AAE Family Newsletter
Sunday, October 4th 2026
Notes from Principal Johnson
Hello AAE Families,
I hope you and your family are enjoying a good weekend.
Thank you for joining us on Tuesday. Our Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration brought students, families and staff together for an afternoon of music, dance, art and dominoes. [One specific moment you saw.] Thank you to our Jet Steppers for their performance, to Mr. Perez for leading the dance lessons, and to [names of the planning team, with Ms./Mr.] for making the afternoon happen. Most of all, thank you to the families who came. Your presence is what made it a celebration.
Tomorrow we welcome visitors from Magnet Schools of America and the State Department of Education's Magnet Schools office. They will spend the morning learning about AAE, including a conversation with a group of our students. I am proud of the work our students and staff do every day, and I look forward to showing it to them.
Congratulations to our student-athletes and coaches. On Wednesday, AAE will receive the CIAC Michaels Cup and the Fred Balsamo Award for the sixth year in a row. This is also the week we celebrate our coaches, so if you see one at a game, please join me in thanking them.
Dates to know:
- Monday, October 12: No school, in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day
- Thursday, October 22: Picture Retake Day
Reminders from the AAE Main Office:
- Bus passes: Requests must reach the office by 10:30 AM so students can pick up their pass during their lunch wave. Requests made at dismissal time delay dismissal for everyone. Email aaemainoffice@crec.org or call (860) 243-0857.
- Absences and tardies: The preferred way to report them is by email to aaemainoffice@crec.org.
- PowerSchool Parent Portal: For help, please email PowerSchoolSupport@crec.org.
- Sports schedules: Schedules and other sports information are available [here]. Please also check your email for messages from coaches.
- School calendar: Please refer to the CREC Magnet Schools calendar for holidays, breaks and early dismissals. A copy you can save or print is available below.
As always, please continue to use this newsletter as your primary source for school information, and don't hesitate to reach out to a member of the AAE Administrative Team or aaemainoffice@crec.org with any questions.
Thank you,
Adam Johnson, Principal
CREC Academy of Aerospace & Engineering
School Wide Announcements
Senior Portaits
Senior portraits will be taken on Oct 14th and Nov 10th Please sign up with the following link. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=20082454&calendarID=10559272
Engineering Talk Series
Is your child interested in learning more about Engineering majors, careers, and other opportunities? Oregon State is offering a FREE Explore Engineering virtual talk series. These sessions are led by Oregon State Engineering student ambassadors, so your student can speak directly with a current Engineering college student about the majors, campus life, clubs, and more. Please see the flyer and sign up soon!
Academic Support
Academic Support for Multi Language Learners offered through Hartford Public Library
Extra-Curricular Clubs
Please see the current list of available clubs below.
You can still sign up for clubs here: https://www.bit.ly/aaeclubs26-27
Jet Stepper Sign Ups
Girls and Boys! Are you ready to STEP IT UP?! Come Join the JET STEPPERS! Whether you're a beginner or already know how to step, we want You! Learn new steps, have fun, build confidence, and be part of an awesome team! Girls and Boys - Everyone is WELCOME!! if interested there a sign-up sheet outside of room 157. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Robinson or Ms. Canty.
Project Prevent Clinician
Dear Staff and Families,
I am thrilled to collaborate with you for the 2026–2027 school year! I serve at AAE on Wednesdays and Thursdays as the CREC Clinician under the Project Prevent grant. Project Prevent provides students across eight CREC secondary schools access to targeted, brief mental health services designed to support their emotional well-being and academic success.
Project Offerings & Clinical Supports I utilize brief, evidence-based interventions tailored to meet each student's unique needs, including:
● Modular Approach to Therapy for Children (MATCH): A flexible framework designed to target anxiety, depression, trauma, or behavioral challenges.
● Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills: Focuses on emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness.
● Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps students identify and reshape negative thought patterns to improve coping strategies and behavior.
● Motivational Interviewing (MI): Helps students explore ambivalence to find internal motivation for positive personal change.
Below is my contact information and photo.
