and grow as confident leaders.

AMS recently held a successful egg drop activity for students! Even Principal Robert Messia joined in on the fun!

APHS students in Construction 1 and S.A.G.E.S. collaborated recently to carve pumpkins! Construction students used computer software to create face designs while students in S.A.G.E.S. wrote letters to local businesses asking for pumpkin donations. Both classes then came together to carve the pumpkins.

Thank you to Hannaford, Callhoun's Farm Stand, and Swartz Farm for your donations!

WSL K-Kids kicked off its first meeting with its 5th graders! K-Kids were visited by WSL counselor Mrs. Beauchamp. Mrs. Beauchamp spoke with the group about those who may be receiving Thanksgiving baskets from Kiwanis. As K-Kids, they played a role by creating Thanksgiving greetings for the families who will receive the baskets. We are thankful for Mrs. Beauchamp’s visit and involving the students with this project.

A special shoutout to our members of the APO for making the Halloween Spooktacular at AMS a huge success on Oct. 25, 2024!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Cronin and Jacob Phelps for being named the Warriors of the week for the week of Oct. 21, 2024!

Elizabeth - Placed 2nd in a time of 17:30.6 at the Rensselaer County Meet.

Jacob - Rushed for 166 yards and 2 TD's and had 104 receiving yards and 2 TD catches. Also contributed an interception on defense.

#WinnersInThe3Cs

The APHS International Club ended their celebration of Hispanic Heritage month during the week of Oct. 28, 2024! The winners of the trivia contest were Rory McMillan, Peyton Catlin, and Kaleina Bowen. Each student received a "Day of the Dead" gift bag. Way to go, students!

Check out the bright smiles from some of our APHS students who attended the 2024 Homecoming Dance on Oct. 18, 2024!

The Averill Park Central School District strongly values the importance of Digital Citizenship! Click here and view the attached infographic for tips to share with your student(s)!

#AP_EveryStudentEveryDay

The AMS Builders Club is hosting Socktober! Club members are collecting socks from Oct. 16-Nov. 19, 2024, with a donation boxes stationed outside of the AMS Main Office!

Cocoa, an 8-week-old foster puppy from Puerto Rico, was at APHS Oct. 21-22, 2024 to spread a little love and joy to students and staff! Cocoa is the 559th foster puppy that Mr. and Mrs. Engel have fostered for Homeward Bound Dog Rescue. They have been bringing the foster puppies to school from time-to-time for the last eleven years!

The Averill Park High School Unique Opportunities club will be hosting a pancake fundraiser at Applebee’s from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2024! Tickets are $10.

To purchase tickets, please contact Ms. Freeman freemann@apcsd.org or 518-674-7001.

The 2024 Averill Park Education Foundation Gala takes place on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 from 6:30-10 p.m. at the Old Daley on Crooked Lake! Click here for more information.

The Averill Park Athletic Department, in conjunction with the Averill Park Athletic Booster Club, is pleased to announce that the nominating period for the Averill Park Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2025 is now open. Click here for more information.

SUNY announced this week the 2024 dates for the free application week. Students can apply to up to five SUNY campuses with no application fee beginning Monday, October 21 and ending Sunday, November 3, 2024!

The Transformation Project with Nopiates Committee, Arts Letters & Numbers, Sand Lake Center for the Arts, and local artists aims to raise awareness and support for substance use disorder through artistic expression. Advanced registration is necessary due to limited space. All workshops are free!

Please visit https://www.artslettersandnumbers.com/transformation-project and/or scan the QR code for more information!

Have something you would like to see covered on the website/social media? Email our Communications Technician at crosiera@apcsd.org.

Website: averillpark.k12.ny.us
Location: 146 Gettle Road, Averill Park, NY, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AverillParkCentralSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @AverillParkCSD