FROM THE OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT D. JOSEPH CORR
MESSAGES FROM SUPERINTENDENT CORR
Memorial Day
On Monday we celebrate Memorial Day and remember and honor those servicemen and servicewomen who gave their lives for our country. We must never forget them and our gratitude knows no boundaries. This gratitude is grounded in the freedoms and opportunities that exist for us all because of their supreme sacrifice. For their service and sacrifice a grateful nation expresses its profound appreciation, respect, and honor. Click here to read more.
Uvalde Tragedy
Sadly and unthinkably, this is the second week in a row that I write to you in the wake of a senseless tragedy involving gun violence. Our hearts are heavy with the constant news of the unthinkable loss of 19 beautiful children and their two courageous teachers while we were still processing the horrible tragedy that occurred in Buffalo. The images we see on television are raw, real, and too difficult to bear. They are a reminder that our thoughts, compassion, and prayers need to also be followed by actions to create a physically and emotionally safe environment that proactively and dramatically mitigates the opportunity for such horrific acts to reoccur. Read about North Colonie’s safety efforts and protocols.
Regents Exams & End of Year Info (Revised May 26)
Revisions have been made which include the Physics Regents (it originally was not listed on one list). It will be held on June 23. The Earth Science Regents will be held on June 17. Teachers will inform students of the date and time of the school final exams. Click here for the revised information.
☀️ Summer Engagement Camps ☀️
North Colonie Central School District will again offer Summer Engagement Camps in July and August. New this year – offerings of Innovation Camps at both the middle and elementary levels! Open to all NC students grades 1-12 for FREE. Registration deadline: Friday, June 3. These will fill quickly…so don’t delay. Click here for our Summer Engagement Camp brochure. We look forward to spending our summer with YOU!
WEEKLY BOOST 
Science Supervisor Keith Bogert Recognized by SHS Grad
Alexis Weary, a Shaker High School graduate, received the Distinguished Senior Award in the Biology and Chemistry Department at Springfield College. She was allowed to identify an influential High School Teacher and she chose Keith Bogert, North Colonie’s K-12 Science supervisor.
SHS Student Connor Carey Named NYS Rowing Champion
Congratulations to sophomore Connor Carey for earning NYS Champion in the Under 17 Singles at the NYS Scholastic Regatta. Carey will be representing Shaker in the US Rowing Youth National Championships on June 9-12 in Florida.
REMINDERS / UPDATES / EVENTS
Monday, May 30
No school in honor of Memorial Day
Football Informational Meeting for Grades 6-8 – June 2
There will be an important informational football meeting on Thursday, June 2 at 4:15 p.m. in the Shaker Middle School gymnasium for all current 6th, 7th and 8th graders who have an interest in playing. Click here for meeting details.
Free Sports Physicals – June 8
North Colonie Athletic Department will be providing FREE SPORTS Physicals performed by our school doctors on Wednesday, June 8 from 3 to 5 p.m. Registration required. Learn more here.
First Annual Athletic Fair for 5 & 6th Graders – June 14
https://www.northcolonie.org/first-annual-shaker-athletics-fair-for-5-6-graders-june-14/
Thursday, June 23
Last day of school!
A POEM OF REFLECTION
NC Families:
And, finally, as we end this week reflecting on the tragedy in Texas as we prepare to mark Memorial Day and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I leave you with a poem by Alberto Rios. – Superintendent Corr
A House Called Tomorrow
You are not fifteen, or twelve, or seventeen—
You are a hundred wild centuries
And fifteen, bringing with you
In every breath and in every step
Everyone who has come before you,
All the yous that you have been,
The mothers of your mother,
The fathers of your father.
If someone in your family tree was trouble,
A hundred were not:
The bad do not win—not finally,
No matter how loud they are.
We simply would not be here
If that were so.
You are made, fundamentally, from the good.
With this knowledge, you never march alone.
You are the breaking news of the century.
You are the good who has come forward
Through it all, even if so many days
Feel otherwise. But think:
When you as a child learned to speak,
It’s not that you didn’t know words—
It’s that, from the centuries, you knew so many,
And it’s hard to choose the words that will be your own.
From those centuries we human beings bring with us
The simple solutions and songs,
The river bridges and star charts and song harmonies
All in service to a simple idea:
That we can make a house called tomorrow.
What we bring, finally, into the new day, every day,
Is ourselves. And that’s all we need
To start. That’s everything we require to keep going.
Look back only for as long as you must,
Then go forward into the history you will make.
Be good, then better. Write books. Cure disease.
Make us proud. Make yourself proud.
And those who came before you? When you hear thunder,
Hear it as their applause.