Greetings, Syracuse Academy of Science 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

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2023: Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School is gearing up for the start of the year with some Parent/Student Orientation Sessions. Parents and students have been invited to the building to meet with our behavior team and get refreshed on the expectations of a SANY scholar. Ms. Rob and Mr. Robinson reviewed the dress code, the code of conduct, and behavior expectations.

There are two more opportunities for Orientation: Thursday, August 24th at 12:00 or 4:00.

It's been great to see our returning and new students before school starts, and we hope to see more!

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.

June 25- 30th, 2023: Syracuse Academy of Science High School students attended a summer cyber security camp at Le Moyne College. Throughout this enriching program, they delved into the fascinating world of cybersecurity, exploring different concepts, practices, and hands-on activities. With their passion and dedication, they presented outstanding projects to round out the week. As a token of recognition for their hard work, each participant was awarded a well-deserved certificate and a Raspberry Pi device, empowering them to continue their journey in technology and innovation.

Congratulations to all the bright minds who participated in this camp—you are the future guardians of cyberspace! Keep shining and exploring the endless possibilities of cybersecurity!

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. Syracuse Academy of Science 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: During July, Syracuse Academy of Science Elementary School combined learning with fun at the Summer Enrichment program. During the three-week session, 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.

Friday, April 21st, 2023: Congratulations to Syracuse Academy of Science High School student Andre Mcclain for being selected to attend the 19th Annual Symposium on Energy in the 21st Century for his project titled "Using dark dyes to create solar cells." The symposium features speakers that cover the most up-to-date and relevant topics on renewable energy.  This year's theme was on preparing for climate change with renewable energy.

Friday, May 26th, 2023: The Syracuse Academy of Science Random Acts of Kindness Club organizes fundraisers and drives to benefit community organizations. One of those was a coin drive to benefit the Friends Forever Animal Rescue in Pennelville, New York! Classes had a friendly competition to bring in the most change. The winning class even got to name the new kittens! SAS Elementary School raised just over $2,000 for the animal shelter! The Random Acts of Kindness Club also decorated ping pong balls to donate to the animals.

Thursday, July 27th, 2023: It’s time for a #SeniorSpotlight. Meet Class of 2023 graduate Naomi Garcia.

What is one major accomplishment you had in your senior year of high school? Graduating with almost a year's worth of college credits.

What are your goals for after high school? Go to college and study law.

Name one person that inspires you. My mom, despite all the hardships she went through, pushed through everything and continued to preserve.

What advice would you give to the next senior class?  Don't give up, and be your biggest supporter. Nothing comes easy. Reaching your goals will take work, but you must keep pushing yourself to improve.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In law school.

If you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would they be and why? I would have dinner with Adam Sandler because he's funny.

Name three traits that describe you. Considerate, determined, and funny.

What is your favorite hobby? Listening to music.

What is a hidden talent that no one or only a few people know about you? I know how to play the trombone.

What is your favorite memory of SAS? The last day of my junior year when there was a big water fight outside.