It was a royal ball for elementary students and their families at the Prince and Princess Ball at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School on Feb. 17. This year’s theme was A Night in Paris Valentine’s Ball.
Dressed in their best attire, students posed for pictures in the photo booths set up at the entrance. Inside the Valentines-themed cafeteria, students connected with their friends to dance the night away. The princes and princesses also had a chance to dance and spend quality time with their “dates” as they enjoyed food, dancing and games.
All proceeds from the annual event go to the Corey Swinson Memorial Scholarship, awarded to Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School seniors.
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Royals Step Out for the Ball
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DECA Members Head to States
The DECA team from Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School competed in DECA Regional Competition on Jan. 4 at Suffolk County Community College in Selden. The winners from that event will now compete at the state level from March 7-10 at the Rochester Convention Center against 2,500 students from across New York.
The district congratulates the DECA members who will be competing at the states in the following categories:
Tamia Brewer: Fashion
Jade Dickenson: Job Interview
Nick Hernandez: Job Interview
Ashley Hudson: Decision Making Marketing
Hanan Ismail: Wholesale Selling
Amira Kemp: Visual Advertising
Jenna Langdon: Decision Making Marketing
Mahogany Mason: Sales Demo
Amorelle Pennick: Public Speaking
Kyree Scott: Sales Demo
Lyndsey Wilson: Decision Making Marketing
Sophie Wilson: Wholesale Selling
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Recognizing Black History Month
February was Black History Month and students at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School recognized the event with songs, dance performances and poetry during a Black History Month celebration in the auditorium on Feb. 28.“Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future” was the theme for this year’s event. Led by students Cameren Jackson and Sarah St. Jean, the celebration kicked off with a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by the Madrigal Choir.
Dance performance by the Copiague Lady Step team and Hip Hop Club reflected on the music from the past and the present. The jazz band performed a song by Duke Ellington and poems celebrating black history were presented throughout the celebration. All proceeds from the Black History Month celebration are donated to the security department scholarship fund.
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Notice of Board Meeting – March 20, 2017
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Teamwork Is Tops at Susan E. Wiley
Students at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School learned all about the importance of teamwork thanks to a visit from representatives of the New York Islanders hockey team on Feb. 28.
Representatives from the Islanders, along with their mascot Sparky the Dragon, spoke to students about the importance of teamwork and how working together, as either a class or a school, can accomplish more than doing it alone. To illustrate the concept, one student and one teacher had a race to dress in goalie equipment. The student had the assistance of his classmates, while the teacher tried to accomplish the task solo.
Students received folders and pencils from the New York Islanders and were also encouraged to register online for their “Blades for Grades” program, where earning good grades can score them two tickets to an Islanders game.
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Honoring Women in Sports
To commemorate National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Booster Club presented a plaque of recognition to Town of Babylon Councilwoman Jacqueline Gordon, a past president and secretary of the Booster Club and a longtime supporter of the students in Copiague.
Gordon’s two children started playing in the Copiague Youth League in 1993. With the Booster Club, she traveled all over Long Island, supporting Copiague athletics programs. In 1984, she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves, where she became a lieutenant colonel in 2007. In addition, Gordon has been involved in numerous organizations and was honored as a “Woman of Distinction” by the New York Senate in 2014.
Recognized for her many years of dedicated service and contributions to the students of the Copiague community, Gordon was honored during a halftime presentation of a girls varsity basketball game on Feb. 7.
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Joining Together for Love of Literacy
Deauville Gardens West celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday/Read Across America Day on March 2 with themed activities centered on the famous author and his literary works. Students dressed in Dr. Seuss-themed clothing and hats and spent the afternoon partnering with reading buddies and sharing different Dr. Seuss books.
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Recognizing Teaching Excellence
Renee Locker, science chairperson at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, was honored on Feb. 27 with a Town of Babylon Excellence in Education Award.
An educator for more than 20 years, Locker became chairperson at the high school in 2010, when she started the science research program. She set out to develop a viable and competitive program, initiating grassroots fundamental science concepts as the basis of the program. Over the years, Locker has spent countless hours growing Copiague’s presence in the science community.
During her seven years at the helm of the science research program, the district has consistently achieved the highest honors at the Babylon Covanta Science Fair, Long Island Science Congress, Molloy College Science Fair and the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair. This school year, Copiague had two students honored as Siemens semifinalists.
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Lessons from a CEO
Business students at Walter G. O’Connell High School had a special guest speaker on March 2 when Mitchell Modell, CEO of Modell’s Sporting Goods, visited the school to present a business seminar.
