A member of the Great Neck Road family for more than 15 years, Karla Cangelosi has been selected to succeed Joseph Agosta as Principal of Great Neck Road Elementary School beginning in September 2015.“Ms. Cangelosi’s appointment as Principal of Great Neck Road completes the administration succession plan the Board of Education and I have been working to create for the last two years,” said Superintendent Charles A. Leunig. “She brings to the job a balance of instructional and administrative experience that complements our educational program. In addition to her vast knowledge and experience in education, her familiarity with students, staff and families will insure a seamless leadership transition.”
Ms. Cangelosi began her educational career in Copiague in 1999 as a classroom teacher before being appointed as a reading teacher, a position in which she evaluated students with reading difficulties. Additionally, she has been a primary balanced literacy staff developer, an administrative intern, and was Acting Assistant Principal at Great Neck Road, before being promoted to her current position as Assistant Principal. She also currently serves as the District’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten liaison.
Ms. Cangelosi holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Dowling College, a master’s degree in reading from LIU Post, and an educational leadership certificate from Stony Brook University.
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Great Neck Road Principal Named
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A ‘Faith’ful Leader
Faith McCombs, an eighth-grade student at Copiague Middle School, was selected by Stony Brook University School of Social Work to participate in the 28th annual Youth Academy “Counseling and Treating People of Colour: An International Perspective” Leadership Conference held last December.
Nominated by her mother, McCombs, along with other students ages 10 to 17, traveled to New Orleans to attend the peer leadership conference from Dec. 7-10. During the three-day event, McCombs had the opportunity to participate in educational workshops, hear from guest speakers, and network with peers and adults from across the United States.
“Faith has a very bright future ahead,” said Copiague Middle School Principal Andrew Lagnado. “If she chooses a career path that allows her to help people, we are confident that she will be quite successful.”
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District Hosts Community Summit
Following the theme “Great Schools Make Great Communities: Working Together for a Brighter Future,” the District hosted its annual Community Summit Breakfast on March 7. Welcoming more than 275 community members, as well as local legislators, the Board of Education and administration delivered a state of the district report, focusing on the District’s finances, aging infrastructure and millions in lost state aid while simultaneously highlighting student successes.“The breakfast is an opportunity for the legislators to hear the concerns of our community, as well as for the District to thank them for their past support,” said Board of Education President Brian J. Sales. “In order for our legislators to effectively lobby for us, they need to hear from us.”
Mr. Sales said that despite the challenging times in education, including significant loss in state funding, changes to the curriculum and the implementation of APPR, Copiague students continue to succeed. He also touched upon the District’s administration success plan by thanking retiring Superintendent Charles A. Leunig for his years of service and congratulating Dr. Kathleen Bannon, Jeanette Altruda, Joseph Agosta and Karla Cangelosi for their appointments as superintendent of schools, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School principal and Great Neck Road Elementary School principal, respectively.
Continuing on Mr. Sales’ theme, Mr. Leunig presented the State of the Copiague School District, in which he discussed the challenges currently facing the District. “Educationally, we are on very solid footing; fiscally, we are on shifting sand,” he said. “We need the help of our legislators to get us on much firmer fiscal ground so that we can continue to offer our children these programs. To get there, we need the restoration of the remaining GEA funds, which for Copiague is $1.7 million. But then, we need enough state aid each year so that we have a sustainable revenue stream that helps offset the limiting factors of the tax cap.”
During the summit, audience members were introduced to the Class of 2015 top 10 and enjoyed performances by Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School’s jazz band and madrigal choir, Great Neck Road Elementary School’s sign language club and Susan E. Wiley Elementary School’s dance club. They also watched an “in their own words” multimedia presentation featuring students discussing what they value in their education. To conclude the morning program, attendees participated in a school community input activity to elicit input and support for a capital improvement project. The information gathered will assist the Board in tailoring the project for the community.
Legislators in attendance at the summit, in order of speaking appearance, included Town of Babylon Deputy Supervisor Tony Martinez, Presiding Officer of the Suffolk County Legislature DuWayne Gregory, New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre and New York State Sen. Michael Venditto.
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Milestone Achievement
Kevin Roberts, a shooting guard for the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School boys varsity basketball team, marked a major milestone in his athletic career by joining an elite group of boys basketball players to reach their 1,000th career point in the history of Copiague.
