What do you get when you combine balloons, second graders, and the opportunity for some creativity? Balloons Over Boght! Their artwork was on fully display earlier this week, as Boght Hills celebrated its Fourth Annual Balloons Over Boght Parade. The parade marks a tradition started in 2019 by beloved teacher Mrs. Jennifer Conroy. Although Mrs. Conroy passed away in 2021, her spirit continues to fill the halls she once brightened with laughter, knowledge, and joy.
Happy Thankful Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving. Each Thursday in November, we have been sharing our gratitude for the people who have helped make North Colonie CSD the community it is today.
This year is especially meaningful as we celebrate our district’s 75th anniversary. For seven and a half decades, our community has stood alongside our schools, supporting our students, educators, and programs and helping shape a strong and caring district. Families, alumni, partners, volunteers, and neighbors: your support, collaboration, and commitment continue to make a lasting difference.
Thank you for believing in our mission and being an essential part of North Colonie. Wishing you a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving from our North Colonie family to yours.
#ThankfulThursday #thankyounorthcolonie #nccsd75 #throwbackthursday
This year is especially meaningful as we celebrate our district’s 75th anniversary. For seven and a half decades, our community has stood alongside our schools, supporting our students, educators, and programs and helping shape a strong and caring district. Families, alumni, partners, volunteers, and neighbors: your support, collaboration, and commitment continue to make a lasting difference.
Thank you for believing in our mission and being an essential part of North Colonie. Wishing you a warm and meaningful Thanksgiving from our North Colonie family to yours.
#ThankfulThursday #thankyounorthcolonie #nccsd75 #throwbackthursday
Prior to the Thanksgiving break, Shaker High School hosted its biggest Career Fair yet, welcoming nearly 60 companies from across the Capital Region! Students had the chance to explore career paths, ask questions, and make real-world connections that could shape their futures. Thank you to all the organizations who spent the day inspiring our students!
A small group of students from Forts Ferry and Shaker Middle School is being recognized as the November North Colonie Kids Care recipients. Sixth grader Benjamin Englat, second grader Luciano Di Carlo, third grader Adeline Fitzgerald and seventh grader Gavan Murry are being honored for their heroic actions to help a neighbor in need.
While playing outside in their neighborhood, Ben, Lucci, Addy and Gavan heard a neighbor calling for help. They responded without thinking, running to her house. They attempted to help her, but realized they needed an adult and rushed to get someone to call 911. Luckily, an ambulance came to assist their neighbor who was later resting at home. Thank you Ben, Lucci, Addy and Gavan for your quick and selfless response. You are not only good neighbors, but wonderful representatives of the North Colonie Central School District. You are truly Kids Who Care!
While playing outside in their neighborhood, Ben, Lucci, Addy and Gavan heard a neighbor calling for help. They responded without thinking, running to her house. They attempted to help her, but realized they needed an adult and rushed to get someone to call 911. Luckily, an ambulance came to assist their neighbor who was later resting at home. Thank you Ben, Lucci, Addy and Gavan for your quick and selfless response. You are not only good neighbors, but wonderful representatives of the North Colonie Central School District. You are truly Kids Who Care!
For the 2025-26 school year, the district welcomed 98 new employees. To celebrate the occasion, we held our annual New Employee Recognition Celebration on Monday, Nov. 24, with new employees, their friends and family, the Board of Education, and NCCSD administration. The event, which was held prior to the Board of Education meeting at Forts Ferry, offered refreshments, raffles, photos with the Bison, and a chance to mingle and see friendly faces ahead of Thanksgiving break. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!
It's time to vote! Blue Creek Elementary School got a special visit from the Bison today, who stopped by each classroom to collect the votes for their name. Classes learned about the history of the Bison and the voting process, filling out a ballot with their selected name and placing it in the ballot box. Students received an "I Voted" sticker after placing their vote. Thanks for your votes, Blue Creek!
