Welcome to the 2024-25 school year!

The following is an important message from Principal Andrea Piper:

We are excited for the 2024-25 school year and looking forward to partnering with you and all of our amazing scholars. We hope that everyone is enjoying a relaxing and productive summer and we are excited about this new school year and all of its infinite possibilities! We welcome and value your positive energy and dedication to excellence in education.

At North Albany Middle School, we will continue to focus on providing our scholars with the tools to develop strong academic and social-emotional skills that will allow them to meet and exceed their goals. Our staff continues to work in collaboration to prioritize grade-level, engaging, affirming and meaningful work while also building character and establishing sound relationships. We want to ensure our scholars have a sense of belonging.

As we continue to set high expectations for our scholars, we ask that you support us and ensure all our students are aware of those expectations. We have established our Strive for Five in regards to behavior expectations. They are:

• Engage in learning
• Respect staff and peers
• Take pride in school spaces
• Come to class on time
• Have safe bodies

Please review these expectations with your scholars. We want everyone to feel safe and respected in our community, so we will continue to Strive for Five!

First day of school

To ensure a smooth transition back to school all students are expected to return, on Friday, Sept. 6 for a full day. The goal on this day is to welcome students back to school and provide time for students to get comfortable with their schedules, our health and safety protocols, and their school lockers. 

Please note that attendance will be taken. All students will pick up their schedules on their way into Door 13 - Bus Loop.

Locker assignments will be provided during the first period by their (homeroom) teacher. 

The first full week of school will allow our students to participate in small sessions to better familiarize themselves with school protocols related to PBIS, academic and behavioral expectations, hallway transitions, lunch/study hall routines, and arrival and dismissal.

Entrances and exits

To ensure a smooth start to each school day, students will enter and exit the building through:

• All Students will enter at Door 13 - Second Floor - Bus Loop
• Walkers and Pick-ups should exit via the main entrance on North Pearl Street
• CDTA bus riders should exit via Door 13 - Second Floor - Bus Loop

 Upon entrance to the building, students will participate in routine security scans that check student bags. Please be reminded that no sharp objects (including scissors, sharp hair picks, knives, blades, or glass bottles) are permitted in school at any time, for any reason. 

Student Arrival/Dismissal

Students have the option of going to the cafeteria for breakfast. Breakfast will begin at 7:40 a.m. and the school day starts promptly at 8:03 a.m.

The school day will conclude at 2:52 p.m. with a staggered dismissal through 3 p.m. The dismissal schedule will be:

• 2:52 p.m.: CDTA tripper buses via announcements
• 2:54-2:58 p.m.: Remaining CDTA tripper buses will dismiss via announcements
• 3 p.m.: Walkers, First Student yellow buses and sports/clubs will dismiss via the bell

Transportation

Students continue to be eligible for transportation to and from school based on the district’s standard criteria: all students living 1.5 miles or more from school, and all students whose Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan requires specialized transportation. Students receiving specialized transportation will ride yellow buses operated by First Student. All other eligible middle and high school students in the district ride CDTA.

Students eligible to ride CDTA buses will have their student ID activated to use as their bus pass. CDTA also allows a two-week grace period at the start of each school year (through Friday, Sept. 16 this year) when all students are allowed to ride. 

CDTA will continue to provide tripper buses for our students in the morning and afternoon; eligible students also can ride any regular CDTA bus using their activated student IDs.

Please stay posted for more information about North Albany CDTA 803 tripper routes and schedules, which will be ready soon. Routes should not alter that much from last year.

Student Supply Lists

These are available on the NAMS landing page of the district website.

Lunch

All students will eat lunch in our cafeteria. Students will have the choice of bringing their lunch to school, which should be kept in their lockers until lunchtime, or select from one of the hot or cold lunches provided by the school each day. 

Students are not allowed to order any meals to be delivered to the school for lunch. Each lunch block will consist of a 20-minute lunch period opposite a 20-minute study hall.

Summer Transition Camp – Grade 6

The Summer Transition Camp is a three-day program open to all students entering grade 6 at North Albany Middle School. The camp is designed to help students get off to a smooth start to the school year. The Summer Transition Camp will be held Tuesday, Aug. 20-Thursday, Aug. 21 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. 

Students will have opportunities to learn strategies to enhance study skills and note-taking abilities and to engage in various team-building activities designed to promote a safe and secure learning environment. We hope that all incoming sixth-graders will take advantage of this fun opportunity. 

Parent Information Night

Parent Information Night will be held in the auditorium on Wednesday, Aug. 21 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. We will review the information outlined in this letter and other important information.

Important dates and staying in touch

A reminder that you can visit our school’s website at any time for the most up-to-date calendar of events and information.

We also send out updates via SchoolMessenger, so please be sure the email and the phone number we have on file for you are correct. Learn more about SchoolMessenger at via this link.

You can also follow our school on Facebook @NorthAlbanyCSDA, as well as the City School District of Albany on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @albanyschools.

Have questions?

Please review all of this information at home with your children before the start of the school year. Your participation in your scholar’s education is critical to their success, and we cannot succeed in this work without you. 

Thank you for being a partner as we help your child to be their best selves and embrace all possibilities.

If you have any grade-specific questions, please call (518) 475-6800 or contact:

• Grade 6: Emma Steckman, Assistant Principal, esteckman@albany.k12.ny.us
• Grades 6, 7A & SPED: Sentaria DePass-Murray, Home School Coordinator,                sdepass-murray@albany.k12.ny.us
• Grade 7: Kewsi Burgess, Assistant Principal. kburgess@albany.k12.ny.us
• Grades 8, 7B & SPED: Scott Sankey, Home School Coordinator, ssankey@albany.k12.ny.us

I look forward to seeing you all soon as we embark on an outstanding school year!