During the team’s Feb. 21 playoff game win against Central Islip, Roberts scored the milestone point. For the past four years, Roberts has dedicated his time to academics and the boys basketball team. With his exceptional talent, he plans to continue his basketball career in college. “Kevin is very hardworking and dedicated,” said boys varsity basketball coach Steve Rebholz. “He has a very high ‘basketball IQ’ and is a great young man.”
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Track Stars Take On States
High School winter track stars Turner Kelly and Aaron McFadden both placed in their respective sports at the 2015 Indoor State Championships held at Cornell University.
Aaron placed third in the 55 Hurdle for NYS Federation, consisting of students in public and private high schools, and second in the NYSPHSAA. He also earned ninth place honors in the 55-meter in the Federation and fourth in the NYSPHSAA. Turner placed ninth in Shot Put in the Federation and seventh in the NYSPHSAA.
In addition to their showing at the state level, both Turner and Aaron were recognized at Suffolk County All-County Dinner on March 4. Aaron earned the outstanding athlete award, while Turner was named an All-County Academic athlete.
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Shamrocks for Patients
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, middle school Student Council members created positive messages of hope on shamrocks that were delivered to area hospitals. “We hope these special messages will bring some cheer to local patients,” said co-adviser Stephanie Colagiacomo.
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Reciting Pi
In recognition of the worldwide celebration of the mathematical constant pi, seventh-graders in Melody Cesare’s classes put their brainpower to the test in her annual competition to see who could recite pi from memory to the furthest digit. This year’s grand-prize winner was Alexander Mendez, who recited pi from memory to 112 digits. Placing second was Khalil Chester with 101 digits, and coming in third place was Madelyn DelValle with 83 digits.
Winners by period were: period 1 – Khalil Chester (101 digits), Ronal Villegas (78 digits) and Johana Saravia (57 digits); period 2 – Joshua Checho (64 digits), Andy Nunez (62 digits) and Jonah Breskin (57 digits); period 5 – Madelyn DelValle (83 digits), Andrew Szabo (47 digits) and Daniel Galeas (31 digits); and period 7 – Alexander Mendez (112 digits), Nelson Flores (50 digits) and Sheza Mirza (48 digits).
Prizes for reciting pi included medals, certificates, a “ChamPIon” T-shirt, and gift certificates to area restaurants including Arby’s, Applebee’s, Burger King, IHOP, McDonalds, Red Lobster, Panera Bread, Pizza Express and Subway.
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Students Prevail at DECA State Competition
Students at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School recently traveled north with advisor Louise Curci to compete in the Distributive Education Clubs of America State Competition from March 3-6 in Rochester, New York. Students competed in a variety of business-related categories against more than 2,000 regional winners from across New York State.
Eight district high school students received top place medals and trophies at the prestigious competition.
First Place
Victoria Kammer – Whole Selling
Third Place
Brittney Gordon – Broadcast Advertising
Nicolette Vasseur – Marketing Decision Making
Fourth Place
Jade Dickerson – Job Interview
Top 10 Finalists
William Hernandez – Business Marketing
Ashley Hudson – Marketing
Marcus Weeks – Public Speaking
Lyndsey Wilson – Marketing Human Resources
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Winter Sport Athletes Honored at Awards Dinner
To honor the talent and dedication of student-athletes at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, the Booster Club hosted its annual winter sports awards dinner on March 3. The district recognized varsity team members from girls and boys basketball, wrestling, girls and boys bowling, the step team, girls and boys winter track and cheerleading.
Individual students and teams were admired and awarded for their hard work throughout the season. In addition to presenting athletes with a varsity letter, certificate and pin, special individual awards included most improved player, most valued player and the coach’s awards.
Continuing tradition, nine Golden Eagle awards were presented to students from each team with the highest cumulative grade point average. This year, Jade Dickenson (step team), Michael Hararah (wrestling), Timara Jennings (girls bowling), Tatyana Johnson (girls basketball), Jenna Langan (cheerleading), Gregory Morgan (boys bowling), Steven Szabo (boys basketball), Nicolette Vasseur (girls track) and Marcus Weeks (boys track) were recipients of the Golden Eagle awards.
