Congratulations to the SRS LEGO Robotics Team Gamma on their second-place Champion’s Award! Through a busy day of refereed robot competitions and juried presentations about their robot design, innovation project, and teamwork, this fantastic group of ten SRS middle school students proved themselves to be among the top two all-around teams at their FIRST LEGO League regional tournament.

Sixteen teams converged on Manchester’s Hillside Middle School Saturday morning and spent a LONG day competing with each other while practicing FIRST’s core values of “Coopertition” and Gracious Professionalism. SRS Team Gamma started off strong in the presentations, impressing the judges with their well-thought and thoroughly documented robot design. Their innovation project was a hit, too: they studied how to turn waste heat (like from classroom projectors) into usable energy, developing a working prototype that wowed the judges. Their core values interview was, of course, a success—we expect that from our students, for whom good citizenship is a daily practice!

In the robot game, they had three chances through the day to complete as many programmed missions as possible in 2.5 minutes. After their first two runs, Team Gamma found themselves in the bottom half of the standings, but they worked up a different strategy, tweaked a couple of programs, practiced, and hit their best score of the day on their final run, climbing to sixth place in the robot game.

With their outstanding work today, they've earned an invitation to the state championship on December 3, where the top teams from across New Hampshire will do it all over again!

We are so proud of our Shaker Road School middle school students who show us day after day how well-rounded they are. This group is an exemplar of Head Coach Alex Hicks’s daily reminders to his students to “be good humans.”

Big thanks to @nhfll , @frcteam131 , and Hillside Middle School for organizing and hosting the event!

Photos: Cathy Linden and Mike Vlacich

#srslegorobotics #shakerroadschool #srsmiddleschool #middleschool #concordnh #legorobotics ...

Who really was responsible for the Boston Massacre? Mr. Lewis’ Seventh Grade history classes recently held debates to answer that very question. Each class was split into two teams: the Patriots and the British. Using historical research, each side argued that the other was responsible for the event. By looking at this historic moment through the lens of a debate, it forced students to investigate each side of the conflict rather than assume a one-sided version they may be more familiar with. At the conclusion, one class ended in a tie, while one British team was successfully able to argue that the Patriots were to blame for the Boston Massacre.

#revisionisthistory #shakerroadschool #srshistory #srsseventhgrade #srsmiddleschool #middleschool #concordnh #studentdebates #seekreachsoar ...

Thirty-four students of all levels played pieces ranging from Beethoven to Imagine Dragons in the Fall Recital on Wednesday evening. We were treated to performances on piano, ukulele, flute, clarinet, drums, guitar, and voice. SRS recitals are a great way for students to showcase their hard work, play in front of an audience in a low-pressure environment, and support their peers along their shared musical journeys. Bravo to all those who performed! You were wonderful!

Private music lessons are offered on a variety of instruments to students in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade throughout the entire year. Our team of instructors include Mrs. Minsinger, Mr. Solsky, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Kulish, Mr. Klaxton, and Mr. Steer. Contact Mrs. Minsinger for more information!

#srsmusic #musicrecital #shakerroadschool #seekreachsoar ...

Thirty-four students of all levels played pieces ranging from Beethoven to Imagine Dragons in the Fall Recital on Wednesday evening. We were treated to performances on piano, ukulele, flute, clarinet, drums, guitar, and voice. SRS recitals are a great way for students to showcase their hard work, play in front of an audience in a low-pressure environment, and support their peers along their shared musical journeys. Bravo to all those who performed! You were wonderful!

Private music lessons are offered on a variety of instruments to students in Kindergarten through Eighth Grade throughout the entire year. Our team of instructors include Mrs. Minsinger, Mr. Solsky, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Kulish, Mr. Klaxton, and Mr. Steer. Contact Mrs. Minsinger for more information!

#srsmusic #musicrecital #shakerroadschool #seekreachsoar ...

Second Grade welcomed a very special guest on Veterans Day: Veteran Dan Bouchard, the grandfather of one of the students and Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force!

Mr. Bouchard shared about his role training pilots as a Range Operations Specialist. He also talked about military life, the various benefits of serving, and other kinds of jobs that servicemen and servicewomen have.

Thank you, Mr. Bouchard! We enjoyed your visit and appreciate you answering our many questions!

#srsveteransday #srssecondgrade #shakerroadschool ...

Towards the end of the school day on Veterans Day, Kindergarten through Eighth grade participated in a fun run through the campus trails and around the golf course. It was a spirited way to wrap up a rich and meaningful day!

Thanks to SRS friends and families who joined in the fun and to the older students who helped to guide and support the younger ones along the course!