In September, SHS seniors taking the Education and Literacy class visited the SMS library to learn how to give book talks to students. The Education and Literacy class allows for students to learn more about the education field, and to work towards a Level 1 Teacher Assistant Certification. For this training, SMS librarians covered how to choose books, how to be engaging during the talks, and the most important point: never give away the ending!
From here, the SHS students then took on the challenge to read a middle school book that they thought would appeal to seventh graders, plan a book talk, and create a mini lesson on how to do book talks in the future. This prepared the seventh grade students to eventually offer their own book talk for their independent reading projects.
Great job to the Education and Literacy class for their work and support!
From here, the SHS students then took on the challenge to read a middle school book that they thought would appeal to seventh graders, plan a book talk, and create a mini lesson on how to do book talks in the future. This prepared the seventh grade students to eventually offer their own book talk for their independent reading projects.
Great job to the Education and Literacy class for their work and support!
Thanks to our North Colonie maintenance staff, the receiving hallway in Shaker Middle School just got a major glow up! Pictured here is the crew in action as they repair, refresh, and completely transform the space. Their hard work is already making a huge difference — amazing job, team!
Congratulations to the Shaker High School Varsity History Bowl Team! The team, consisting of Shrijan Sharma, Yunhan Chen, Charles Adelstein, Everitt Li, and Peter Gong, went 6-0 to win the Central New York History Bowl Competition in Syracuse, NY on October 11. In addition to bringing home another Champions plaque for the trophy case, .the team now qualifies for both the National History Bowl Competition in Arlington, VA and the International History Olympiad. Devesh Kusampudi was the top scorer on the Biology National Qualifying Exam during the event. Mustaeen Morshed was the top scorer on the Geography National Qualifying Exam. Yunhan Chen and Devesh Kusampudi tied for second in that same event. All three students qualified for Nationals.Yunhan Chen also placed second in the History Bee event and qualified for Nationals in that event. Great job to our Varsity History Bowl Team!
On November 7th, a group of 45 French 4 students participated in a trip to the Clark and Norman Rockwell museums in Massachusetts. Students spent the day admiring paintings by such famous artists as Monet, Renoir, and Degas as a culminating activity to the Impressionism unit. They also were introduced to Norman Rockwell and his contributions to American art and culture.
The Bison Is One Step Closer to a Name!
After three weeks of nominations from staff, students, alumni, families, and community members, we officially have our top six names! Thank you to everyone who participated, nominations closed at an incredible 1,000 submissions! The six finalists will now go on a ballot for elementary students, starting Monday, Nov. 24 at Blue Creek Elementary School. The Bison will then travel across the North Colonie Central School District, collecting votes from elementary schools before heading to Shaker Middle School and High School. Once voting is complete, the Bison will tally the results, and the winning name will be announced later this school year. After 75 years, our Bison is finally getting a name, thank you for making history with us!
https://youtu.be/sCUhMV6pmRE
After three weeks of nominations from staff, students, alumni, families, and community members, we officially have our top six names! Thank you to everyone who participated, nominations closed at an incredible 1,000 submissions! The six finalists will now go on a ballot for elementary students, starting Monday, Nov. 24 at Blue Creek Elementary School. The Bison will then travel across the North Colonie Central School District, collecting votes from elementary schools before heading to Shaker Middle School and High School. Once voting is complete, the Bison will tally the results, and the winning name will be announced later this school year. After 75 years, our Bison is finally getting a name, thank you for making history with us!
https://youtu.be/sCUhMV6pmRE
It's Substitute Teacher Appreciation Day! Please join us in celebrating our substitutes and thanking them for all they do!
Canstruction took over Upper J Wing on Wednesday as 17 clubs transformed thousands of donated cans into jaw-dropping sculptures for a great cause, supporting the school pantry located just steps away. This year’s event brought in more than 2,000 cans to help keep the pantry stocked for students and families who depend on its support. Teams had only a few hours to build, and judges evaluated every creation for creativity, completion, and how cleverly the cans were used.
