The North Colonie Central School District and Shaker High School are mourning the loss of longtime teacher and coach Ed Springstead. Coach Springstead passed away on Friday, April 10, at the age of 93.
A United States Army veteran, Coach Springstead spent more than 50 years as a physical education teacher and cross country and track coach at Shaker. In his decades as a coach, his cross country teams won two state championships, one at Colonie High in 1962 and another here at Shaker in 2010. His 2010 state championship team went on to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals and finished 13th in the country.
Mr. Springstead’s tenure as a coach lasted long beyond his retirement as a teacher in 1989. A member of the Shaker High School Athletic Hall of Fame and the Greater Capital Region Cross Country and Track and Field Hall of Fame, Coach Springstead impacted the lives of thousands of student-athletes across the Capital District. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and former athletes and colleagues. Our thoughts are with all of those who knew and loved Coach Springstead during this difficult time.
10 days ago, North Colonie Communications
In recognition of Cerebral Palsy (CP) Awareness Day, neuroscientist Dr. Kainat Akhtar, PhD visited Southgate to share information about CP with kindergarten students. Dr. Akhtar was joined by her younger sister Komal, who has CP and is a kindergartener at Southgate. Komal was excited to join in and share information with her friends! During the presentation, students learned to recognize if things are contagious or not, that everyone has the same emotions, and that all bodies and brains work differently. Thank you to Dr. Akhtar and Komal for sharing this important information with us!
11 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Congratulations to Elijah Goldberg and Bolaji Owodunni! The two were among 45 students from across the Capital Region to place at the regional SkillsUSA competition last month. Elijah (pictured right on the podium) won third place in the Employment Application Process Basic competition. This is Elijah's second year competing and placing at SkillsUSA. Bolaji also won third place for the Prepared Speech competition. Bolaji currently attends the Game Design and Implementation with Capital Region BOCES. Great job, Elijah and Bolaji!
11 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Congratulations to Shaker Middle School eighth grade students Rohith Krishnan and Louis Jin for receiving an Honorable Mention in the Toshiba ExploraVision Competition! The yearly competition is widely recognized as the world’s largest K–12 science competition and is organized by Toshiba in partnership with the National Science Teaching Association. Rohith and Louis worked together to research and develop a proposal for a future technology concept for "NOSSA- Self Secreting Cooking Oil." Their Honorable Mention recognition reflects the creativity, research, and teamwork put into the project. Every year, more than 6000 students from across the United States and Canada participate in this competition. Great job, Rohith and Louis!
12 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Congratulations to Shaker High School sophomore Akshita Bandari! Akshita was honored with the Young Excellence Award by the YWCA at the 43rd Annual Empowerment Awards Gala. This award recognizes young leaders who demonstrate outstanding commitment to community service, leadership, and academic excellence. Akshita was recognized for her work as co-founder of EmpowerMed, a youth-led health education initiative, her advocacy in public health campaigns, leadership in the Free Healthcare Initiative, and her active participation in school clubs and academic pursuits. Her accomplishments reflect a strong dedication to service, learning, and positively impacting her community. Thank you for all you have done for the Shaker community, Akshita!
15 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Receiving SNAP secures kids free school meals. Together SNAP and school meals provide kids the food they need to learn. Learn more about how SNAP grocery benefits can support your child’s education:
https://otda.ny.gov/programs/snap/15 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Happy Assistant Principals Week to our Shaker Shaker Middle and High School hall principals and deans! We appreciate everything you do for our students everyday! It may be spring break but be sure to show your appreciation when we come back next week! #assistantprincipalweek
18 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Eight Forts Ferry students are being recognized as the March North Colonie Kids Care recipients. A group of fifth graders... Isaiah, Levent, Ryan, Kaia, Josie, Mara, Josh and Olivia, were nominated by Mrs. Lisa Hunter and Mrs. Lauren Ireland, for their enthusiastic participation in an ongoing series of safety videos.
Under the direction of Mrs. Ireland, this group of students has been making instructional videos for younger students on how to safely participate in a cafeteria lockdown drill, as well as how to safely ride the bus. They have taken time out of their day to energetically read scripts and act out stellar behavior. As Mrs. Hunter said, “while these efforts may seem simple, the impact they have on the younger community is great.” Their enthusiasm rubs off on the younger students and gets them excited to learn about these topics that are very important to their safety and overall school experience.
We are excited to recognize this group of students for their leadership amongst peers and the younger community. Congratulations!
18 days ago, North Colonie Communications
The Bison is wishing everyone a great Spring Break! Don’t forget we are one month away from the Bison getting a name, and celebrating the 75th anniversary together!
23 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Congratulations to Vicki and Isla Bentley! On Wednesday, April 1, Senator Jake Ashby visited Loudonville Elementary to recognize Vicki and Isla with a New York State Senate Commendation for their picture book “Not Sorry to Be Me.” Senator Ashby nominated both Vicki and Isla for the award after hearing about their book, how they developed the concept for it, and the process involved in getting it to print. Senator Ashby spoke at a school assembly, reflecting on how writing "Not Sorry to Be Me" has created a story that helps to bring awareness about differences, autism, and ADHD. At the assembly, Vicki and Isla each received the NYS Senate Commendation for their work, to the cheers of students and staff. Thank you to Senator Ashby for this honor and congratulations to Vicki and Isla!
