There are 20 new members of the National Art Honor Society after a formal induction ceremony at Shaker High School on Wednesday. Art Supervisor Anne Manzella and several NAHS Officers honored the new inductees with a certificate, a carnation and a special cord which students will wear at graduation.
In addition, all of the SHS art teachers honored individual students in each of their classes for high achievement and performance. Teachers spoke glowingly about the 34 students they selected in grades 9-12 who were called up to receive certificates and sketch pads for the recognition.
Shaker High School is home to one of this year's Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award recipients! Senior Sakthi Jagannath was honored at the Pruyn House on Tuesday, May 13, along with a recipient from Colonie High School. The DAR Good Citizens Award and Scholarship Contest was created in 1934, to encourage and recognize high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools and communities. For more on Sakthi's achievements, check out the full news story in our bio.
Thank you to the North Colonie community for supporting the 2025-26 budget! North Colonie residents voted to approve the budget, 937 yes votes to 267 no votes. Linda Harrison and Samuel Johnson were both reelected to their seats on the Board of Education. Learn more on our website at northcolonie.org/news.
Shaker High School has another winner! Congratulations to senior Victoria Raghubar, who was chosen as a winner of the 3M Scholarship, for her performance in the National Merit Program. The 3M Scholarship is a special supplemental scholarship given to a candidate who fulfills the sponsor's criteria and scored highly on the 2023 PSAT. Victoria plans to attend Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the fall.
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!
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 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!
"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!
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!"
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!
We have changemakers here in North Colonie! Thursday night, three of those educators were recognized at the Capital Area School Development Association's (CASDA) Annual Awards & Friends of Education Celebration.
Board of Education President Linda Harrison was recognized for Excellence in School Board Service. She is currently serving in her twelfth year as President of the Board. Mrs. Harrison was a social studies teacher at Shaker for 34 years.
Former North Colonie Superintendent Joe Corr was honored with the Friends of Education Award for his service as a social studies teacher, department supervisor and superintendent here in North Colonie. He can still be seen on the sidelines at football games and is very involved in the school community.
Farm to School Facilitator Amber Cost was also honored with the Friends of Education Award. Starting in her new position this school year, Amber will have helped to start gardens at all eight school buildings by the end of the school year. She has worked with Food Services to incorporate produce into the cafeterias and has incorporated lessons on agriculture and sustainability into the curriculum around the district.
Congratulations to all!
We have two winners! Congratulations to Elijah Goldberg and Elena Hymes. Elijah (pictured photo 1, top left photo 3) and Elena (pictured right photo 2) represented North Colonie at the state level SkillsUSA on April 23-25. Elijah won the bronze medal for his Employment Application Basic as part of Digital Media Design. Elena was elected to the statewide office in the SkillsUSA organization by the organization’s House of Delegates. Great job, Elijah and Elena!
Tiny hands, big imaginations! The William K. Sanford Town Library hosted the North Colonie Art Exhibit Reception on Tuesday, April 29. Students in grades K-5 from all six of our elementary schools were in attendance, showing off their work to friends and family. The display was filled with color and creativity, as every piece told a story — great job to our elementary artists!
Happy Belated Earth Day! Did you know the second leading cause of pollution is textile waste? Shaker High School freshman Nancy Chandra decided to tackle this problem by hosting Shaker's first ever clothing swap... on Earth Day! Nancy collected 15 bags of clothes and partnered with the Capital City Rescue Mission to donate these clothes to people in need. Around 80 people came to the event to find fresh threads and support the cause!
