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.
Turning leftovers into lessons at Latham Ridge! Kindergarten students recently had the chance to learn all about composting as a part of their day of service. Kindergarteners rotated through stations and learned about the full lifecycle of composting, which included what can be recycled and composted, how to compost, how soil is made from composting, and more! Students even got the chance to see how their own food scraps from lunch could be transformed into rich soil for the school garden.
The Loudonville Pop-Up Shop is more than just a fun experience—it’s also a great opportunity for second grade students to learn financial literacy as they make decisions on how to spend their Edmunds’ Money or Keegan Cash. The shop "pops up" five to six times during the second half of the school year to give students a fun way to learn about budgeting, prioritizing and understanding the value of their earnings and practice with counting money. Students earn "cash" throughout the school day and then have a chance to spend that hard earned money on things like fidget spinners, colored pencils, activity books, pens and other toys. They will even face "tax day" once a year like the rest of us... getting them ready for the future! This is the eighth year of the Loudonville "Pop-Up Shop" which is supported by the PTA.
The SHS Family and Consumer Sciences Department is committed to giving back to the community! Throughout the school year, our FACS and FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) students have taken part in various service projects. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Creating hygiene bags for Joseph's House and Shelter
- Constructing cat beds, dog bandanas and toys for the Mohawk Humane Society
- Baking banana and pumpkin bread for the Sidewalk Warriors of Troy
- Baking cookies for the Shaker Road Fire Department
- Creating Valentine's cards for veterans at the Albany Stratton Medical Center
Nine Shaker High School student-athletes put pen to paper in a signing ceremony on Wednesday afternoon. The seniors were surrounded by family, friends and teammates as they made their college commitments official. Congratulations to the following student-athletes who will continue their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level.
Abby Taylor - Cheer - University of Rhode Island
Brendan McLoughlin - Baseball - Wagner College
Andrew Lawler - Cross Country and Track and Field - Stony Brook University
Isaiah Teabout - Football - Southern Connecticut University
Sophia Torian - Wrestling - Ithaca College
Emily Dudar - Wrestling - Western New England University
Elizabeth Williamson - Wrestling - Indiana Tech
Robert DeLaCruz - Cross Country Indoor/Outdoor T and F - Canisius University
Maia DeLaCruz - Wrestling - Western New England University
Please join us in congratulating Shaker High School junior Everitt Li, who was recently invited to participate in the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Event at the New York State Education Building. On Tuesday, May 6, Everitt read Governor Kathy Hochul's proclamation during the program, which honored the history, contributions, and cultural diversity of the AAPI community. Great job, Everitt!
Science shows that exercising before school helps students pay attention in school, get better grades, show up ready to learn, and do better on tests. With this in mind, for the grade 3, 4, and 5 state testing days, Latham Ridge has been hosting a "Pop-Up Running Club" before school each day. The event has been a success, with 30 to 45 kids showing up each morning of the four state testing days. As of mid-April, students have run a total of 1,452 miles so far this school year - and with each pop-up running club event, that number continues to grow. Great job to our Latham Ridge runners!
"Lights, Camera, Gallery" was the theme of the evening at Shaker High School on Thursday, May 1, as students, families, and friends gathered for the Senior Art Show. At the show, a total of 13 students shared their portfolio works, their current concentration, and their other elective work. The event was completely student run, organized, and curated by the group as a whole, overseen by instructor Genevieve Chornyak.
The movie theme was carried throughout the night, with storyboards, bloopers, and prequels sections of artwork on display. The event also featured a concession stand, red carpet, marquee with artist names, film reel guest book, and many more movie themed details. Great job to Samaita A., Toby B., Izzy D., Hans G., Luke H., Angel H., Sakthi J., Landon L., Meili L, Ava P., Marley R., Katie S., and Vivian Y. for an excellent event!
Jared Campbell had Southgate students absolutely captivated on Friday! The singer/songwriter from the Binghamton area transformed the gymnasium into a concert hall for all students K-5 on May 2. Campbell told the students that he has been performing at Southgate since 2018, which means fifth graders have enjoyed his musical styles every year! Campbell brings incredible energy, but most importantly messages of kindness, sportsmanship, respect and responsibility among other qualities. Thank you Mr. Campbell! We're already looking forward to next year!
Putting FACS skills to the test! Francis Estrella, a student from Morgan Armstrong's Textile & Design class, took what he learned in class and transformed it an official brand.
For the class, students were tasked with creating a clothing company logo and one clothing item. Francis made a beanie hat lined with silk to accommodate people that struggle with frizzy hair. He then took the project a step further, pitching his brand, which he named "Director," to a clothing manufacturer. The slogan for Director is "Your Life Is Your Movie," which Francis says reminds us that we are the boss of our lives - no one but yourself can direct this movie, also known as your life.
"I am beyond proud of him," said Armstrong. "This is exactly what it's all about!"
Blue Creek's new gardens are in! Thank you to everyone who came out to help Mr. Turcio and Mrs. Cost work on the gardens and get them looking beautiful on the Bulldogs' Day of Service. Blue Creek also unveiled new hammocks and a Little Free Library on the grounds. It was a wonderful day to kick off our NCCSD Month of Service!
These are three of Shaker High School's senior leaders in Physical Education! Congratulations to PJ Strand, Alana DeLaCruz and Karam Abdalrahman, who were recognized by the Capital Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (NYS AHPERD) on Sunday, April 27. All three students were selected by their PE teachers for their high level of physical performance, scholastic achievement, exceptional leadership qualities and outstanding service to the school/community.
Congratulations to Pragna Obiddi, Evelyn Lu, Aleena Saleem, Gianna Zhang, and Ella Bagchi for their outstanding performances on the Shaker Speech and Debate Team! These members have all qualified to compete in the NCFL Nationals tournament on Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. Pragna, Ella, and Aleena will compete in the Original Oratory Speech category, Evelyn will compete in Extemporaneous Speech, and Gianna will compete in Lincoln Douglas Debate. The success of Speech and Debate has been taken to new heights this year, with the hard work of all of its members has earning awards for the team. Great work to the Shaker Speech and Debate Team!
