Academy at the Lakes is in search of a Varsity Boys/Girls Golf coach for the 2024-25 season. This is a part-time position. For more information please contact Athletic Director, Tom Haslam thaslam@academyatthelakes.org or Jen Sciortino at jsciortino@aatl.org.Read More
Welcome to a new school year, Wildcats! It is with warmth and excitement that I welcome you to our school community. On behalf of the student body, we are so thrilled to have you here. Truthfully, each addition to our school community makes us stronger. We look forward to being your classmates, your teammates, and...Read More
Words by Brad Shellgren For the second year in a row, Academy’s Odyssey of the Mind team has placed 4th at the World Finals. After winning the state championship, the team headed to Lansing, Michigan for the World Finals (May 24 – May 27). In front of a packed Breslin Center at Michigan State University, the Academy at...Read More
Words by Brad Shellgren Books are an essential part of the learning process at Academy at the Lakes. Through our readings, students are introduced to new ideas and perspectives. They are transported to unfamiliar places and time periods. Books open our students’ minds to new possibilities. Because books are so powerful, it is with careful...Read More
Words by Mike Camunas, The Laker/Lutz News The Academy at the Lakes softball community experienced a tragedy, however, the team and school are rallying around one of its players. Junior pitcher Sydney Klein’s 12-year-old cousin, Noah, passed away from a terminal form of brain cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG). The softball team has...Read More
Words by Brad Shellgren The Wildcats reign continues! On May 3rd the Academy softball team beat Hernando Christian 13-2 to capture their third straight district championship. It is the program’s 10th district title overall. After a 16-win season, head coach Elizabeth Munn believes this is just the beginning. “I knew coming into the season, the...Read More
Words by Brad Shellgren Academy at the Lakes sent two Odyssey of the Mind teams to the State Championships in Orlando, and both did amazing things. The Technical Team comprised of Audrey Gorski ’25, Allison Fox ’25, Ben Harrison ’25, Geno Lee ’24, Henry Levy ’25, and Eugene Ross ’24 placed first in their problem...Read More
Words by Brad Shellgren Dedicated and motivated weightlifter CJ Fernandez ‘25 has qualified for States! After narrowly missing out on the State Championships as a freshman, Fernandez attacked his sophomore season with the goal of not missing out a second time! “This year I have dedicated a lot more time to my Olympic lifting,” says Fernandez....Read More
Words by Mike Camunas with The Laker/Lutz News They built it because it was time. But now, after two decades, Academy at the Lakes finally has an outdoor sports field at its campus, off Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes. The new field belongs to arguably the longstanding private school’s most successful sports program: the...Read More
Words by Mark Heller, Head of School Thomas Jefferson felt that the purpose of education was to prepare children for citizenship in our democracy. Educational philosopher Francis Parker, one of the founders of the progressive education movement, believed that: “The work of the school is determined by the needs of society.” In many ways, I...Read More
