We are thrilled to congratulate the outstanding Spanish students from Shaker High School who have once again demonstrated excellence on the 2025 National Spanish Exam (NSE), earning well-deserved national recognition. In this year's competition, 83 students from SHS secured a remarkable 1 gold, 4 silver, and 10 bronze medals, in addition to 35 honorable mentions. The achievement of earning a medal or honorable mention on the National Spanish Exam (NSE) is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students as well as the guidance and expertise of our dedicated Spanish teachers. Click the link in our bio for a list of winners.
Big smiles and even bigger school spirit filled the H Gym today as our Unified Basketball and Cheerleading teams hit the court for their first ever Blue vs. White game! The energy was electric as both teams gave it their all on the court and the sidelines. Huge thanks to everyone who came out to support. What an unforgettable day!
There are 20 new members of the National Art Honor Society after a formal induction ceremony at Shaker High School on Wednesday. Art Supervisor Anne Manzella and several NAHS Officers honored the new inductees with a certificate, a carnation and a special cord which students will wear at graduation.
In addition, all of the SHS art teachers honored individual students in each of their classes for high achievement and performance. Teachers spoke glowingly about the 34 students they selected in grades 9-12 who were called up to receive certificates and sketch pads for the recognition.
This week, Haystack Hall sixth graders are participating in mock Congressional Hearings as part of their social studies curriculum. Students presented prepared testimony as expert witnesses, comparing the structure and principles of the United States government with those of ancient Athens and the Roman Republic. They delivered their testimonies to a panel that included Mrs. Ackerly (Social Studies teacher), Ms. Phillips (Librarian), Mrs. French (Haystack Principal), and Mr. Pollaro (Social Studies Supervisor). The panel provided feedback and asked questions to help students improve their public speaking skills and build confidence.
Shaker Middle School is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month! Charles Rice from the New York State Office of Mental Health came in during lunches on Wednesday to share information on the 988 Lifeline and help spread awareness about mental health. Students and faculty members were encouraged to connect with their feelings. Students could grab stickers from a table and volunteers handed out fidget spinners, pens, bracelets, and other support goodies. Staff even received a special treat, a "You Matter" hat! #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #YouMatter #988Lifeline
Shaker High School is home to one of this year's Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award recipients! Senior Sakthi Jagannath was honored at the Pruyn House on Tuesday, May 13, along with a recipient from Colonie High School. The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest was created in 1934, to encourage and recognize high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. For more on Sakthi's achievements, check out the full news story in our bio.
Thank you to the North Colonie community for supporting the 2025-26 budget! North Colonie residents voted to approve the budget, 937 yes votes to 267 no votes. Linda Harrison and Samuel Johnson were both reelected to their seats on the Board of Education. Learn more on our website at northcolonie.org/news.
Gator Clubs! Where there is something for everyone! Sports like bowling, golf and cornhole not for you? There are beaded bracelets, fashion design, origami, slime, spirographs, dancing, trivia and much more! Every Southgate student in kindergarten through fifth grade was introduced to all of the clubs earlier in the school year before choosing five of their favorites. Once a month, beginning in January, students are assigned to one of their favorite clubs to just have fun for an hour!
On Sunday, May 18, the Shaker Middle School Select Chorus took the field to sing the national anthem ahead of the Tri-City ValleyCats baseball game. Southpaw loved hanging out with our singing stars and some students even had the chance to participate in the games on the field in between innings. Everyone had a great time!
Shaker High School has another winner! Congratulations to senior Victoria Raghubar, who was chosen as a winner of the 3M Scholarship, for her performance in the National Merit Program. The 3M Scholarship is a special supplemental scholarship given to a candidate who fulfills the sponsor's criteria and scored highly on the 2023 PSAT. Victoria plans to attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the fall.
Shaker Middle School held its Day of Service on Saturday too! Students, parents and staff members helped install a new pollinator garden and cleaned up the current garden beds which will be planted later this spring.
The Forts Ferry garden beds are in! Thanks to a huge effort during Saturday's Forts Ferry Day of Service, the beds were delivered and installed by a group of volunteers that included students, teachers and representatives from Forts Ferry Farm. Lookin' good Lions! We can't wait to see what you grow!
