Shaker High School

On Wednesday, May 27, 40 students in grades 10-12 were inducted into the Shaker High School chapter of the English National Honor Society. Over the course of this year, NEHS’s inaugural year, members fostered a love of the English language and literature and completed a combined 1,000 hours of volunteer literacy service in the North Colonie community.

Shaker High School’s Microsoft Office class has done it again! Students from Mrs. Jachym’s class achieved an impressive milestones in both Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint at the New York State level. This competition challenges students to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office applications, with participants competing against both high school and college students across New York State.
Notably, Aiden Brady placed first in both Excel and PowerPoint, demonstrating exceptional skill across multiple platforms. Please see the list below for the full placement results from Shaker High School in New York State.
1st Place - Aiden Brady - Microsoft Excel
2nd Place - Shwe Zin Than - Microsoft Excel
3rd Place - Boshra Benantar - Microsoft Excel
6th Place - Amra Mohammed - Microsoft Excel
8th Place - Alex Mahan - Microsoft Excel
1st Place - Aiden Brady - Microsoft PowerPoint
2nd Place - Adrien Wirfel - Microsoft PowerPoint
3rd Place - Boshra Benantar - Microsoft PowerPoint
5th Place - Caleb Lopez Ruiz - Microsoft PowerPoint
6th Place - Laiba Awan - Microsoft PowerPoint
Congratulations to all of our students on this remarkable accomplishment—great work!

Students from the SHS Engineering Capstone visited Siena College last week to pitch their startup business and engineering designs to a panel of Siena faculty. Students had to give a ten minute pitch, followed by a five minute Q & A. The students did a great job, with faculty praising their hard work and professionalism!

Students in Ms. Armstrong's Gerontology class recently had a special guest speaker, Frank Berlin. Not only was Mr. Berlin a math teacher at Shaker High School for over 30 years, but he is also Ms. Armstrong's grandfather! Mr. Berlin talked to the class about different aspects of his life, discussing how he went from growing up as the son of a German pastry chef in Plainfield, NJ to landing a job as a math teacher in Latham, NY. He touched upon the importance of surrounding yourself with good quality people and how while school feels like the whole world right now, but it is really only a part of our lives. Mr. Berlin left students thinking about their future and what legacy they want to one day leave behind. Thank you to Mr.Berlin for always willing to come back and share his own life legacy!

Tuesday, May 26, marked a new chapter for the Tri-M Music Honor Society and National Art Honor Society!

Before the Tri-M Music Honor Society ceremony, Shaker senior and Tri-M member Charlie Adlestein honored longtime Shaker music teacher Mr. Peter Suzuki with an Honorary Member Induction. More than 40 students recited the Tri-M Music Honor Society pledge and were officially inducted. Following the ceremony, new members, families, and friends attended a reception provided by the North Colonie Friends of Music.

About an hour later, the National Art Honor Society began its induction ceremony, where around 30 students were inducted. Senior officers were also awarded National Art Honor Society honor cords to wear at graduation. After the ceremony, the nine high school art teachers recognized students for their impressive work, kindness, and perseverance.

Congratulations to all the inductees and recognized art students on this incredible achievement!

Congratulations to North Colonie Board of Education President Linda Harrison on being named one of Assemblymember Phil Steck's 2026 Women of Distinction honorees! Mrs. Harrison has dedicated more than 50 years to education and student success. Upon graduation from the University at Albany, she taught social studies at Shaker High School from 1971 to 2005 and continues to make a lasting impact through her leadership on the North Colonie Board of Education.

“Linda has dedicated so much of her time and energy to supporting students, families, and educators,” Steck shared. “Her commitment to public education and our community has made a lasting impact on countless families throughout the Capital Region.”

Thank you, Mrs. Harrison, for your unwavering dedication to our schools, students, and community. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition!

On Wednesday, May 20, Deputy County Executive Mike McLaughlin and Chief Communications Officer at Albany County Executive’s Office Mary Rozak visited Shaker High School to recognize the Shaker Speech & Debate Team for their historic and successful season.

The team was honored to receive Albany County Executive Certificates of Recognition celebrating the hard work, dedication, leadership, and achievements of our members throughout the year. Congratulations on a successful year!

For the 16th time, the North Colonie Central School District has been named a “Best Communities for Music Education” by the NAMM Foundation. The award recognizes school districts and individual schools for their leadership and equity in music education, with more than 1,000 schools and school districts from across the country receiving this honor this year. Congratulations to our North Colonie musicians for this great accomplishment and thank you to the North Colonie community for your continued support of our music education programs.

