Monday, December 16, 2019—A festive evening of sight and sound at the annual Winter Concert courtesy of the high school visual and performing arts team. Students in the 8th grade, as well as, the Atoms in the art electives displayed their masterpieces for everyone to see. Following the performance, a catered reception from Wegmans was held. Click here to view the complete performance.

Syracuse Academy of Science High School Band and Choir will be traveling to New York City in May 2020, and will be performing in a national band festival. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the following activities:

• Receive classes with guest artists
• Attend a Broadway show
• Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Thursday, December 12, 2019—Elementary Atoms or should we say ‘karate kids’ visited Five Star Martial Arts on a class field trip. Students learned about self-defense, respect and being an upstander. With the assistance and guidance of their Sensei Atoms discover the building blocks and the foundation of karate. Karate is a sport that requires an immense amount of dedication, focus and perseverance. Atoms related these building blocks and foundation to traits that can be applied in their academic life.

Building off the foundation, Atoms learned several kinds of kicks and punches for self-defense purposes. They were able to practice these moves to help in the release of energy. The field trip concluded with a fun-filled relay where they were able to incorporate their favorite kick of the day. Thank you, Five Star Martial Arts on a fun and educational field trip.

Friday, December 20, 2019—What do you get when you mix high school Atoms, with shaving cream, volleyball and a half-day of school? You get a day filled with school spirit, of course! To kick-off the day before winter recess, high school Atoms had an opportunity to participate in an intense game of student vs. staff volleyball. While there were no clear cut winners in this activity, the Atoms certainly had the upper hand for the second activity on the agenda.

Teachers, faculty and staff geared up in plastic ponchos, wore safety goggles and took their seats in the front row for this next activity. With an overflowing plastic pie pan filled with shaving cream, students lined up for the ‘pie-in-the-face activity.’ Atoms had some great aim, as the teachers, faculty and staff were covered with shaving cream from head to toe!

We hope our Atoms, teachers, faculty and staff are having a safe and enjoyable winter recess, as we look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Tuesday, December 10, 2019—First grade Atoms had the privilege of welcoming retired CNY Central news anchor, Laura Hand, who joined them as a guest reader. Ms. Hand read two short stories to the students, and also shared with them the inside scoop of being a news anchor. From meeting various community leaders, to stories covered, to a day in the life, this was great career insight for the Atoms. In addition to reading to the students and sharing about her career, Ms. Hand assisted the first graders with some tricky math problems.

In her spare time, Ms. Hand can be found as a guest reader with her therapy dog, Moose at the Onondaga Free Library. Thank you, Ms. Hand for taking the time out of your day to come and visit the Atoms, and for sharing the inside scoop of being a news anchor.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019—Elementary Atoms rallied together to help those in need in the greater Syracuse community. A week before winter recess, students collected toys for all age groups, and donated them to the Syracuse Rescue Mission. This toy drive event was a huge success, and the Atoms felt like they were a part of something bigger! Great work, everyone.

Thursday, November 21, 2019—The Adventure Cooperative for Environmental Stewardship Club, ACES, visited Central Rock Gym to practice cooperative climbing skills and move one step closer to larger outdoor adventures. ACES learned rope safety skills, knot tying, and basic belay techniques to gain confidence in slingshot toprope climbing. After demonstrating competency, students were able to climb freely with their partners or explore the bouldering routes in the gym.

Thursday, November 21, 2019—High school robotics team had the privilege of welcoming guest speaker Robert Ringham, Enterprise AI Architect & Data Scientist at Avanade. Robert shared with the Atoms how AI can be used in ‘real time,’ as well as, how it can be incorporated into our daily routines.

With Robert’s diverse background he explains the variety of avenues students can explore in the robotics, science and engineering industry. Robert’s areas of concentration at Avanade include but are not limited to the following: deep learning, computer vision, natural language processing, machine learning, consulting in financial services and capital markets, retail digital development, education, travel and hospitality, oil and gas.

Thank you Robert for taking the time out of your schedule to come and speak with the high school robotics class.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019—Ms. Dickinson and Mr. Scheemaker’s classes serve up kindness, gratitude and appreciation just before the winter recess. Classes team up and work together to create a beautiful thank you card, sign and special treats for a team that ensures there are healthy options for them to eat, create specialty meals for those with food allergies and for always having a smile on their face - the lunch team. Great work, Atoms!

Tuesday, December 17, 2019—Known for its prestige, the high school robotics team share with the middle school Atoms how this program in particular has opened many doors for a handful of its team members. The robotics team has participated in tournaments near and far and inspired the middle school students to continue to participate and study the field of robotics. We hope to see many of our middle school (or soon to be high school) students trying out for the robotics team.

Friday, December 13, 2019—Elementary Atoms let their imagination run wild when on a field trip to Destiny USA’s WonderWorks Museum. A day filled with hands-on, minds-on science fun that challenged their minds as they explored the many ‘Wonder Zones’ within the museum. A couple of favorite activities include the virtual reality simulator and of course lying on a bed of nails. Thank you WonderWorks and Destiny USA for your generous hospitality. We look forward to visiting again!