Shaker Road staff members have dedicated the past 15 years to inspiring students to embrace the outdoors, instilling in them the importance of environmental awareness, and creating memories. Their annual event, “Walk, Bike, or Roll to School Day,” held on Wednesday, Oct. 4, stands as a testament to the school’s continued dedication to both environmental education and creating cherished experiences for its students.

“To accommodate students and families residing farther from the Shaker Road, a designated gathering point was established at the Price Chopper parking lot,” said Shaker Road Principal Bill Dollard “From there, students walked, biked, or scootered to school, ensuring  students could participate regardless of their proximity to the campus.”

After all of the children and families arrived, they gathered behind the school, exceeding more than a group of 100 participants.  

Once everyone was gathered, the staff and teachers took some time to teach their students about the environmental impact of having fewer buses on the road. They also talked about safe pathways to school and stressed the importance of these choices. 

“With this being a very popular tradition, the school hopes to continue this fun day as the years go on,” added Dollard. “We love seeing our students and families participate in this annual event.”

More information about the day can be found here  https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/ 

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With a rich history of educational excellence and community spirit, the South Colonie School District is now adding an inspiring chapter to its legacy by fostering a culture of kindness that resonates far beyond the classroom walls.

The campaign, conceived to honor the district’s 75 year legacy, is an invitation for students, teachers, parents, and community members to collectively engage in acts of kindness that make a positive impact. The campaign’s design is strategic – focusing on simple acts that collectively create a substantial positive change.

“More than celebrating the passage of time, this campaign is about celebrating the power of kindness that unites us all,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Perry.  “Our building level activities committee led by Sand Creek principal Michael Marohn developed this idea with the  aim to inspire not only our students but the entire community to embrace the beauty of giving back.”

South Colonie’s commitment to the campaign is echoed in its curriculum. 

“Community is one of our four pillars,” Perry added. “From having the opportunity for students to support the larger community through activities like our Toys for Tots campaign or iCare students at the high school raising money year round for a cause, community involvement and support is at the heart of what we do.”

Community members can also join the cause, pledging to participate and share their own acts of kindness using the campaign’s official hashtag,  #ProudlyColonie75Acts or by emailing photos to ProudlyColonie@scolonie.org.

As the school year unfolds, South Colonie is set to showcase the impact of these acts through regular updates, demonstrating the positive change that arises from collective kindness.

For more information on our 75th Anniversary and related activities please visit https://www.southcolonieschools.org/proudly-colonie-celebrating-75-years/.  For suggestions and ideas on daily act of kindness, please view our Kindness Calendar here. 

Embrace Kindness: 10 Sample Suggestions

• Ask someone how they are feeling today.
• Tell a friend why you are proud of them.
• Listen to someone and offer encouragement.
• Validate someone’s feelings.
• Use positive self- talk today.
• Apologize to someone.
• Offer to help a classmate or teacher.
• Forgive a mistake.
• Say thank you to a custodian.
• Leave a kind post-it in a library book.

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A heartwarming initiative paves the way for a smooth transition to school

Shaker Road Elementary School announced a new program this summer to foster a sense of unity and belonging among incoming kindergartners and their families. The “KinderConnection” program has rapidly been gaining traction among Shaker Road students and families offering a space for students to connect and play prior to the school year.  

The program is run by the school’s Library Media Specialist Mrs. Berner, offering a multi-faceted approach to ensuring that the first steps into school life are marked by a sense of excitement and familiarity.

“Last week we had 22 families show up which was awesome for them and their kids,” Berner said. “I have been wanting to try this program for a while and I am so happy that I did.  It provides students and families the opportunity to get to know the school and each other. I already know the names of more than half of the incoming Kindergartners that will start this September.”

The “Meet and Greet” sessions, held throughout the summer in the Shaker Road library offer a unique platform for incoming kindergartners and their families to get to know the school and have a familiar face for when they start the school year. These sessions have quickly become a highlight for families, allowing them to connect, share experiences, and alleviate any pre-school jitters. 

“Next week we are making lucky squishes to hold and tell our worries to and keep in our backpacks for courage when we need them at school,” Berner added. “I hope to make this program part of my summer schedule every year moving forward.”

KinderConnection at Shaker Road Elementary School prioritizes family engagement and relationships. By focusing on building strong connections between incoming kindergartners, their families, and the school community, this initiative sets a heartwarming precedent for students. As the academic year unfolds, the hope is that the bonds forged will both flourish and nurture a new generation of learners who are ready to thrive in a supportive and inspiring environment.

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Supply list by grade

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The 3rd graders at Shaker Road brought students and faculty together for their performance of “The Rumpus in the Rainforest”. Complete with songs, costumes and a strong message, the play was a great success and showed off what these students have been learning throughout the year.

“The students developed their own choreography and helped to create the set that brought this rainforest show to life. Their hard work and effort came shining through during their performances,” 3rd grade teacher Caielin White said.

The story starts with Frog who lives in the Amazon rainforest that wants to see more of the world. Frog explained that because the leaves are so thick in parts of the forest, less than 10% of the sun reaches the jungle floor, where Frog lives. Frog asks their friend Toucan for help getting to the sky, but Toucan is injured. Frog then travels through the forest meeting the other species that inhabit the rainforest, but none of them are interested in reaching the sky and insist that everything you need is on the jungle floor.