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Walter G. O'Connell Copiague High School Presents "Godspell"
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Birthday Wishes
Bringing birthday joy to children and families in need, members of the third-grade student government at Deauville Garden West Elementary School filled goody bags with party gifts and supplies to help homeless children celebrate their birthdays.
Coordinated by student government advisers Kate Riker and Megan Moore, students assembled goody bags filled with various toys and supplies. Students also created handmade birthday banners and cards for recipients to enjoy.
Through their collaborative efforts, the student government created 20 party goody bags to donate. To express their appreciation, the Birthday Wishes organization sent the student government a letter and certificate for the generous contribution.
“The student government members dedicated their own recess time for two days to put together these items in hopes of making other kids smile at their birthday parties,” said Riker.
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Family, Fitness, Fun
In March, the physical education departments at the district’s four elementary schools hosted individual “Spotlight on Fitness” nights, during which students and their families participated in high-energy activities and exercises.
During the events, students and their families rotated to different stations, where they practiced balance and coordination as well as good sportsmanship. Many of the activities highlighted different components of physical education, allowing students to demonstrate the skills they have developed in their gym classes.
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Student Creativity Featured in Kidsday
Twenty-four sixth-grade students in Paul Harvey’s class at Copiague Middle School recently had their articles and artwork featured in six editions of Newsday’s “Kidsday” section from March 7-12.
For the assignment, students worked individually or in groups to develop articles to be published in the newspaper. To assist with the writing process, Kidsday representative Patrick Mulooly visited the sixth-graders to brainstorm topic ideas.
The district congratulates the following sixth-graders for their published articles in Kidsday.
March 7
Pi Day – Olivia Healy and Nicholas Houlder
March 8
Ricky Gervais Interview – Olivia Healy, Nicholas Houlder, Ty McKenzie and Gabriella Rivas
Stacking – Ty McKenzie
Builders Club – Alexa Heckman
Poll TV Family – Sarah Manzanarez, Amy Mendez and Zuri Milliner
Bracelets – Katherine Canela and Jayleen Garcia
Book Review Jupiter – Joshua Vaquerano
Puzzles – Joshua Georges, Makhi Harris and Ardentis Jacquez
March 9
Toothbrush – Ardentis Jacquez
Gum – Fiona Ripp and Patrick Rodriguez
March 10
Tree Huggerz Club – Quinn Fuchs and Marcela Torres
Boys of Blur – Ty McKenzie
March 11
Spirit Week – Miles Hodnett and Rances Romano
Hess trucks – Joshua Georges
Juniors – Makhi Harris
March 12
Notebook Design – Emely Guardado
Golf – Zuri Milliner
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Recognized for Coaching Excellence
For the past 16 years, Copiague teacher and coach Carole Olsen has demonstrated her dedication and commitment to the enrichment of the women’s basketball program at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School.
On March 19, following a successful 2014-15 season, Olsen received the Suffolk County Women’s Basketball Coaches Association award for coaching excellence and League 3 Coach of the Year.
Selected by the executive board of the SCWBCA based on recommendations from league representatives and coaches, Olsen fit the criteria as an individual who has had a positive impact on women’s basketball in Suffolk County. League 3 coaches also recognized Olsen for the extraordinary talent and passion she possesses for coaching.
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Sensational String Program
Given the opportunity to further explore their music education, students in Deauville Gardens East and Deauville Gardens West elementary schools participate in the Free Lesson Program provided at no cost to the district by the D’Addario Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers music instruction to children in underserved areas throughout the world.
While the district does not have a formal string program, the in-depth afterschool program, started in the 2013-14 school year and based on the renowned El Sistema model, provides more than 30 students with the opportunity to select an instrument and receive music instruction for two hours a day, three days a week.
Led by passionate music educators from local colleges, the Copiague students participate in viola, cello and violin lessons, learning the fundamentals of playing a string instrument.
With the success at Deauville Gardens East and Deauville Gardens West, the Free Lesson Program is set to expand and provide the same opportunity to third-grade students at Susan E. Wiley and Great Neck Road elementary schools.
