Shaker High School

Please join us in congratulating Shaker High School freshman Shubhika Garg, who was recently invited to participate in the Diwali Celebration at the New York State Education Building. On Wednesday afternoon, Shubhika not only read Governor Kathy Hochul's proclamation during the program, but also spoke to attendees about the significance of Diwali. While she was in middle school, Shubhika met with administrators in North Colonie and presented on the importance of having Diwali recognized as a district holiday. There is no doubt Shubhika will continue to be a driver of positive change in her school community and beyond!

Tuesday night, district students and families visited Central Office to view their artwork in the Superintendent's Art Gallery. Superintendent Kathleen Skeals was on hand to greet the artists in grades K-12 who had art chosen for the gallery which has been up since the beginning of the school year. The pieces were selected from last school year and will remain on display through the end of October. Congratulations to all!

Unified Bocce celebrated their first Senior Night on Tuesday! They recognized the hard work and dedication of their three seniors.

Bolaji Owodunni has been part of Unified Sports for one year and is involved with Include the Blue. Bolaji plans to attend HVCC or UAlbany and says, “It’s fun playing the games with teammates.”

Kendra Growick has participated in Unified Sports for three years and is also involved in Include the Blue, Unified Basketball, Unified Bowling, and Bison Buddies. Kendra plans to attend college and continue working, sharing, “I like to help out other kids and it is a lot of fun.”

Shannon O’Neill has been a member of Unified Sports for two years and is involved with Include the Blue, Bison Buddies, and Varsity Softball. She plans to study psychology to become an occupational therapist, saying, “I wanted to be part of something that brings people of all abilities together while being positive and supportive.”

Congratulations to these seniors who embody teamwork, inclusivity, and Shaker pride both on and off the court.

Leaves are falling, making it the perfect time to learn about trees! On Friday morning, Blue Creek first and second graders discovered the differences between maple, oak, and evergreen trees. Farm to School Facilitator Ms. Cost led the lesson alongside High School Environmental Science teacher Mr. Rodewald and his eleventh and twelfth graders. Together, they explored the Blue Creek grounds, identifying trees in real time! Elementary students practiced telling the maples apart, while the high schoolers worked to name each specific species.

Reminder: No school on Monday, Oct. 20 for K-12 Superintendent’s Conference Day and in Observance of Diwali.

Welcome to our exchange students from Costa Rica! The group of students from Humboldt High School arrived on Monday, October 13 to a welcome from Shaker High School students and host families.

This week, the group took a trip to Albany to visit the Capitol building, NYS Museum and the Corning Tower. They also took a day trip to Lake Placid to see the Olympic Center and High Falls Gorge on a beautiful fall day. On Friday, students attended SHS Spanish classes during the day before heading the varsity football game as part of "The Barn" student section at night. Pura vida!

The competition was fierce between Unified Bocce and the Shaker High School faculty Friday afternoon! Our Unified athletes, in their home blues, showed their teachers and administrators a thing or two about the sport. With four matches taking place simultaneously, there was plenty for students and staff in the crowd to cheer about!

It’s National School Lunch Week! Over the last 75 years, our Food and Nutrition Services team has been nourishing generations of students. Thank you for all that you do!

Have any other photos from the last 75 years? Send them to us at communications@nccsk12.org. We love to see them! #NC75 #throwbackthursday

This week we celebrate Board of Education Recognition Week! Thank you to our dedicated board members, Linda Harrison (President), Matthew Cannon (Vice President), Nicholas Comproski, Michelle Dischiavo, Ayesha Geter, Samuel Johnson, Mary Nardolillo, and Melissa Veino, for their leadership, commitment, and continued support of our students, staff, and community.

Reminder: No school on Monday, Oct. 13 in observance of Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day.

Shaker High School German Club celebrated Oktoberfest today, but this year the event was extra special as our German exchange students were there to celebrate with us! Danke schön to all who joined us for the celebration! The festivities included plenty of delicious food, a donut eating contest, fun crafts, and (of course) plenty of music and dance with a few rounds of musical chairs. Prost to new friendships, shared cultures, and great memories!

Congratulations to Shaker High School alum ('71) and former Athletic Director Dave Herman on his induction into the Capital Region Track, Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame this past weekend! Herman was celebrated among 10 athletes and coaches in the eighth class of inductees on Saturday, October 4, at the Albany Marriott in Colonie.

Herman established 12 school records in his time at Shaker and dominated Section 2 in his signature event, the low hurdles. In his senior year, he was selected as New York State Indoor Track Athlete of the Year (1971). Herman received a full scholarship to the University of Florida and during his freshman year, set a school record for the indoor 70-yard low hurdles and placed fifth in the outdoor 440-yard intermediates at the Southeast Conference Championships.

Shaker High School is proud to announce 21 of its seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. Each of these talented seniors received a letter of commendation from Principal Marcus Puccioni in honor of the recognition. This group is among 34,000 Commended Students throughout the country who placed in the top five percent of the 1.5 million students who entered by taking the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Congratulations to the following students:

SURYA BOMMASANI
VARUN CHAGANTI
YUNHAN CHEN
FAHIM FIDA
EMMA FREED
YIROU KAO
DEEPAK KILAPARTY
HANA KIM
SANJANA KOLLI
ANGELA LI
EVERITT LI
SAMYA MADHUKAR
SHAYLA MIEU
AYDAN SHAHBAZLI
FARAZ SHAIKH
SNEHA SINHA
ANGAD TENDULKAR
ISHIKA YALAMANCHI
EMILY YANG
ISABEL YANG
RUI ZHENG

Willkommen! On Wednesday, twenty-three German students arrived in Latham while twenty-two Shaker students set off for Germany as part of the German student exchange program. Now in its twentieth rotation since beginning in 2006, the program offers students the chance to experience a new culture by traveling abroad and living with a host family. One of the German teachers shared, “It is a friendship that has spanned generations... and we hope it will live on forever.” For many of the visiting German students, this is their first trip to the United States. They are eager to explore New York, including a visit to New York City on Monday!

Shaker kids are doing great things! SHS senior Elena Hymes was one of two students from Capital Region BOCES invited take a trip to the nation's capital to gain leadership and professional skills. Representing New York State, Hymes (pictured left) and her peer Malachi Plaza (pictured right) joined 500 SkillsUSA officers from across the country for the SkillsUSA Washington Leadership Training Institute. Read more on our website at https://www.northcolonie.org/article/2449767

Homecoming weekend is here! Shaker High kicked things off with an epic pep rally full of games, performances, and of course the Bison (still nameless by the way, but stay tuned). The fun continues tonight with the Club Parade and Shaker football vs. Albany Falcons at 7 p.m.!

Shaker Latin takes on Union College! Ms. Edythe Malara's Latin II and Latin III students visited Magistra's alma mater on Wednesday and were welcomed into the Classics Department in Schenectady. Faculty members of the department were kind enough to host a breakfast for our students, before immersing them in the many options for courses and content in the Classics.

Later on, students sat in on a presentation by Admissions, went on student-led tours of campus (one by Shaker alumna and current Union Senior Mia!), met Charger the mascot, had lunch in the dining hall and visited the bookstore. We also caught up with several other Shaker Latin alumni who are now Union students.

Magistra Malara was thrilled to show off her former school to her current students and the students were just as excited to be there! Thank you to Dr. Hans-Friedrich Mueller, Dr. Stacie Raucci, Professor Tommaso Gazzarri, Professor Gregory Callaghan and Professor Angela Commito for a wonderful day on campus.