After much exploration, Frog remembers their friend Toucan and realizes that they must help each other. With a powerful display of teamwork, the different creatures of the jungle all come together to help find something that will help Toucan. Luckily, everything they needed to create the medicine was there on the jungle floor!

Students sang songs about the animals, the jungle, and the importance of collaboration throughout the play. The play was a great success and attendees will be singing the tunes all day!

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Students at Shaker Road Elementary School enjoyed taking part in a schoolwide shared reading experience through the New York State Reading Association’s Charlotte Award.

Over the past several months students read a variety of recently-published books from the Charlotte Award ballot.  They voted for their favorites, along with students from around the state. 

Thanks to a generous donation from the PTA, Shaker Road students had a silent auction where they had the chance to win copies of their favorite books from the ballot. 

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Shaker Road Elementary hosted the championship event for their egg car races. After many car inspections and trial races, the top four cars from each class met up for the final match to race with each other. The students gathered in the cafeteria to cheer each other on.

The egg cars were due a week before the series of races for inspection. Some were sent back to the pit stop for changes so they would comply with the rule book. Cars were expected to meet size specifications and have part of the egg exposed. Students were able to apply what they had learned in the classroom about force, weight, and gravity to their car designs to see the importance of each element first-hand. Each car was created differently, allowing the students to express themselves in the design process and make each car unique. The egg cars raced down a ramp to see who could make it to the bottom first, with their egg still intact.

The students at Shaker Road Elementary displayed excellent sportsmanship. Teachers and students worked together to make sure that the event ran smoothly, safely, and was enjoyable for all. 

Congratulations to all of our racers involved! We are proud of your EGGcellent work.

Shaker Road Elementary teachers hand out the eggs to their students

Shaker Road Elementary students cheer on the racers

Shaker Road Elementary student waits for the results after their race

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Third graders in Mrs. Lettus’ and Mrs. White’s class at Shaker Road Elementary shared their “expert” books with friends and families at the Expert Book Author Celebration. For this assignment, each student picked a topic that they were an “expert” in and created a nonfiction book about it. The students quickly got to the task and were excited to unveil the finished product.

The student’s first step was to gather their ideas together and organize them into categories. There was also a research period involved, students were asked to find information supporting their points and find new facts about their topic. Students wrote down notes of points they wanted to bring up in the book. After this was completed, the third graders took these ideas and structured them into sentences, and those sentences were then turned into paragraphs.

“Allowing the students to express themselves and decide their expert topic serves as a tool to get our students engaged,” said Mrs. White. “ With this project they were able to learn through a lens that they understood and already had interest in.”

The final results were books on topics about a variety of sports, animals, sleepovers, shopping and video games. By the time of the Expert Book Author Celebration, students were able to confidently reveal their projects to an audience of fellow students and their families.

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Fourth-grade students at Shaker Road Elementary have been learning about Native American art and culture in their classrooms. 

This week the students participated in an in-depth exploration of Haudenosaunee history, traditions, and laws by studying Wampum belts. Wampum belts are beaded belts traditionally made by tribes of the indigenous people of North America. These belts were commonly made with hand-carved beads created from clam shells and other available natural elements. 

“Wampum belts were gifted or created to record events and were meant to become an important living record of Indigenous culture,” said South Colonie teacher Erika Bushey. “Traditionally, many Indigenous Nations did not speak the same language, but they all possessed knowledge of the standard symbols, patterns, or color allowing them to communicate with each other.”

​After discussing the traditional purpose and process behind these Wampum belts, the students created their own. They brainstormed the story or idea they wanted to tell and share. Once they decided on the message, they planned out the symbols on paper before beginning to make their individual belts.

After learning the process of weaving, the students completed their Wampum belts. Most students held their belts high, proud to share their individual stories—the most common themes of note were family, pets, and nature.

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For the 12th consecutive year, the brave men at Shaker Road Elementary join efforts with Principal Dollard in a no-shave November to bring awareness to men’s health issues and to support the fight to end prostate cancer.

“Annually, the day after Halloween is celebrated with a clean shave and then the razor gets put away for the rest of the month,” said principal  Dollard. “Every year we partner with ZERO- The End of Prostate Cancer as a way to spread awareness and generate support for their work.”

This year, the school has four brave men participating in this annual event.  

“The students get really excited to keep track of our beard-growing process on the big bulletin board outside of the cafeteria,” said Dollard. “They are able to find numbered jars that correspond to the four men pictured on the board. Students are able to ‘vote’ for the growing beard they like the best by donating their change or quiet money.”

Students and staff are also invited to participate by joining the building-wide effort to support the beard-growers for a day of facial hair on Mustache Monday (Nov. 21).  Students have the opportunity to donate $1 and then they receive a mustache to wear for the day to show their support for BROvember.

A shout out to the Shaker Road team members who are participating in this year’s efforts. We can’t wait to see those beards!

• • Principal Bill Dollard
  • Mike McCulloch (PE)
  • Mike Rottingen (custodian)
  • Brad Privett (custodian)
  • Tony Jesmain (Art) – three time returning champion

More details of Shaker Road’s effort in the fight against prostate cancer can be found here. 

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