Monday, December 14th, 2020—There may be a lesson or two in this Virtual Story Time with News Channel 9’s Dan Cummings. Today, Dan read some of his favorite Aesop’s Fables to the 2nd grade Atoms. Before we settle in for this story time, let’s take a look at the history behind these well known short stories or fables.

Aesop’s Fables are a collection of short stories that were designed to teach moral lessons. These fables are credited to a Greek story-teller named Aesop who may have lived around or between 620 and 560 BCE. These fables are well known and have been translated into a variety of languages. Some of the fables are popular in many cultures and have been made into animated cartoon versions and are inspiration to some architecture. 

Thank you Dan for taking the time to share these historic fables with the Atoms. To listen to this Virtual Story Time of Aesop’s Fables, please click here.

Monday, December 21st, 2020—Charismatic. Friendly. Talkative. With a passion for singing and a hidden talent of doing a Cher impression, this can only mean one Syracuse Academy of Science high school Senior Atom, Jacob Toledo! Check out our interview with Jacob and find out what are his goals after graduation, his advice to pass on to future Atoms and so much more. Without further ado, let us shine a spotlight for the month of January on Jacob Toledo.

Interview with Jacob Toledo

• What is one major accomplishment you had in your senior  year of high school? Independently applying for college.
• What are your goals for after high school? My goals are to graduate from college, so I can be the first generation to graduate from college.
• Name one person that inspires you? AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)
• What advice would you give to the next senior class? Some advice I have for the next senior class is to do your FAFSA right away, ASAP! It is a race & you want to be the first to catch the bag.
• Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself either writing for a magazine or a blog while living in NYC.
• If you could have dinner with any person living or dead who would they be and why? I would have to choose Malcolm X to have dinner with because I want to get his opinion on the direction. The BLM movement is going & he was an intellectual person so I'd love to just converse with him.
• Name three traits that describe you? Charismatic, Friendly & Talkative
• What is your favorite hobby? Singing
• What is a hidden talent that no one or only a few people know about you? A hidden talent that not many people know about is that I can do a mean Cher impression
• What is your favorite memory of SAS? My favorite memory has to be hands down when all the languages would go down to NYC. It was my favorite part of the year & every time we went I felt so alive.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020—Do you ever catch yourself wondering or imagining what life may be like in a different town or city (or planet)? Maybe it’s a place where you can make all the decisions? If you have ever caught yourself dreaming or imagining this place you are certainly not alone.

The 6^th and 7^th grade Project Based Learning (PBL) classes teamed up to complete a project together where they were tasked to create a society. They had to determine not only what this place would look like, but the rules, the government, the behaviors, the societal norms and so much more. Once their town was complete they were put into a 'mock world' where they were given the following scenario.

Society 1 has experienced a drought this year and has had massive wildfires throughout their society. They have relied heavily on Society 3 and Society 5 to help feed their people. Two days ago Society 2 invaded Society 3 and cut off the trade route that Society 1 has been using and is now occupying that land and has claimed it as their own. The groups then had to form alliances, work together or stay neutral to decide how to help Society 1. What would you do?

Needless to say, groups formed an alliance to work together to try and help the other societies but inevitably a war was declared and Societies 1, 2, and 3 were victorious over Societies 4, 5 and 6. Societies 7 and 8 stayed neutral.

Monday, December 21st, 2020—We are all passionate about various events, current or in our history. The Syracuse Academy of Science 7^th grade Atoms of Mrs. Mathis' class are about to learn how propaganda and the media can be a means of persuasion, and how it was influential in historical events such as the Chinese Culture Revolution. The Atoms will be preparing to learn about this revolution in history through the eyes of a 12 year old named Ji-Li Jang.

To get ready for their upcoming lesson about the Chinese Culture Revolution, the students were tasked with creating propaganda artwork of events or issues they are passionate about. Please head to our Facebook page to view more works of art from the 7^th grade students of Mrs. Mathis' class.