We know it’s May now, but we were so blown away by all the support that we decided to wait a little longer to announce the winner of the North Colonie March Madness 2026 Challenge.

Thank you to everyone who supported their school and, in turn, our district. Every building did an incredible job, but three schools really stood out: Boght Hills placed third with $593, Shaker Middle School came in second with $700, and for the second year in a row, Southgate took first place with $1,155. Congratulations to the Gators on earning another banner and the bragging rights that come with it.

Most importantly, every dollar raised stays right here at North Colonie to support students and families in need through United Way. Thank you to every donor, family, and school community that helped make this districtwide challenge such a success.

The Shaker High School Neuroscience Club recognized Brain Awareness Week (March 16-22) by giving back to their community. For the week, which is a national initiative dedicated to promoting brain health and neuroscience education, the 11 members of the Neuroscience Club organized a schoolwide donation drive and fundraiser. Led by SHS juniors and Neuroscience Club co-founders, Nirvana Monsur and Aleena Saleem, the club raised over $500 for the Alzheimer’s Association and the Parkinson’s Foundation. The club also collected over 1,200 donated items from SHS classes, including fidget toys, blankets, pillows, cozy socks, and stuffed animals. These donations were distributed across multiple care units at Albany Medical Center, including the Neuroscience ICU, Neuroscience Progressive Care Unit, Neuroscience Medicine Unit, and Pediatric Neurology, with additional support extending to patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, as well as to patient care units within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. Great job, Neuroscience Club!

Go Mrs. Murray! On Friday, May 15, the University at Albany presented Freshman Seminar teacher Kim Murray with their "Exceptional Mentor Award" at the 2026 CEHC (College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security & Cybersecurity) Awards Recognition Ceremony. We are so proud of you and are grateful to the dedication you show all of our students everyday. Congratulations!

Reminder: There is no school on Friday, May 22 and Monday, May 25.

Fresh off her selection as the inaugural winner of the New York State of Poetry Prize, Shaker sophomore Sima Amiri was honored at the Capitol on Monday, May 18. Sima was joined by her family as New York State Senator Jake Ashby presented her with a state resolution for her achievement.

Superintendent Kathleen Skeals, ELA District Supervisor Chelsea Murphy and SHS teachers Siobhan Matrose and Kim Murray also took part in the celebration with Sima. Senator Ashby took the group on a tour of the Senate chamber, where there were plenty of photo opportunities. Later, Sima was recognized during a session in the New York State Assembly thanks to Assemblymember Mr. Phil Steck. Congratulations once again Sima! Your work is being recognized far beyond the walls of Shaker High School.

Congratulations to the Shaker Rowing Association (Shaker Crew), whose team earned top finishes at the New York State High School Championships Regatta. The girls junior quadruple sculls placed second and the boys junior double sculls placed fourth, allowing them to advance to compete in the national competition at the end of this month in Nashville. Best of luck to these teams!

Thank you to the North Colonie community for supporting the 2026-27 budget! North Colonie residents voted to approve the budget, 1,103 yes votes to 355 no votes. Dr. Nicholas P. Comproski was re-elected to his seat and Janet Appe was elected to the open seat of Mary Nardolillo. Learn more on our website at northcolonie.org/news.

The following Shaker High School students were recently recognized by the National Council of Teachers of English. Earlier this year, the Shaker Writing Center sponsored workshops to encourage students to submit their writing in response to the 2026 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing topic: the Joy and Power of Reading.

A panel of Shaker High School English teachers read through all submissions and nominated these four students’ work to be considered by the national committee. All four of Shaker’s nominees were recognized at the national level.

Simrah Ahmed - First Class (Highest National Honor)
Ella Bagchi - Superior
Evelyn Lu - Superior
Shreya Rozario - Superior

The NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students to write and to recognize some of the best student writers in the nation. 689 sophomores and juniors were nominated from across the country and around the world. Independent judges evaluated each submission holistically on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style. Congratulations to all of our winners from SHS!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Join us in spreading awareness by wearing green on Thursday, May 21. Let’s show our support!

The Shaker Chess Club, led by Advisor Mr. Rodriguez and President Nirvana Monsur, hosted the Inaugural Shaker High School Chess Tournament in collaboration with The Right Move on Saturday, May 9. Nearly 100 players from across the Capital Region joined us for a full day of strategy, competition, and community.

Congratulations to freshman Ethan Chen, who achieved a perfect 4–0 score to win 1st place in the Knight (K–12) Section, and to sophomore Jiashen Li, who secured 2nd place. Junior Jiayi Chen also represented Shaker as a competitor, while junior Nirvana Monsur served as the Chief Assistant Tournament Director and Event Organizer.