Read more about their book on our website:
https://www.northcolonie.org/article/268069223 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Congratulations to our Principles of Engineering classes! The classes attended the Capital District E-Week Model Bridge Competition at HVCC on Friday, March 27. Our students competed against other Capital Region schools, designing and building bridges that were evaluated and tested for aesthetics, max load held, and efficiency. Shaker High School students had an amazing showing, sweeping first, second, and third place in all categories! Great job to these talented students!
24 days ago, North Colonie Communications
You're Invited to Shaker Unified National Banner School Celebration on Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m. in the H-Gym at SHS. This celebration is to recognize our recent recognition as a National Unified Banner School. We would love to have the North Colonie community there to celebrate this milestone!
25 days ago, North Colonie Communications
The Shaker High School Art Department proved to be one of the top in the Capital Region once again, bringing home seven awards at the 27th Annual High School Regional Juried Exhibition at the Albany Center Gallery. Shaker artists had 16 works selected out of 25 submitted and seven of those won awards. Those works, created by four students, are listed below.
Jurors' Choice Award: Kayra Etienne Maître, Almost Like Home
Jurors' Choice Award: Anya Vedhathiri, Oneirism
The Joe Faul Memorial Award: Riley Luczak, Just the Three of Us
The Patricia Clahassey Memorial Award: Trinity Pitts, Clarity
Kevin & Cindi Dubner Showcase Award: Trinity Pitts, Handle with Care
Lory Tansky 3D Award: Riley Luczak, From the Depths
The Opalka Gallery at Russell Sage College Award: Kayra Etienne Maître, Almost Like Home
More than 126 works were selected from 109 students from 27 schools around the Capital Region by jurors D. Colin, Tony Iadicicco, and Alicia Lea. The exhibition will remain on display at Albany Center Gallery until April 24, 2026. There is a public reception on Friday, April 3, from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery located at 48 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207.
Congratulations to all of the Shaker artists and their teachers for such an outstanding performance at the High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition! We’re proud to see your work recognized by the larger art community.
25 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Blue Creek students used the book Stone Soup as their inspiration to make their own version of the delicious meal on Friday, March 27. A day after their Stone Soup assembly, students in Ms. Franke and Ms. Olszowy's communications classes dug for potatoes, cut vegetables and made the soup with the help of the district's Charlie Cart. Farm to School Facilitator Mrs. Amber Cost, helped students use the cart to create the finished product, which students really enjoyed! Some even had second and third helpings and asked for more veggies! In addition, students planted seeds that will be planted in the Blue Creek garden later this spring.
26 days ago, North Colonie Communications
The celebration continued for World Language Month, as the World Language Department hosted a poster contest at Shaker Middle School. Students created posted related to this year's theme of "Languages: The Key to a Global Community." This year's winners are:
3rd Place: Izzy Gorman and Joni Gorr
2nd Place: Deeparjo Ganguli
1st Place: Lily Stone
Congratulations to our winners!
27 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Friday, March 27 marked the conclusion of the "One School, One Book" month long reading challenge for Latham Ridge. Students took part in a day of celebrations, with a morning assembly that included a student from SHS playing the bagpipes and Mr. Thiell reading the final chapter to the school. Throughout the day, students played Highland games, created their own Tartan patterns for an art project connected to the upcoming Ridge Gala, watched "The Water Horse," and engaged in many activities in their classrooms that connect to the story and the history of Scotland. It was a great day of celebrations, marking the successful completion of the reading challenge. Great job, Panthers!
29 days ago, North Colonie Communications
A group of Shaker Middle School sixth graders has a lot more knowledge about mummies! That’s thanks to several visits by Janine Moon from the Albany Institute of History and Art over the past two weeks. Ms. Moon, the Education Manager for AIHA, presented Ancient Egypt: Mummies on the Move, for the students of Ms. Meade, Ms. Silver, Ms. Ackerly and Mr. Futia. Our students had a lot of great questions about Ancient Egypt and Ms. Moon answered every one of them! She brought ancient tools to show off and students got to make a Shabti out of model magic clay and decorated it.
The Albany Institute is the legal guardian of two mummies, which means it is their responsibility to take care of those mummies. They sign a contract with specific terms like making sure the mummies are under plexiglass and have specific temperature and humidity requirements for their protection. Thank you to Ms. Moon and the Albany Institute of History and Art for the fun and educational experience!
29 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Prom season is almost here, and we’re excited to support our students once again. On Monday, 4/6 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, NCCSD is hosting our annual Free Prom Attire Giveaway. All students are invited to browse our collection in G103 (Chorus Room), entering through the Auditorium Entrance. We’ll have over 100 dresses and some men’s formalwear available, all in great condition, with some brand new and never worn items. Everything is completely free and yours to keep. We had a great turnout last year and hope to see even more students this time!
We are also accepting donations, so if you have gently used formalwear to share, please drop it off at the Shaker High School main office.
29 days ago, North Colonie Communications
Our classrooms have changed so much in just 14 years, and so have the ways our students explore and create. Some things, like curiosity and energy, never change!
Have photos from the last 75 years? Send them to us at communications@nccsk12.org. We’d love to see them! #NC75 #ThrowbackThursday
30 days ago, North Colonie Communications
For the past few weeks, Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Nolett and Mr. Zitolo’s physics students spent time engineering cardboard boats that finally hit the water on Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24. Students competed across three categories including Best Theme, Most Buoyant, and Fastest Race Times. Huge shoutout to all participants for their creativity, teamwork, and determination, great job!
about 1 month ago, North Colonie Communications