Stay tuned for more photos!

#srsmiddleschool #middleschool #shakerroadschool #veteransday #srsfunrun #funrun ...

As is tradition, Veterans Day was a “day on” at Shaker Road School. Through special activities, songs, stories, discussions, and visitors, students learned about the holiday, its significance, and the sacrifices servicemen and servicewomen make to protect our freedoms. Many students participated in the "Holiday Cards for our Military Challenge" by writing thank you notes to deployed U.S. troops, veterans, and military families.

Thanks to all the SRS families who shared the names of the beloved veterans in their lives. Names were displayed on flags all around campus and students enjoyed finding and sharing them with their teachers and peers.

#srsmiddleschool #middleschool #shakerroadschool #veteransday #cards2connect ...

On Veteran’s Day, our Fifth through Eighth Grade students and their teachers spent the morning at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery exploring the grounds by means of a scavenger hunt provided by the cemetery. While engaging with the monuments, students learned about NH military history, the different branches of the armed forces, the various wars and conflicts the US has been involved in, and the NH veterans memorialized there. We were grateful to spend the morning learning about and honoring NH veterans and their families in such a beautiful and tranquil place.

#srsmiddleschool #middleschool #shakerroadschool #veteransday ...

Last week was "color week" in Tania and Colleen's Pre-Kindergarten class. Each day was assigned a specific color that students explored and wore! They went on classroom and school-wide color scavenger hunts, brainstormed lists of objects that matched the colors of the days, read stories about different colors, and created color-themed artwork.

The week culminated with "rainbow and favorite color" day. Pictured here are students listening to a reading of "Pocket Full of Colors: The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire," shaking their "sillies" out, and creating artwork using all the colors of the rainbow.

#srsprekindergarten #prekindergarten #shakerroadschool #srsprek #concordnh #earlychildhoodeducation #colorweek ...

Abbey's Pre-Kindergarten students are learning all about trees! They've been investigating the various trees on campus and collecting leaves to make leaf rubbings. Check out their work!

#srsprek #prekindergarten #shakerroadschool #concordnh #prek #leafrubbings #trees #srsart ...

Shaker Meetings are held once each month for the Kindergarten through Eighth Grade classes and are a way for the various grades to connect, stay informed, and have some fun. Each one is planned and facilitated by different grades; the most recent was run by Fourth and Fifth Grade. After some announcements, students participated in a Family Feud game about friendliness and then an exciting Blue vs. White* race where competing students were required to remove a line of cones using just their feet.

Eighth Grade student Ryley C. then presented her culminating Girl Scouts project, which involved planning, creating, and installing trail signs on the SRS campus. We are so grateful for Ryley's hard work on this project! Check out the signs the next time you are out on the trails!

*Every K-8 student who comes to SRS is assigned to either the Blue Team or the White Team and friendly competitions are held throughout the year as way for students to earn points for their respective teams. Students get a kick out of being teammates with SRS kids of all ages!

#shakerroadschool #srscommunity #seekreachsoar #srsmiddleschool #concordnh #privateschool #independentschool #schoolmeeting #shakermeeting ...

From the first day of school in September, we quickly operate at full speed! Fall sports kick into gear right away—as do clubs, music lessons, and ensembles. Add in after-school activities and all the SRS community events like Grandparents Day, the PTG Golf Tournament, the Pumpkin Stroll, and the Halloween Dance and Parade, and you may think it's all fun and games at SRS! What you don't often see is the hard work that takes place at Shaker Road School on a daily basis. It isn't always as glamorous as new basketball hoops or horseback riding, but it's ultimately why we're here: to develop a love of learning in our students and challenge them to reach their full academic potential.

Pictured are Mrs. Linden's algebra students taking a quiz.

#seekreachsoar #srseighthgrade #srsmiddleschool #middleschool #concordnh #middleschoolmath ...

Last week in art class, Fifth Grade started work on their Alebrijes, which are brightly-colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantasy creatures. Alebrijes come from the state of Oaxaca, located in Southern Mexico. Fifth Graders are making their Alebrijes out of wooden animal cut-outs and decorating them with paint and ink.

#srsart #srsfifthgrade #shakerroadschool #alebrijes #mexicanfolkart #concordnh ...

After-school Middle School jumping rope! So fun! #srsmiddleschool #middleschool #jumprope #srsafterschool #concordnh ...

This week's weather has been terrific for after-school activities. Here is Third and Fourth Grade dodgeball!

#srsafterschool #srsthirdgrade #srsfourthgrade #shakerroadschool #concordnh #afterschoolprogram ...