Ruby Miracle makes history with record-breaking state championship win! The Shaker High School sophomore soared to vault of 12'6", capturing both the New York State and Federation titles in a stunning display of talent and determination. Ruby shattered the school record and beat her personal best by nearly a foot. She didn’t just win, she made history. Congratulations!
Shaker High School and the North Colonie Central School District are proud to announce the names of our 2025 Honor Graduates. The following students will graduate in the top five percent of the senior class on Friday, June 27, 2025.
Shiyan Ahuja
Sarah Al Shaarawi
Zayd Bhatti
Shashank Boosa
Naomi Bosaka
Jack Bunaes
Sarah Byun
Alyssa Caiano
Julia Cheban
Catherine Cheng
Abeesha Duaa
Shreeya Gillela
Hans Gupta
Pavithra Jayakumar
Kevin Lu
John Park
Neha Prabhu
Victoria Raghubar
April Ren
Marley Ruberti
Rishabh Saha
Gopika Madhurima Sarvepalli
Faiz Shaikh
Hyeonseo Suk
Pranjal Yadav
For more information on these students and their future areas of study, click the link in our bio.
Happy last day of classes, Shaker High School! And congratulations to the Class of 2025! The sun was shining as seniors gathered at Walker Field last week to take a photo wearing the shirts from their college and careers of choice. Best of luck to the Class of 2025!
The North Colonie Teachers' Association hosted its annual retirement party to celebrate the outgoing class of teachers. Employees past and present gathered at The Barn at Power's to honor the 15 NCCSD teachers who are calling it a career. It was a night to reminisce on the years of hard work and dedication put in by so many. Thank you all for everything you have done for North Colonie and we wish you the best of luck in your retirement!
Some of our graduating seniors who attended St. Pius X School for all or part of their K-8 experience went back for a nostalgic stroll through the halls Friday afternoon. Six Shaker seniors were part of the group that visited their former school. Current students and teachers lined the halls for their walk down memory lane. As you can tell, some of those teachers recognized their former students years later! Congrats again to the Class of 2025!
On Thursday night, families, students, and art teachers gathered for the annual Harrison Carnevale Memorial Art Show. Each year, the halls of G Wing are filled with powerful works from media arts students. These works celebrate the life of Shaker High alum Harrison Carnevale, who was killed shortly after graduating in 2007. Harrison had dreams of studying film, and this show honors the creativity, spirit, and artistic passion that he embodied.
On Thursday, June 12, seven Shaker High School seniors signed the line to indicate their college decisions. All seven students in attendance will be going to college and majoring in a program focused on or related to their musical talents. Congratulations to our Shaker musicians - you have a musical future ahead of you!
Kathleen Buffaline - Ithaca College for Music Education (voice)
Katherine Condon - Syracuse University for Music Education (voice)
Stephen Guba - Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam for Music Education (voice)
Tahlia Stefanik - Ithaca College for Music Education (voice)
Rowan Wissenbach - SUNY Fredonia for Music Therapy
Vandy Benson - University of Rhode Island for Music Therapy
Blake Nazarian - Belmont University for Commercial Music
Dozens of eighth grade students in the Accelerated Studio Art and Design program were honored at a portfolio reception on Wednesday afternoon. Art District Supervisor Anne Manzella and members of the SMS art faculty took part in the reception. Over the school year, accelerated art students worked with paint, block print, pencil, pen, graphic design, ceramics and other media. This allows students to explore and experience the wide variety of media available to them and to potentially start to discover their passion. Alina Song and Nandi Htwe were selected by their teachers, Ms. Stanley and Mr. Haacker, to receive a special award for their performance in program. Congratulations to all students and best of luck next year at the high school!
“How can we make the world a better place?” Fourteen students faced that question head-on Tuesday night at the third annual Civic Engagement and Leadership Symposium, presenting bold, forward-thinking projects designed to spark real change from Shaker High School to their communities and beyond. The evening opened with an inspiring keynote from Hon. Mae D'Agostino of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of New York and continued with compelling presentations by freshmen Nancy Chandra and Lasya Nandikam. The formal portion of the night was followed by individual discussions by students where families and community members could ask questions to learn how these students plan to enact change. Each student brought passion, purpose, and fresh ideas to the stage - proof that the future is not only bright, but it's in excellent hands.
T-minus 16 days until graduation, and these student-athletes are gearing up for their next chapter! On Tuesday night, the Athletics Department and Shaker All Sports Booster Club celebrated 21 of the 40+ seniors continuing their athletic careers at D1, D2, and D3 colleges. Congratulations seniors, we can’t wait to cheer you on at the next level!