Former Southgate P.E. teacher Pete Mravlja was top of mind during the Gators' annual Day of Service. May 18th was Coach Mravlja's birthday, so the Southgate school community celebrated by honoring him on Friday, May 16th. Each grade level participated in a different service project throughout the day. From putting together lunches and collecting items to donate to Sidewalk Warriors, to writing thank you cards to the Westford Fire Department and even making dog toys from old t-shirts for Petey's Legacy Dog Rescue... everything they did connected back to Coach Mravlja. And check out the new plaque at the Coach Mravlja Adaptive Playground!
Don't forget to join Forts Ferry (9 a.m. to 12 p.m.) and Shaker Middle School (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) tomorrow (Saturday, May 17th) for their Days of Service!
Lucas Zhang is headed to world championships! Last month, the Shaker High School junior traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the North American Open International Karate Tournament and returned home with five medals: one gold, two silver, and two bronze! Thanks to his outstanding performance, Lucas qualified for Team USA and the upcoming 2025 WUKF (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) World Karate Championships in Malmö, Sweden this July. Before heading to Sweden, Lucas will compete at the AAU National Karate Championships in Fort Lauderdale from June 30 to July 5. As if that weren’t impressive enough, Lucas also earned his 2nd-degree black belt (2nd Dan) last year and made his debut as a center referee at the Adirondack District Championship. Congratulations, Lucas, on your remarkable accomplishments and best of luck in Florida and Sweden!
The trout have found a new home! After being well taken care of by the students in Mrs. Parks' innovation lab at Forts Ferry, third graders released the trout into the Geyser Creek in the Saratoga Spa State Park on Wednesday morning.
As students released the trout, they sang "happy release day to you," to the tune of "Happy Birthday." In addition, students had the chance to try on waders and get in the creek where they used the kick net to look for macroinvertebrates, tested the water for dissolved oxygen and even learned how to cast a fly reel! It was a great way to cap off everything they've learned about the life cycle of trout this year.
Congratulations to Shaker High School students Dominic Corey, Trinity Pitts, and Hana Kim! All three SHS students were recently honored at the Congressional Art Competition held at the Art Center of the Capital Region. Congressman Paul Tonko was in attendance and addressed the families present. At the event, SHS senior Dominic Corey was presented with one of two honorable mentions for his digital photograph "City Lights." The competition celebrated students from across the region, including North Colonie, Albany City, Bethlehem, and Niskayuna. Great job to these SHS artists!
The Shaker baseball team celebrated former player Casey O'Connor by retiring his #14 jersey ahead of Tuesday's inaugural Casey O'Connor Memorial Baseball Cup Game. Family and friends of the late CBA baseball coach and Shaker grad were on hand to celebrate his life and his contributions to both the CBA and North Colonie baseball communities. Both teams sported warmup t-shirts with "O'Connor" written on the back and O'Connor's son Jake threw out the ceremonial first pitch. O'Connor's #14 plaque was unveiled on the back of the home dugout, joining Jeff Hoffman, Tommy Kahnle and late Coach Pete Mravlja. Shaker took home the first ever Casey O'Connor Memorial Cup Game with a 3-2 win over CBA in 10 innings.
North Colonie is once again teaming up with the United Way of the Greater Capital Region... this time for our Season of Service! Throughout the month of May, students from buildings around the district are holding days of service to give back to the community. While they're doing that, we want to help our own students in need. The money raised in this campaign will help provide students with food and other items during summer break and beyond. We are grateful for any and all donations!
Shaker High School students in the IT Essentials & Advanced Robotics classes recently had the opportunity to participate in an educational industrial visit to the Albany NanoTech Complex on Friday, April 30. The NanoTech Complex is North America’s largest and most advanced semiconductor research and development facility. On this tour, students learned how the complex is constantly pushing the boundaries of technology, building the next generation of chips, and training the workforce of tomorrow. The tour also focused on Quantum computation, employment and school opportunities, and how cleanrooms were set up/ utilized. The day concluded with a Plasma demonstration. Thank you for having us, Albany NanoTech!
The 6th Annual Boght Hills International Festival was bigger and better than ever this year! Students, families and staff members came out on Saturday to celebrate the many different cultures represented in the school community. There was food, arts and crafts, and performances (song, dance, martial arts) from dozens of countries around the world. The Colts also incorporated their Day of Service into the International Festival, creating mini flags which Mr. Bogert helped place in the school garden to promote linguistic and cultural diversity.