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Contributing to a Wish
For the 11th consecutive year, students in Copiague Middle School’s Builders Club came together to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to benefit a child in the Suffolk County area. This year, each club member sold 40 holiday ornaments that had been handcrafted by ill children, whose stories were printed on the reverse side. As a result of their diligent efforts, the students raised more than $850, which they presented to Make-A-Wish representative Jim Byrne.
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Top 20 Pay Tribute to Educators
To honor the accomplishments of the top 20 students in the graduating Class of 2015, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School hosted a special breakfast for the students and their families on March 27.
In chronological order, beginning at No. 20, Assistant Principal Bradley Reminick introduced each student and read a short summary of their accomplishments and anticipated post-high school endeavors. Following their introduction, the students proceeded to the podium, where they expressed their gratitude to the teacher whom they value most and credit for helping them through their academic journey in the Copiague School District.
Reminick concluded the breakfast by stating, “It has truly been a privilege to get to work with these students over the past four years.”
The following students and faculty were recognized during the event:
Top 20 Students (ranked in order)
Natalie Korba, Valedictorian
Melanie Barreiro, Salutatorian
William Hernandez
Nicolette Vasseur
Thomas Clark
Kristen Stedman
Ivette Fuentes
Michael Hararah
Christopher Dundon
Gabriela Rivera
Brianna Warren
Emily Vogt
Marcia Aracena
Mehreen Zahid
Sarah Langan
William Estevez
Josabeth Deer
Bryan Bena
Carlos Saravia
Eduadro Ortega
Teacher Honorees
Daniel Barresi
Meredith Coates
Jessica Jablonski
Elizabeth Kattleman
Dr. Mary Klein
Scott Kuhn
Nicholas Lorenzen
Matthew Miles
Clare Nugent
Gina Occhiogrosso
Michelle Penyy
Kimberly Ruggiero
Darwin Ryan
James Travis
Joseph Vanasco
Sylvia Walsh
Allison Weller
Tracy Wenzler
Deirdre Whiston
John Young
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Forces in Motion
Through hip hop songs, music videos and interactive science demonstrations, Copiague Middle School students learned about Newton’s Three Laws of Motion and Universal Law of Gravity when professional performers from Honeywell and NASA’s Forces in Motion FMA Live! traveling multimedia science education concert visited the school.
With the use of student and teacher volunteers, a Velcro wall, soccer balls, extreme wrestling and a bottle rocket, demonstrations showcased the three laws: inertia (objects at rest stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force); F=ma (force equals mass times acceleration); and action/reaction (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction). To conclude the program and recap the three laws, the final demonstration used volunteers Principal Andrew Lagnado and Assistant Principals Michael Ferretti and Stephanie Valeiko, sling shots and several gallons of FMA-style “applesauce.”“This was a great experience for our kids and a wonderful way to promote STEM education,” said Mr. Lagnado.
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Fund-‘Razor’ for a Cause
Students Curtis Doxey, Jared Haynes and Angelo Lupinacci from Deauville Gardens East Elementary School in the Copiague School District recently participated in local St. Baldrick’s events where they raised money by shaving their heads for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to benefit childhood cancer research.
While Doxey individually participated and donated money at a local St. Baldrick’s event, Haynes and Lupinacci were part of a team called the Crew Cut Crusaders, who participated in the St. Baldrick’s event at the Bulldog Grille in Amityville. The team collaboratively raised more than $15,000 to benefit childhood cancer research. “It is not often students at this age embrace an activity such as this outside of school,” said Deauville Gardens East Principal Joseph Buccello. “They raised a lot of money for a great cause.”
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Keeping Copiague Clean
To welcome the spring season, students in the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School’s SOUL Environmental Club recently took part in Suffolk County’s Adopt-A-Highway program, cleaning the area in front of their high school, spanning Dixon Avenue from Great Neck Road to Sunrise Highway.
Under the advisement of Joseph Mannix, members of the club are responsible for organizing monthly cleanups along the street and sidewalk. According to Mannix, the club became the first high school in Suffolk County to Adopt-A-Highway last year and hopes to inspire other schools across Long Island and the country to participate in a similar program.
“The kids feel that they have a direct control over the pollution in their neighborhood and community,” said Mannix. “Anyone can get involved in this, and I think it’s a great thing that makes an immediate impact on our environment.”
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