Saturday, September 9th, 2023: Mr. Kovar and Mr. Zengin took Syracuse Academy of Science High School robotics members to the First Tech Challenge Kick-Off event at Mohawk Valley Community College. This year's mission was revealed, and the game is called "CenterStage." It challenges our students to unleash their creativity and problem-solving skills as they design, build, and program robots. The game's objective is to collect hexagon-shaped plastic pieces, known as pixels, in four different colors, lift them to the desired level, and then place them on the backdrop panel.
Participants include Andre McClain, Migual Mathis, Jenel Virgilio, Yakina Sika Amoah, Mickayla Pagan, Samara Hurtado, Araceli Goodyear, Quatice Williams, Aamiran Ridha, Lester Gonzales, Arna Boatema Amoah, and Elda Goodyear.
Congratulations Atoms, and good luck!
Greetings, Science Academies of New York Families and Staff,
With great pleasure, I welcome you to another exciting year at the Science Academies of New York. Serving SANY Charter Schools with nearly 3,000 students in grades K-12 in Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester as the Superintendent for the 2023-24 school year is a privilege. I look forward to working with you. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable summer and are ready to tackle anything the new school year brings. I am especially looking forward to introducing Virtual Reality learning at the High School.
SANY Scholars completed 2022-23, including graduating with an associate degree, completing many college-level courses for free, receiving nationwide known micro-credentials through cybersecurity, regional championships in robotics, Gold and Silver Medals from the Congressional Award Program, science fairs, and many more. I hope that the list will grow this year. SANY celebrated the milestone of serving the community for 20 years. SANY continues to be the most extensive Charter School system in Syracuse. We pride ourselves on offering high-quality public education with a college preparatory STEM-based curriculum. Incredible things take place in our classrooms thanks to our outstanding teachers and staff, as well as the hard work and dedication of our Atoms. From music and art to sports and extracurricular activities, our scholars are well-rounded in and out of the classroom.
Almost one-third of SANY High School graduating scholars completed most college-level courses needed to earn a two-year associate's degree, and a few even graduated with both a High School and Associate’s Degree Diploma. Through this program, SANY Charter Schools cover the cost of classes, books, technology fees, and lunch. Last school year, SANY celebrated its first student in history to graduate high school with an associate's degree. Our philosophy is the money SANY receives from the New York State per-pupil funding belongs to each student and will be spent for whatever helps make them successful. It is a beautiful feeling building a village through partnerships with higher education institutions like OCC, MVCC, SUNY ESF, LeMoyne College, Utica University, and D'Youville University and partnering with community business leaders. The saying "it takes a village to raise a child" comes from an African proverb and conveys that it takes a large group of people to provide a safe, healthy, loving environment. I am grateful to our community for working together and looking forward to seeing caring, contributing citizens from our beautiful Syracuse, Utica, and Rochester communities.
Safety remains the top priority of our school. Our teachers and staff received safety and crisis management training over the summer, and I am confident we will have a safe and healthy year with the implementation of our safety protocols. Seeing recent events in the news can be highly upsetting, but with our vigorous efforts, I know we can continue to keep violence out of our school. While we succeeded in our efforts last year, we must always be active regarding safety. Your efforts in assisting with this are highly appreciated. While looking ahead to this year, please take the time to go over our emergency and safety plan: https://www.sascs.org/about-us/required-notifications/emergency-and-safety-plan.
Our faculty and staff care significantly about every student who walks through the door. I admire how teachers diligently plan their lessons while catering to each student’s ability. This year, I will continue my school visits and special events like Breakfast and Lunch with the Superintendent. I cherish the days that I get to spend with our bright students. They always teach me something new!
Thank you for all you do, and I look forward to working with you for the 2023-24 school year.
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Tolga Hayali, Ed.D
Superintendent
SANY Charter Schools
Grab your headset and get ready to explore a new way of learning. Syracuse Academy of Science high school is delving into the technology of the future. During the 2023-24 school year, the school will add Virtual Reality and META software to its learning library, where teachers and students can immerse themselves in a new world of education. Software programs have been installed on the VR headsets where students can talk with people from the past, dive into plant and animal cells, and explore virtual artifacts which make learning come to life. We are so excited to be able to offer our students and educators this opportunity.
Friday, August 11th, 2023: Caleb Crowder was selected to perform in the First World Premiere of the “Rip Van Winkles” Opera at the Glimmerglass Theatre in Cooperstown, New York! Caleb is going into 11th grade at Utica Academy of Science. He’s been a singer and performer since the age of three. He has sung for many events in the Utica area and cities all around the East Coast. He has won First place twice and second place in three local talent shows. Caleb dreams of becoming a professional actor/singer, songwriter, and philanthropist.
Caleb is also a young entrepreneur and business owner with his two younger twin brothers, David and Andrew. Their business, We3Cre8, is a tie-dye and apparel business serving the greater Utica area. We3Cre8 was also recognized by the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) program led by Michelle McCarrick Truett.