Please feel free to reach out directly or connect with the School Support Team if you have any questions, concerns, or student referrals.
I look forward to a wonderful year of working together!
Respectfully,
Maria I. Rodriguez,
LMSW Project Prevent Clinician
CREC Magnet Schools
Capitol Region Education Council
111 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106
Cell: (860) 929-1422
Career Development
Our school is raising the bar for Career Development! We’ll do this by communicating more with our students and their families about what they plan to do after high school.
Please fill out this survey to help us design programs to help our students: https://forms.gle/muACCYiYp1MmNGf87 (This is the same survey we had at the 6th and 9th grade orientation meetings, if you already filled it out, you do not need to do it again). We help our students by providing guest speakers, field trips and other career exploration opportunities. Your input will help us do this better. Thank You.
Additional Career Development Resources include:
- The National Career Clusters: https://careertech.org/career-clusters/
- The State of Connecticut Career Clusters: https://portal.ct.gov/sde/career-and-technical-education/career-and-technical-education/career-clusters-pathways-programs-of-study
- The Academy of Aerospace and Engineering Program of Studies (POS): https://aero.crecschools.org/academics/program-of-studies
College and Career Support
Attention High School Families: Mr. Serrano is a great resource for all things college and career support. Please review this flyer and feel free to contact him any time for additional support. There is a QR code, phone number and email address for reference.
This Week's Lunch
AAE Sports Announcements
Middle School Sports
Monday 10/5
MS boys soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS cross country - Practice 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls volleyball - AAE vs ASI at home @3:30pm
Tuesday 10/6
MS boys soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS cross country - Practice 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls volleyball - Practice 2:15pm-4pm
Thursday 10/8
MS boy soccer - AAE vs CompSci at away @3:30pm at Dwyer Park
MS girls soccer - AAE vs CompSci at away @3:30pm at Dwyer Park
MS cross country - Cross Country meet at Elizabeth Park at 3:30pm
MS girls volleyball - Practice 2:15pm-4pm
Friday 10/9
MS boys soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls soccer - Practice at LP Wilson 2:15pm-4pm
MS cross country - Practice 2:15pm-4pm
MS girls volleyball - AAE vs Nathan Hale-Ray MS at home @3:30pm
Any students interested in playing basketball. We will be hosting basketball clinics on Saturdays from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. If any kids are interested please go see Mr. Agron in room 212 to get more information.
HS Sports Updates:
Thank you, Coaches!!!!!!
Coaches' appreciation day is Tuesday October 5. If you see someone in the building as a coach, feel free to say thank you. Coaching is not easy as they have to sacrifice a lot of time to help develop our athletes. Whether they are teachers, paras or even staff away from our building during the day; they are making students grow and a place they want to be every day. Thank you coaches for everything you do!
CIAC Michaels Cup and Fred Balsalmo award:
The Michaels Cup and Fred Balsamo award will be given to AAE for the 6th year in a row ! The celebration will take place this week at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville on Wednesday. The bus will leave at 7:30am for students going and we will be back by the school day. Please check in with your teacher before leaving
Elementary School Reading trip Girls Volleyball and Girls Soccer
The Girls Soccer and Volleyball team will head to Rocky Hill to read to AAE elementary students on Thursday 10/8. We will be leaving at 9:15 and should be back by 11am. Please check in with your teachers before leaving.
AEROPSACE Athletics goes pink
Friday October 16th the class act committee will honor the survivors of breast cancer by holding a celebration for the survivors. Please come out and see a pink Volleyball and Soccer game. More details to come
Early release days for sports:
Early release days will be announced via newsletter and by email this week in the sports section. It is very important that staff keep an eye out because they need to get to their bus to their game on time. When they are late it places a strain on the buses and coaches. If anyone has a question they are more than welcome to reach out to the HS Faculty manager.
