Canandaigua Academy

Canandaigua Academy is a high school (grades 9-12) located in Canandaigua, New York, United States. It is part of the Canandaigua City School District. The school was named a national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education in 1996. Lynne Erdle is the Superintendent of Schools. Vernon S. Tenney III (VST3) is the current principal of Canandaigua Academy. There were 90 professional staff and 1,372 students as of 2007.^[1]

In 2009 and 2010, Newsweek magazine named it one of the top 1,500 U.S. public high schools.

Canandaigua Academy follows a nine-period-per-day schedule, with each period lasting 42 minutes, with a 4-minute break in between. The school day begins at 7:35 am and ends at 2:24 pm.

History

Canandaigua Academy was founded in 1791 as a private boys' school.^[2] It became a public high school in 1900, but retained "Academy" in its name.^[2]

The current Canandaigua Academy is the fourth academy since its founding in 1791. The first was located on Saltonstall Street (the site no longer exists); the second was on Main Street, now Fort Hill Apartments; the third was on Granger Street, and is now Canandaigua Middle School. The current building was built in 1991, and suits the needs of all departments.

in 2007, a few additions and renovations were made. What is now known as the Hochstein area is the current music hallway, built in 2007, to host Hochstein classes, expanding that part closer to the bus loop. The field house was also built, which suited the needs of the Physical Education department.

In summer 2015, the boys' locker room was renovated for the 2015-2016 school year. The school began construction in 2016 on a new sports complex, due to be completed the summer of 2018. The plan will bring a new track, parking lot, bleachers, locker room, and concession stand facilities on the soccer field below the track. The school will also get turf fields, new tennis courts, and many repairs and fixes to schools in the district.

On March 14, 2006, President George W. Bush visited Canandaigua Academy to inform the public about Medicare.

On May 5, 2009, a student named Tom Kane took his own life with a shotgun in a bathroom stall at Canandaigua Academy.^[3][4]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The school's sports teams are known as the Braves, and wear red and grey team colors. The teams are in section V in the NYSPHAA. The most recent state championships for the school include girls' volleyball and boys' lacrosse, both in 2009. The Canandaigua girls' swim team has won section V sectionals first place for 11 years straight.

In recent years, the Academy has hosted the Special Olympics, a day-long event which unites students and staff in support of disabled students and children in athletic competitions.

Music program

In addition to an outstanding athletic program, the Canandaigua Braves are also known for their accomplished music department. Canandaigua Academy has two concert bands (Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble), two jazz bands, two orchestras (chamber and symphony), and four choruses (mixed, women's, jazz and madrigal).

The Academy music department is run by music and band director Gregory Kane, director of orchestras Jay Blaufuss (Jayfuss), and choral director Kristy Ingersoll, filling in for Amy Story, who retired in January 2015. Story was honored as the American Choral Directors' Association's Helen Kemp Award winner in 2011 for a lifetime commitment to vocal and educational excellence. She has conducted numerous All State Choirs in New York and Pennsylvania, is a registered NYSSMA adjudicator, and has been highly involved in ACDA All-Eastern.

In recent years, the Canandaigua Music Department has hosted a series of guest musicians including the jazz trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, the composer and conductor Eric Whitacre and, in 1976, the conductor and music pedagogue Edward S. Lisk. In 2012, the Canandaigua Academy Mixed Choir was selected to perform at the NYSSBA's 93rd Annual Convention from a number of applicants from the entire state of New York.

The Canandaigua Academy Choral Department can be found on YouTube as "CA Choirs."

The Canandaigua Academy Drama program, led by Scott Schauman, has also been recognized for its achievements by Rochester Broadway Theater League's "Stars of Tomorrow," routinely taking the highest titles for its musicals.

References

External links

• Official website
• Canandaigua Academy bans suggestive dancing
• Grinding ban spurs walkout turmoil

Coordinates: 42°54′30″N 77°16′18″W / 42.90833°N 77.27167°W / 42.90833; -77.27167