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.
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.
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!
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.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, members of the Parliament of Uzbekistan visited Shaker High School to meet with students from AP Government, Civic Engagement, and Gender in Politics classes. Representing a young democracy less than 30 years removed from the Soviet Union, the parliamentarians discussed topics such as modernization, civil rights, youth engagement, and women’s participation in government. The five members were accompanied by two translators, one speaking Russian and the other Uzbek, the country’s primary language. As a recently independent nation, the parliamentarians main goal for this visit was to learn about the structure and workings of the United States government, as well as to gain a deeper understanding of American culture. Their trip was supported by the International Center of the Capital Region (ICCR) and the Congressional Office for International Leadership.
Shaker's Blue Team and White Team, composed of 15 students each, battled it out with 18 other competitive teams from the Capital District in 23 different science events, ranging from builds like Boomilever to labs like Forensics. The Blue Team came out on top, while the White Team placed 8th. The teams received a combined 23 medals—15 of which were top three placements. Not only was it the first time the team has qualified for States in 15 years and only the third time in Shaker history, but it was their best ever performance at a regionals competition.
Shaker High School also had two other Microsoft Office Certification students place at the state level. Alex Mahan earned second place, while Aiden Brady earned third place, both with perfect scores as well. The final placements were determined by a tiebreaker based on exam completion time. Great job to our SHS students!