Friday, December 18th, 2020–Syracuse Academy of Science elementary Atoms learn a new computing language and skill that allowed them to crack a very impressive code. That language is one none other than Binary Code! Our Binary Buddies used the numbers 2, 1 and 0 to convert their names into Binary Code for this fun STEM and computing activity. The first grade Atoms remembered to ‘save often’ when writing their code by creating their very own necklaces. The beads on the necklace correspond to the numbers in the Binary Code and the alphabet. Keep up the great work, Atoms!

Thursday, December 17th, 2020—Welcome to Syracuse Academy of Science’s first-ever Teacher Spotlight! Each month we will be highlighting and shining a spotlight on one of our esteemed faculty members. For the month of December, we are pleased to announce the interview with the one, the only, Dr. Ay! Dr. Ay teachers high school science.

"Dr. Ay has been a wonderful addition to our team. Her positivity radiates through the halls. Aside from her high-quality chemistry instruction, she is the facilitator for diversity club and a mentor to our students for congressional awards" - Dean of high school

Interview with Dr. Ay

• What three traits define you? Optimistic, dedicated, polite, I start everything with great enthusiasm but it is hard for me to stay motivated for a long time. I need motivated friends like me to keep the energy alive. (is there a one word for this trait)
• What is your greatest accomplishment? Once I was a charity event organizer when I was in Michigan and Hamilton, NY. I brought the whole Hamilton community together to organize a bake sale. I was in the news. :)
• Best book you have ever read? Blindness  by Jose Saramago
• What is one thing you cannot resist?(food/dessert/candy/etc.) Lahmacun
• If you could have dinner with one person living or dead who would they be and why? My Grandma, I have never met her. She died before I was born. I am curious about our similarities and differences.
• What advice would you give to kids who are struggling at school? You need to be patient and practice it many times. Before studying anything learn about your learning style. When is your brain functioning well. Find out. Just reading is not enough for learning. you will read it, and write it down in order to keep the knowledge. And to make it yours you need to explain it to someone else. I used to explain the history topics to my bird before every exam, and they were great listeners.
• Tell us, what is something that might surprise us about you? Now we are publishing a children magazine with my friends. My role is small but I am glad I am part of it.

Friday, December 11th, 2020—It was pawsitivly a great virtual story time with News Channel 9’s news anchor, Christie Casciano, Sunny 102.1 radio personality Rick Gary, and their furry friend Ringo. 

This dynamic trio read to the first grade students one of their favorite books, Ringo is his Name-o, which is about their four legged friend who helps bring smiles, laughter and joy to everyone he meets. Ringo is a certified therapy dog who is active in the Syracuse community visiting schools, nursing homes and any place where therapy is needed. This virtual story time is one that you certainly don't want to miss, and did we mention there is audience participation needed? Listen, follow along and watch as we get ready to learn about Ringo and his many adventures throughout the community. Please click here to watch as Christie, Rick and Ringo read the book, ‘Ringo is his Name-o.’

Thank you Christie, Rick, and Ringo for taking the time to share this story with us, and for all that Ringo has done to help those in need throughout the community.

Monday, December 21st, 2020—Earlier this week, Syracuse Academy of Science elementary school recognized its students and staff at the December virtual Student of the Month ceremony for demonstrating the character traits of caring and compassion. Each month, students are recognized for their hard work and for demonstrating the month’s character trait. Congratulations to all of our students and nominees! Please click here to view the Student of the Month ceremony.

Thursday, December 17th, 2020—With the snow falling all around us overnight by the inches it led to Syracuse Academy of Science’s first snow day. As like much of 2020, this snow day looked a bit different. For the students of Ms. Peryea’s 2^nd grade class they took full advantage of their ‘SNOWnline Learning Day.’ Students woke up extra early in anticipation of a snow day. With the jump start of the morning, Atoms were able to complete their daily assignments. Their reward, an afternoon of snow much fun! Keep up the great work, Atoms.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2020—On the cusp of winter recess, and all through the halls not a creature was stirring not even an Atom! The Syracuse Academy of Science elementary school teachers were busy at work creating a very special holiday message to all of their wonderful Atoms. Please click here to watch and listen to the holiday greetings from Syracuse Academy of Science elementary school teachers. We wish all of our students and their families a happy, healthy and safe winter recess.