The hallway buzzed with energy as students, staff, and spectators watched iconic landmarks and pop-culture scenes rise from stacks of cans. Shaker Robotics wowed the crowd with a replica of R2-D2, the SLC team built an impressive model of Walker Field, and UNICEF recreated the famous house from Up, complete with balloons!
Coding Club took home the award for the most cans donated with its tissue box build. Latin Club claimed first place overall with a stunning Colosseum, German Club earned second for its towering Rapunzel tribute, and the National English Honor Society secured third with a dramatic Hamlet’s skull display. From creativity to community impact, every team delivered. Congratulations to all participants for an unforgettable Canstruction event!
The hallway buzzed with energy as students, staff, and spectators watched iconic landmarks and pop-culture scenes rise from stacks of cans. Shaker Robotics wowed the crowd with a replica of R2-D2, the SLC team built an impressive model of Walker Field, and UNICEF recreated the famous house from Up, complete with balloons!
Coding Club took home the award for the most cans donated with its tissue box build. Latin Club claimed first place overall with a stunning Colosseum, German Club earned second for its towering Rapunzel tribute, and the National English Honor Society secured third with a dramatic Hamlet’s skull display. From creativity to community impact, every team delivered. Congratulations to all participants for an unforgettable Canstruction event!
Happy Thankful Thursday!
Each Thursday in November, we’re celebrating and showing our gratitude to the people who make North Colonie CSD such a special place.
This week, we’re giving a huge shoutout to our students, past and present! Your curiosity, creativity, resilience, and kindness are at the heart of our community. You inspire us every day and remind us why our work matters. Thank you for bringing energy, passion, and possibility to North Colonie.
We are proud of each and every one of you!
#ThankfulThursday #thankyounorthcolonie #nccsd75 #throwbackthursday
Lanterns were aglow for the annual Martinstag Lantern Parade and Celebration on November 13! Students and families from around the district gathered to celebrate the traditional German holiday at Shaker Middle School with performances and an outdoor lantern parade. This event has grown each year with tremendous support from the German program, students and staff. We hope to see you next year!
Please join us in congratulating SHS senior Nithin Vinothkumar, who recently earned the distinction of an Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout project, Nithin remodeled the area that his old preschool used as a play space. The room had thin carpeting that had been damaged by flooding and contained several hazards for the children who used it, so he removed the existing carpeting, sealed the walls that were letting water in with concrete sealant, and painted the walls. I then installed padded flooring to make the area safer for the kids and wrapped the support poles for added protection. Thank you to Nithin for your hard work and commitment to our community!
Reminder! Tomorrow is the community food drive, we will be hosting the event from 8am-12pm at Central Office (91 Fiddlers Lane). We need your help to support our district students and families in need! All donations of non-perishable food items will be used to support the backpack programs at each of our eight school buildings. A list of most needed items can be found by clicking the link in our bio. Thank you for your support!
Happy Thankful Thursday! Each Thursday in November we’re showing our gratitude to all the people who have helped make North Colonie CSD special through the years.
From past to present, our incredible instructional staff members have shaped North Colonie into the strong, caring, and inspiring community it is today. Thank you to all of our employees from across the years for your dedication, service, and heart.
#ThankfulThursday #thankyounorthcolonie #nccsd75 #throwbackthursday
From past to present, our incredible instructional staff members have shaped North Colonie into the strong, caring, and inspiring community it is today. Thank you to all of our employees from across the years for your dedication, service, and heart.
#ThankfulThursday #thankyounorthcolonie #nccsd75 #throwbackthursday
Shaker High School is excited to present Peter and the Starcatcher on Nov. 21 and 22 at 7 p.m., and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. at SHS auditorium.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Scan the QR code to purchase your tickets today!
Tickets are available online and at the door. Scan the QR code to purchase your tickets today!
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Byron stopped by Shaker Middle School on Monday, Nov. 10 to visit with five Communications classes. Students listened to a presentation from Byron on his time in the Army, the places he traveled to, their schedules, and more. The group also did some boot camp exercises and tried on some Army fatigues. Thank you to Staff Sergeant Bryon for stopping by!
