Lose your blues and kick off your Sunday shoes at Shaker Theatre's production of Footloose! The show will take place on Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at 2 p.m., and Saturday, March 28 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are now available! Visit https://shsnccs.booktix.com to purchase tickets for any show. Tickets have been selling quickly - don't miss out!
March 4 to 6, marked the 62nd Annual New York State DECA State Competition in Rochester. In just their third year as a DECA charter, this was the first time Shaker qualified for states. The team, consisting of juniors Adithya Thumila and Ansh Maurya and sophomore Srivar Gillela, represented Shaker High School while competing against over 3,500 students from across New York State. Adithya and Ansh earned medals in their events, marking a memorable achievement. Special thanks to senior and outgoing president Naisha Majmudar for establishing DECA at Shaker High School. DECA provides students with opportunities in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management through competitions, leadership development, and real-world experience.
Shaker High School band teacher Samantha Baldwin has been nominated for the Manilow Music Teacher Award! This national award honors outstanding music educators, and the winner receives a prize of $5,000 for classroom instruments to support their students and music program. The winner will receive VIP tickets to Barry Manilow’s concert and will be presented their award in person during a special backstage ceremony with Mr. Manilow. Please vote daily and share to help support Samantha and the Shaker High School music program! Congratulations Samantha! Vote daily here: https://on.barrymanilow.com/trk/mmpalbany
SOLD OUT! We're not the only ones excited about Shaker Middle School's performance of the "Descendants: The Musical." Our students and staff are putting the finishing touches on the show, which will take place on Friday, March 13 & Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15. Best of luck to the cast and crew, it's sure to be a wickedly fun show!
On Thursday, March 5, Mr. Sam Halpern’s health class took a field trip to the Albany Capital Center for the Northeastern Community Action Partnership (NECAP)’s Eighth Annual Youth Summit. Mr. Halpern was accompanied by fellow health educators Mr. Dave Stadtlander, Mr. Ryan Deguire, and Mr. Tyler Catalfamo.
For the past four years, Shaker High School has been among the many schools attending this health and safety summit. This year, students focused on learning about the dangers of various addictions. Mr. Deguire reflected on a presentation by renowned neuroscientist Dr. Stephen Dewey, explaining that “it gives them the foundation to go out and make informed, educated decisions about their health down the road.”
Students and faculty also had the opportunity to hear from multiple speakers and participate in interactive activities. One activity, the Hand Release Challenge, was run by the New York National Guard Counterdrug Task Force. Sophomores Mikayla Wilson and Andrew Gecewicz represented Shaker in the challenge, where participants had two minutes to complete as many hand-release pushups as possible. Wilson placed third with 55 pushups.
Wilson and Gecewicz first joined Mr. Halpern’s health class as freshmen and have continued with it since. Both students left the summit with new knowledge about addiction, including ways to recognize it and strategies for prevention. By the end of the day, students returned to Shaker not only with new experiences, but also with valuable lessons about making healthy choices and looking out for themselves and others.
Louis Jin
Yiming Chen
Claire Qiu
Isa Wang
Aiden Li
Aana Pradham
Aaron Yu
Adri Dutta
Tanmay Prasad
Yathin Jakkanna
Livia Lu
William Ni
Four of the top 12 students in attendance who made it to the final Countdown round were from Shaker. Those students were Louis Jin, Claire Qiu, Yiming Chen and Isa Wang. Louis Jin ended up being our top finisher, coming in third place overall. A big shout to the team on a wonderful accomplishment. Special thanks goes out to the Math club advisor at SMS, Mrs. Jenn Garnett, for supporting our students.
In mid-February, 22 SHS students traveled to Saabruecken, Germany to stay with their exchange students for 10 days. This was the 20th anniversary of the exchange program between SHS and the partner school Ludwigsgymnasium. Having hosted the German students in October 2025, it was SHS's turn to experience German culture and language firsthand! The students attended classes and took day trips to cities nearby, including historic Heidelberg and the former Roman city of Trier. Some students traveled to nearby France or Luxembourg and spent a day in Paris or Strasbourg. The trip ended with a four day stay in Berlin, Germany’s capital. Students explored the rich history of the city at the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the Berlin Wall Memorial and Documentation Center, and a tour of the Reichstag. The two week trip was an unforgettable immersion into the target language and culture, and life-long friendships and connections were formed. Thank you to our chaperones (Melissa Brandt, Robert Pollaro, and Christine Connor) for helping to make this trip a success. On to the next 20 years!
Lose your blues and kick off your Sunday shoes at Shaker Theatre's production of Footloose! The show will take place on Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 28 at 2 p.m., and Saturday, March 28 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are now available! Visit https://shsnccs.booktix.com to purchase tickets for any show. Tickets have been selling quickly - don't miss out!
For the fourth straight year, Ms. Vanessa Fulmore's fourth graders at Southgate presented Our History, Our Heroes: Black History Living Wax Museum. As part of their studies during Black History Month in February, each student in Ms. Fulmore’s class selected an influential Black figure in history for a research project. Each student created an informational report, as well as a visual presentation, and the project culminated with the living wax museum.
On Thursday, February 26, students dressed up and transformed into their influential individual, bringing that person's story to life with a biographical reading when prompted with the touch of a button. Some students read off an index card, while others chose to memorize their subject's story. Students had posterboards with photos and information to go along with their live presentation and written report. For the full story, go to news stories.
Initially fearful of the water, Haitham worked together with Evie for weeks, making small gains with her encouragement. The process took a lot of patience, communication, learning and trust on the part of both students. After five weeks, Haitham made it all the way into the pool, walking around the shallow end with confidence.
Thank you to both Haitham and Evie for their dedication, care and support for one another and congratulations on being our February Kids Care recipients! For the full story, head to our website or click the link in our bio.
Tuesday, Feb. 24, North Colonie hosted an event titled “Paving Your Path in Education.” This event was designed for individuals interested in exploring a career in education. The evening consisted of networking, a panel discussion with district leaders, and one-on-one screening sessions. It was an informative experience for both current and future educators.
As we head into March, this event marks the first of many recruitment efforts. Jewelie Koutelis, our Recruitment and Retention Specialist, will be traveling from Plattsburgh to Niagara Falls in search of top teaching talent across New York State, along with some of our administrators. Part of their journey will consist of attending two Teacher Recruitment Days (TRD), during which they will meet with college students from a total of 18 colleges in NYS.
If you were unable to attend, but are interested in joining the North Colonie team, please visit northcolonie.org/recruitment to learn more.
Congratulations to all of our Shaker High School students who achieved High Honor Roll, Honor Roll and Merit Roll for the second quarter of the school year! See the full list here: https://www.northcolonie.org/article/2728781