Come support Caleb in the finale on Friday, August 18th, at 1:00 pm. Break a leg, Caleb!
Wednesday, August 9th, 2023: Dr. Basic, SANY District Safety Coordinator, provided a presentation to SANY parents, families, students, staff, and stakeholders for the annual public hearing for the District-Wide School Safety plan. The Science Academies of New York places huge importance on school safety and works with all stakeholders to ensure we are constantly improving our policies and emergency plan.
The 2023-24 SANY Safety Plan can be found here.
Thank you for working together to make our school safer for all Atoms.
Friday, August 4th, 2023: More than 50 Syracuse Academy of Science and Syracuse City School District students are now officially digital ambassadors. The AT&T Cuse Youth Digital Ambassador Program, powered by Tech4Kidz and Syracuse University, graduated its first class of local digital ambassadors in grades 5 through 7. These students live in areas impacted by the digital divide, meaning the households can't access or afford internet or computers. Students spent a week of their summer vacation learning skills like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, coding, and media literacy. On the program's final day, participating scholars were surprised with new laptops presented by Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, State Senator Rachel May, and State Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter. Students also received an AT&T Digital Ambassadors certificate for their hard work and dedication.
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023: Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School combined learning with fun in July at the Summer Enrichment program. During the three-week session in July, students worked on various projects and science activities. Some highlights include a Rube Goldberg Machine, where scholars created a chain reaction using marbles, cardboard tubes, and dominoes based on Rube Goldberg Machines; Paper Making, where students made paper using paper pulp and confetti pieces and were able to draw on it and create with it again!
There was also a paper airplane contest, skittles rainbows, borax crystals, and daily building challenges! Students also made kaleidoscopes and penny spinners!
We can't wait to continue the enrichment program next year.
Wednesday, June 14th, 2023: Several Syracuse Academy of Science and Utica Academy of Science students participated in the Genius Olympiad. Genius Olympiad is a prestigious international competition bringing together the best and brightest students from different countries worldwide. Founded and organized by Terra Science and Education, the Rochester Institute of Technology hosted this year’s competition. High School students from nearly 60 countries enter projects in five general disciplines with an environmental focus.
Winning medals at an International science fair is no easy task; however, our Atoms pulled it off with grace and a lot of hard work. Please congratulate the following students:
Project name: Creating a Synthetic Violacein Fabric Dye Out of Transformed E. Coli.
Silver Medal- Migual Mathis & Grace O'Neill
Project Name: A novel study to solve the global threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Herbal remedy; Hibiscus Sabdariffa bactericidal invasion on the molecular composition of Fusarium Oxysporum Fungi
Yakina Sika Amoha-Bronze Medal
Robotics: Bronze medal- Samara Hurtado, Lester Gonzales, and Mickayla Pagan
Honorable mentions: Andre McClain, Jenell Virgilio, and Theodore Simon
Aamiran Ridha, Araceli Goodyear, and Elda Goodyear.
Honorable mention in the Creative Writing category: Almin Husovic.
Thursday, May 25th, 2023: The Science Academies of New York celebrated 20 years of growth and success in Syracuse. Syracuse Academy of Science has come a long way since it was founded in 2003. In that first year, Syracuse Academy served only grades 7-9 and graduated its inaugural class in 2007. The school welcomed Director Dr. Tolga Hayali in 2008. Under Dr. Hayali’s leadership, Syracuse Academy opened its elementary and middle school campuses. Syracuse Academy was replicated in Utica in 2013 once Utica Academy of Science opened, serving grades 6-9. There are now four Charter Schools and seven buildings managed by Dr. Hayali, operating under the SANY umbrella.
The past two decades wouldn’t have been possible without all the support from our teachers, staff, families, alums, and community members. Thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do for all children. We honored eight outstanding community members for their dedication to our youth during the celebration. Stay tuned for more information about our awardees!
Friday, May 12th, 2023: Move over, Rihanna! Syracuse Academy of Science juniors & seniors glammed up in their fiercest dress or suit to stun the red carpet at the Met Gala themed prom! It was a night to remember for our Atoms dancing the night away at Traditions at the Links.
Check out Syracuse Academy of Science’s version of best dressed at the Met.
Tuesday, April 11th, 2023: Congressman Brandon Williams came to visit Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School. 2nd graders wrote two letters to his office inviting him to be a speaker to our students. We were honored that he chose to accept our offer! The Congressman not only spent some time reading to Atoms, but he also told them about why he chose a job in the government and how his desire to make changes to our country and serve the citizens was his driving force. He told us that he hasn't been part of the government for very long, only about 100 days, and shared what he did for a living before entering the government. Congressman Williams was in the Navy and spent most of his time on a submarine off the coast of San Francisco. He shared details with students about how long he was on the submarine, what he ate, how large it was, and how the submarine could descend and then return to the water's surface. Students could also ask questions about the hardest and best parts of his job as a Congressman!
SANY Superintendent Dr. Hayali took the Congressman and his wife on a tour of our school. What a wonderful experience for our 2nd-grade Atoms! Thank you, Congressman Williams!