Congratulations to SHS senior Nazir King! Nazir, a student in the Capital Region BOCES Automotive Services program, was recently awarded the Joe Fuchs Award. The award is given to a student who exemplifies growth in achievement, the development of skills specific to an occupation, growth in citizenship, work ethic, leadership, and pride in their chosen occupation. Great job, Nazir!
The Shaker High School pool was filled with echoes of "cannonball!" earlier this week, as third grade students from Latham Ridge participated in the pilot swim lesson program. Students were bussed over to the high school, where they attended a water safety class before jumping into the water. The group then spent the remainder of the class reviewing swim techniques, water exercises, and, of course, getting in a few cannonballs.
This past March, 27 11th and 12th grade French students participated in the National French Contest. Please join us in congratulating senior Nicolas Bélizaire, who earned a bronze medal; junior Anabel Corniel, who earned a silver medall and junior Nat Antifaiff, who earned a bronze medal. Additionally, the following students earned an Honorable Mention: Marissa Banson, Surya Bommasani, Sofia Conti, Ryan Keegan, Deepak Kilaparty, Jaahnavi Kollapudi, Chaarvi Krishnamurthy, Angela Li, Everitt Li, Jonathan Lindhurst, Layla Mohamed, Suhaas Poka, Aydan Shahbazli, and Jenna Shaw. Félicitations à tous!
Congratulations to Shaker Middle School Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher Molly Jennes! Molly has been awarded the 2024-25 Capital District Teacher of the Year by the New York State Association of FACS Educators (NYSAFCSE). She is now in the running along with other region award recipients for the New York State FACS Teacher of the Year, which will be awarded this summer.
Molly was nominated for the award by FACS teachers throughout the Capital District. She has worked at North Colonie for three years. She is an active member in NYSAFCSE, serving on the board and in multiple roles within the organization. The award serves as a recognition of the positive impact she has had on the lives of many students in SMS. Congratulations, Molly!
Start your engines! Students from Latham Ridge Communications classes put their skills to work, designing their very own cars out of cardboard and other objects on hand, including a frisbee steering wheel and toy cell phone as a GPS. Once students painted and glued the project together, they were given their cardboard box license and took a ride around the school. Upon reaching their destination, they were able to relax in their cars to enjoy a movie in their classroom, just like at the drive-in.
Bees and politics are not topics that tend to mix, but for Christine Butry's U.S. History & Government class it was the perfect blend. Students were given the opportunity to meet with Albany County Legislators and learn about their work, what they do for the community, the process for getting policies passed, what a typical day looks like, and more. In attendance at the event was Democratic Majority Deputy Leader Lynne Lekakis, who was joined by Legislators Bill Ricard, David Mayo, Tim Lane, Susan Lauilliard, and Ellen Rosano.
In addition to offering their experiences, the talk also focused on the importance of sustainable, pollinator-friendly planting across the county as part of the Earth Day Pollinator Project. The event concluded with the district being granted 50 pollinator kits, which included seed balls and educational materials for students.
Great job to Southgate Elementary School! The school reached out to Sidewalk Warriors Troy (@sidewalkwarriorstroy) to offer their assistance with collecting much-needed items for the organization. With a little creativity and some hard work, students were able to collect a large amount of personal care items and decorate and pack brown bag lunches. The items will be distributed to the community over the next few weeks. Great job, Gators!
If you're driving on I-90 westbound near Everett Road, keep your eye out for some of our students' creative work on a Lamar Billboard! Ms. Moran's elementary health classes partnered with Lamar to develop public service announcements that raise awareness about the physical, social and emotional impact of screen time, cell phone use and social media. One submission was selected for display from each of our six elementary schools and can be seen through June 18.
Blue Creek had a very special visitor on Tuesday afternoon! Alexia Michitti was born without a right hand and came to talk to students about how our differences make us unique. Alexia hosted two assemblies in the gymnasium to share her life story which includes success as a soccer player both in high school, collegiately and internationally. After graduating from SUNY Oneonta, Alexia went on to play for the first ever U.S. Women's National Amputee Soccer Team in the World Cup, leading them to a silver medal as the goalkeeper. She was awarded the Golden Glove trophy for the tournament's best goalkeeper!
Members of the Unified Bowling Team were honored Tuesday night by the North Colonie Board of Education at Central Office. Coaches Jason Jones and Christina Kelley called athletes up individually to receive certificates in front of family and friends. The Blue Bison won a championship over the winter season and many of the athletes followed it up with a Unified Basketball Championship last week!
