Good morning!
I hope everyone had a restful weekend and a great Super Bowl Sunday!
We have entered the final week of school before winter recess begins. Please note, we will not have school Monday, Feb. 16 through Friday, Feb. 20, with classes resuming on Monday, Feb. 23. To ensure academic closure, we encourage students to finish tasks, including any missed assignments, prior to Friday in order to avoid returning to a backlog of schoolwork.
This Friday is our next Fun Day, and the theme will be "Pajama Day." We encourage our students to dress in their favorite warm and comfy PJs as we continue to celebrate each Friday Fun Day in a different way in order to boost school pride and add a little fun to our week. This is a great way to build healthy relationships and look forward to next week's break!
We will hold our second quarter Honor Roll Ceremony after we return from break on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium. We are proud to recognize 267 students for outstanding and exemplary academic achievement, including 99 students receiving bronze, 81 students receiving silver and 87 students receiving gold. We congratulate them and their families on this achievement!
Also on Feb. 25, we will have an early-release day with all students being released at 12:30 p.m. and professional development taking place for the remainder of the day. Please note that we will have a modified bell schedule Feb. 25. Students will report to all nine class periods, with the exception being that class time will be reduced by several minutes per period.
Our third and final Honor Roll Ceremony of the school year will be held on Wednesday, May 6.
Registration will officially open for modified spring sports on Monday, Feb. 23! Any student in grades 7-8 who is interested in trying out for baseball, girls' flag football, boys' lacrosse, girls' lacrosse, boys' outdoor track and field, girls' outdoor track and field or softball is invited to register via . Please note that registration ends on Friday, March 20; practices/tryouts begin on Monday, March 23.
The City School District of Albany is conducting the annual Family and Community Partnership Survey. This survey is for our students, staff and families to get feedback and input on our work as a district for the purpose of informing improvement and growth. Your input once again is an important part of this work. , which takes approximately 10-15 minutes, at your earliest convenience.
Our Extended Day Program takes place on Mondays through Thursdays from 3-5:30 p.m. and includes a free snack and free door-to-door bus transportation home. Applications are available at the Attendance Desk at the main entrance and should be returned to the Main Office. Please contact Ms. Lewis at dlewis2@albany.k12.ny.us if you have any questions.
As a reminder, please be mindful of school bus safety signals and school-zone speed limits as both carry fines as much as $300 for stop-arm violations and $50 for speed-zone violations. Delaware Avenue in front of our school and Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology is one of the city's school speed zones.
As a final note, Hackett will hold fire drill emergency response procedures periodically throughout the school year. The safety of everyone in our school community is extremely important. Holding these practice drills, including lockdown drills, is crucial to our overall emergency planning. Before we practice a drill, we teach students, faculty and staff about the procedures to follow in an emergency.
Stay connected!
Check out our website and in addition to my weekly emails. You also can reach out to us at (518) 475-6475.
Now for our 'Don't Snooze and Lose News'
Besides the items listed above, please make a note of the following information:
- As a reminder to our eighth-grade families who were not able to attend Albany High School's Curriculum Night on Jan. 7, , which includes lots of great information about all of the opportunities available for students at the high school.
- Third-quarter interim grades close on Friday, Feb. 27.
- Our next Friday Fun Day will take place on Feb. 27 and the theme will be "Future Career Day (Dream Job)." We will continue to celebrate each Friday Fun Day in a different way in order to boost school pride and add a little fun to our week. This is a great way to build healthy relationships and look forward to the weekend!
- Our March PTA meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. in room 112. We also will have a virtual option for anyone not able to attend in-person. You can .
Hackett Corner Quotes
"No man knows what he can do until he tries." -- Carter G. Woodson
- Woodson was a historian, author and journalist known as The Father of Black History for his pivotal role in establishing the annual Black History celebrations we continue to observe today.
- He was the first person born to formerly enslaved parents to earn a Ph.D.
- He founded the .
"Be strong, but not rude. Be kind, but not weak. Be humble, but not shy. Be proud, but not arrogant." -- Morgan Freeman
- A well-known actor, Freeman has earned numerous awards, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. He also was recognized at the Kennedy Center Honors and has been nominated for a Grammy Award and a Tony Award.
- In 2014, he converted his ranch in Mississippi into a bee sanctuary where he tends to the hives without a protective suit.
- He served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar mechanic.
Did you know?
- Matthew "Mack" Robinson: Jackie Robinson's older brother also was an accomplished athlete and won a silver medal to Jesse Owens' gold medal in 200-meter dash at the 1936 Olympics.
- Lucy Stanton: After graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1850 with a literary degree, she became the first Black woman in America to earn a four-year college degree.
- Bessie Colman: She was the first Black woman and first Native American to hold a pilot's license after training in France in 1921 because of barriers to training programs in the United States.