Shaker Middle School

Leave your troubles outside! The Shaker High LaFollette Cafeteria was transformed into a 1920s-style jazz club on Friday night, Jan. 30, for the North Colonie Friends of Music annual Jazzart showcase and fundraiser. More than 30 Shaker Middle and High School students filled the night with vibrant jazz, while eighth-grade chorus students served as wait staff, completing the speakeasy vibe. A special shoutout to Mr. Suzuki, who is retiring after 30 years as a Shaker High School music teacher. This marked his final Jazzart, but his influence will always be an essential note in the ensemble. All proceeds from the evening support future Friends of Music events, celebrating music, students, and community.

Library Trivia is back at Shaker Middle School! On Tuesday, Jan. 20, nine teams gathered in the SMS Media Center for Library Trivia, hosted by SMS Music Teacher Mark Lewis. The event featured questions about popular culture (with an appearance from 6 and 7), all things library, and books that have been turned into movies and TV shows. In the end, "Houston, We Have an Answer!" walked away as the winning team, taking home the (literal) treasure chest of prizes. Great job to all our teams for participating! Thank you to Mr. Lewis for hosting, for the SMS library team for bringing back this event, and to all the teams for giving their best effort!

Spring 2026 Continuing Education registration is officially OPEN! Classes begin Monday, February 23 and offer opportunities to learn new skills, explore hobbies, and grow personally and professionally. There’s truly something for everyone! In-person registration will be available on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 3–5 p.m. (snow date Feb. 12) at the Central Office, 91 Fiddlers Lane, Latham, NY. Please note that in-person or phone registrations must be paid by check. Kick-off spring with learning and register today!

***NOTE: As of Thursday, Jan. 22, the advisory has been lifted.** The Town of Colonie is under a boil water advisory until further notice due to a water main break. The district is aware and we are taking steps to ensure the safety of our students and staff in all of our school buildings on Tuesday, January 20th. Our Facilities team is bringing bottled water in for students and staff to use in all of our school buildings. Additionally, our staff will make all drinking fountains and bottle refill stations unavailable for use. The North Colonie Food Services team is prepared to adjust all cooking to meet health and safety requirements during the boil water advisory. We will pass along any updates from the Town of Colonie as we receive them. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

"The time is always ripe to do right.”

Reminder: No School Monday, Jan. 19 in Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Kindergarten registration is now open! We are eager to meet our new kindergarten students for the 2026-27 school year! Online registration is now open at www.northcolonie.org/kindergartenregistration.

For any questions or if your student will not be attending kindergarten next year, please contact Student Registration at student.registration@nccsk12.org to let us know so that we can update our records. You may enroll your child through online registration or make an appointment to enroll your child by emailing student.registration@nccsk12.org.

Earlier this month, our Russian program conducted their annual food drive for the Regional Food Bank. The Russian classes held a friendly competition against each other, collecting non-perishable items to see which class could collect the highest weight per capita. Together the group collected over 1,280 pounds of food for the Regional Food Bank, with the senior class taking home the prize this year. Great job to all involved and thank you for showing us what it means to be a Bison!