Games recaps:
Girls Soccer:
International/Aerospace @ Innovation
Game played on Thursday, October 1, 2026
The International/Aerospace Dragons travelled to New Britain to face the Innovation Ravens Thursday. The Dragons continued to show improvement, winning 9-2. International sophomores Naomi Salmon and captain Saphira Jarvis each scored 3 goals and had an assist. Aerospace senior Arielle Siya Rajesh scored 2 goals also scored. International senior captain Maleah Clarke also scored. International senior captain Janai Ayala added an assist. Thayra Lucas Laverde scored both goals for Innovation on penalty kicks. International junior keeper Makayla Schreier made 10 save for the Dragons in the win. The Dragons return to action Monday when they travel to Hartford to face the University/Weaver/HMTCA soccer co-op. SPORTSMANSHIP BRACELET was awarded Innovation’s Myalee Maxwell, Audrina Pagan & Jada Vaughns and to International’s Celina Wang & Makayla Schreier Girls Volleyball
AAE vs Bulkeley 3-1(10-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21)
AAE record 5-6
Highlights: Arianna Smith-Peterkin 4 ace, 3 kills, 10 digs; Jasmine Case 2 ace, 1 kill, 8 digs; Dilajla Duric 2 kills, 3 assists, 4 digs.
Bracelet winners: #17 Jayanna Brown & #3 Kyra Virgo
The Lady Jets traveled to the Southend of Hartford to face the Bulldogs of Bulkeley. The JV team took the court and made good plays on the court. They Lady Jets had the moves but lost 1-2 (13-25, 25-14, 6-25). Highlights: Serenity Ortiz 3 ace; Jha'Mya Willingham 2 ace, 1 block, 1 dig.
Then the varsity team took the court and began a slow and steady match. The Jets went point for point as the Bulldogs covered the court. In the end the Jets won 3-1(10-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-21). Highlights: Arianna Smith-Peterkin 4 ace, 3 kills, 10 digs; Jasmine Case 2 ace, 1 kill, 8 digs; Dilajla Duric 2 kills, 3 assists, 4 digs.
The season is already halfway to the tournament time, so come out and support the Lady Jets! Our next match up is on Monday 10/05/26 at East Windsor for 4pm JV and 5:30pm Varsity. Let's go Jets!
Games Roles & Protocols
Please see this message from Athletic Director Jon Winer, below:
I am writing to remind you that, at every sporting event, there are four roles-
Players
Coaches
Officials
Spectators
These roles are separate and should not be mixed. The coaches should coach and nothing else.
The players should play and nothing else. The officials should officiate and nothing else.
Finally, the spectators should spectate and nothing else. They shouldn’t officiate or provide feedback to the officials. They shouldn’t coach or yell instructions to their children as this causes confusion for the student-athlete. They should cheer.
We appreciate your passion and want as many of you to come and provide support for our student-athletes as possible. We also know that officiating is a very difficult job. Officials make mistakes just like we all do. We must support them and give them grace just as we would expect from our employers. Yelling at them only sets a bad example for the student-athletes and drives more and more of them away from the profession. As you know, we have a significant official's shortage which causes issues when scheduling games. It is critical that we provide an environment in which they can grow and improve rather than quit without a replacement.
Thank you for all of your support and I look forward to seeing you at a game
This week in HS Sports:
Monday 5/5
3:45pm Boys Soccer vs Goodwin Tech
3:45pm Girls Soccer vs University @ Weaver
4pm JV Football @ Hartford public
4pm JV Girls Volleyball @ East Windsor
5pm Girls Volleyball @ East Windsor
Tuesday 5/6 (Coaches Appreciation)
3:45pm Cross Country @ Elizabeth Park
Wednesday 5/7
7:30am CIAC Award ceremony @ Aqua Turf
3:45pm Boys Soccer vs University/prince tech
3:45pm Girls Soccer vs Anistad (International)
4:30pm Coaches Appreciation celebration
5pm JV Girls Volleyball vs University
6pm Girls Volleyball vs University
Thursday 5 /8
9:15am Girls Volleyball & Soccer reading trip
Friday 5/9
3:45pm Girls Soccer vs Capital Prep/ Bulkeley @ Quirk Turf Field (Early Dismissal 2pm)
4pm Girls Volleyball @ International
5pm Girls Volleyball @ International
Saturday 5/10
10am Cross Country @ Wickam Park
