North Colonie Central School District

The Bison is wishing everyone a great Spring Break! Don’t forget we are one month away from the Bison getting a name, and celebrating the 75th anniversary together!

Congratulations to Vicki and Isla Bentley! On Wednesday, April 1, Senator Jake Ashby visited Loudonville Elementary to recognize Vicki and Isla with a New York State Senate Commendation for their picture book “Not Sorry to Be Me.” Senator Ashby nominated both Vicki and Isla for the award after hearing about their book, how they developed the concept for it, and the process involved in getting it to print. Senator Ashby spoke at a school assembly, reflecting on how writing "Not Sorry to Be Me" has created a story that helps to bring awareness about differences, autism, and ADHD. At the assembly, Vicki and Isla each received the NYS Senate Commendation for their work, to the cheers of students and staff. Thank you to Senator Ashby for this honor and congratulations to Vicki and Isla!

Read more about their book on our website: https://www.northcolonie.org/article/2680692

Do you know a Shaker alum making a difference or doing outstanding work in their career field? Nominate that person for the Shaker High School Alumni Hall of Fame! All nominations are due by Wednesday, April 15. You can find a link to the nomination form here.

No "April Fools" here! On Monday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., NCCSD is hosting our annual Free Prom Attire Giveaway. All students are invited to browse our collection in SHS G103 (Chorus Room), entering through the Auditorium Entrance. We’ll have over 100 dresses and some men’s formalwear available, all in great condition, with some brand new and never worn items. Everything is completely free and yours to keep. We had a great turnout last year and hope to see even more students this time!
We are also accepting donations, so if you have gently used formalwear to share, please drop it off at the Shaker High School main office.

Congratulations to our Principles of Engineering classes! The classes attended the Capital District E-Week Model Bridge Competition at HVCC on Friday, March 27. Our students competed against other Capital Region schools, designing and building bridges that were evaluated and tested for aesthetics, max load held, and efficiency. Shaker High School students had an amazing showing, sweeping first, second, and third place in all categories! Great job to these talented students!

Celebrating excellence on and off the field! On Monday, March 30, we proudly recognized our outstanding student-athletes at the Board of Education meeting. Individual athletes and teams were recognized for their incredible achievements at the Section 2, NYSPHSAA, and NYS Federation levels. From state podium finishes to championship titles, these athletes have demonstrated dedication, resilience, and true sportsmanship. Congratulations to all of our honorees across Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Alpine Skiing, Gymnastics, Wrestling, and our Section 2 Class AAA Champion Girls Basketball team!

You're Invited to Shaker Unified National Banner School Celebration on Friday, April 17 at 6 p.m. in the H-Gym at SHS. This celebration is to recognize our recent recognition as a National Unified Banner School. We would love to have the North Colonie community there to celebrate this milestone!

The Shaker High School Art Department proved to be one of the top in the Capital Region once again, bringing home seven awards at the 27th Annual High School Regional Juried Exhibition at the Albany Center Gallery. Shaker artists had 16 works selected out of 25 submitted and seven of those won awards. Those works, created by four students, are listed below.

Jurors' Choice Award: Kayra Etienne Maître, Almost Like Home
Jurors' Choice Award: Anya Vedhathiri, Oneirism
The Joe Faul Memorial Award: Riley Luczak, Just the Three of Us
The Patricia Clahassey Memorial Award: Trinity Pitts, Clarity
Kevin & Cindi Dubner Showcase Award: Trinity Pitts, Handle with Care
Lory Tansky 3D Award: Riley Luczak, From the Depths
The Opalka Gallery at Russell Sage College Award: Kayra Etienne Maître, Almost Like Home

More than 126 works were selected from 109 students from 27 schools around the Capital Region by jurors D. Colin, Tony Iadicicco, and Alicia Lea. The exhibition will remain on display at Albany Center Gallery until April 24, 2026. There is a public reception on Friday, April 3, from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery located at 48 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207.

Congratulations to all of the Shaker artists and their teachers for such an outstanding performance at the High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition! We’re proud to see your work recognized by the larger art community.

Blue Creek students used the book Stone Soup as their inspiration to make their own version of the delicious meal on Friday, March 27. A day after their Stone Soup assembly, students in Ms. Franke and Ms. Olszowy's communications classes dug for potatoes, cut vegetables and made the soup with the help of the district's Charlie Cart. Farm to School Facilitator Mrs. Amber Cost, helped students use the cart to create the finished product, which students really enjoyed! Some even had second and third helpings and asked for more veggies! In addition, students planted seeds that will be planted in the Blue Creek garden later this spring.

The celebration continued for World Language Month, as the World Language Department hosted a poster contest at Shaker Middle School. Students created posted related to this year's theme of "Languages: The Key to a Global Community." This year's winners are:
3rd Place: Izzy Gorman and Joni Gorr
2nd Place: Deeparjo Ganguli
1st Place: Lily Stone
Congratulations to our winners!

March is National World Languages Month! The SHS World Languages Department took part in the celebration, starting with all of the language students helping to decorate Upper J hallway with beautiful paintings representing the various languages and cultures from around the world. From here, the German students celebrated Fasching (German Mardi Gras), the Russian students celebrated РУССКОЕ ЧАЕПИTИЕ (Russian Tea Party), and the Spanish students celebrated with the third annual Spanish Club Trivia Competition. Happy World Languages Month!

Friday, March 27 marked the conclusion of the "One School, One Book" month long reading challenge for Latham Ridge. Students took part in a day of celebrations, with a morning assembly that included a student from SHS playing the bagpipes and Mr. Thiell reading the final chapter to the school. Throughout the day, students played Highland games, created their own Tartan patterns for an art project connected to the upcoming Ridge Gala, watched "The Water Horse," and engaged in many activities in their classrooms that connect to the story and the history of Scotland. It was a great day of celebrations, marking the successful completion of the reading challenge. Great job, Panthers!