Modell spoke to business students about the history of his company, how it has grown and changed over the years, how it has adapted and how its business model works in the marketplace.
Modell also spoke to students about the company’s mission statement and its motto to listen, respect and respond. He spoke about garnering some real insight into his own company by participating in “Undercover Boss.” After his lecture, Modell opened the floor for a question and answer session for the business students who are currently taking classes such as marketing, fashion, entrepreneurship, computer skills, web design, and college and career planning.
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A Night Under the Stars
Dressed in their pajamas, equipped with their lanterns and ready to tell stories by the fire, students from Deauville Gardens West Elementary School participated in a literacy night “camp-in” on Feb. 28.
Along with their families, students came back to school in the evening to read and sing campfire songs, learn about constellations, and read the stars. They crafted binoculars and camping journals and ventured to the book fair in the cafeteria to conclude the event.
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Cocoa for a Cure
The Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Varsity Club raised more $120 selling coffee, hot chocolate and bracelets for the American Heart Association during the school’s evening parent-teacher conferences on March 2.
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Jumping Into a Healthy Lifestyle
Students at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School demonstrated their commitment to leading a heart-healthy lifestyle when they participated in the school’s Jump Rope for Heart program on March 6.
In conjunction with their unit on heart health, students participated in the school’s Jump Rope for Heart program during their respective physical education classes. The students jumped rope and rotated to four different stations geared toward increasing their heart rates, all in an effort to raise awareness for heart health and money for the American Heart Association.
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Spirited Students Celebrate Seuss
In conjunction with their Pick A Reading Partner spirit week celebration, students at Deauville Gardens East recognized Dr. Seuss’ birthday/Read Across America Day on March 2 by dressing in hats, crazy hair and Dr. Seuss-themed attire.
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Winter Athletes Celebrate Achievements
To celebrate the athletic accomplishments of its students, Copiague School District held its Winter Sports Awards Dinner on March 7 at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School. Sponsored by the Booster Club, student-athletes in boys bowling, girls bowling, girls basketball, boys basketball, step team, wrestling, boys track, girls track and cheerleading, were recognized for their dedication to their sports by coaches, Copiague School District administrators and members of the Board of Education.
Throughout the night, coaches praised the student-athletes for their success and distributed individual awards, including the Coaches’ Award, Most Improved and the MVP award, to worthy receipients. Nine Golden Eagle awards were presented to students from each team with the highest cumulative grade point average. This year, Melanie Garcia (girls bowling), Amorelle Penick (step team), Jonathan Gudel (boys bowling), Marvin Pineda Lobo (wrestling), Ashley Hudson (girls basketball), Jenna Langan (cheerleading), Jackson Bright (boys basketball), Mikayla Angel (girls track) and Peter Milillo (boys track) were recipients of the Golden Eagle awards.
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Working Their Way to Wellness
Students and their families at Great Neck Road showed off their fitness skills during a Family Fitness Night on March 9.
Strength training, aerobic workouts, flexibility and boxing skills were just some of the exercises in which students and families participated in throughout the evening as they rotated through different stations every 15 minutes. Trainers from Big Al’s Family Fitness in Amityville led the fitness stations, engaging participants in exercises such as a strength and conditioning course, team workout challenges and high-energy cardiovascular training routines.
After working out, attendees sampled some nutritious snacks courtesy of Good Eats Cafe in Amityville.
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Celebrating Community
On March 18, the District hosted its annual Community Summit. The goal of the summit is to provide members of the community and elected officials an inside look into what is occurring within the District. This year’s theme, STEM In Our Schools, focused on the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.“The summit gives us an opportunity to share some of the things the Board has been doing, discuss some of the issues we face in the upcoming budget and to celebrate the success that we have had,” said Board of Education President Brian J. Sales.
During her State of the District, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon highlighted the many accomplishments of the students and staff, provided an update on the District’s capital projects and discussed the District’s finances. “Over the last several years, we have stayed under the New York State tax cap and our tax increases have averaged less than 2.4 percent per year. We continue to contain our costs and we have been conservatively budgeting so that we can maintain the programs and services we currently have. If we were to receive an increase in state aid, we would add to and expand our offerings, which would positively benefit our students,” said noted.
The summit also featured student musical performances, spotlights on elementary, middle and high school STEM programs and clubs and an introduction of the Class of 2017 top 10 students.
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Third-Grade Weather Watchers Report Their Forecast
In conjunction with their lesson on weather, students in Kate Castellano and Megan Moore’s third-grade class at Deauville Gardens West took out their sunglasses, scarves, hats and umbrellas as they presented weather reports to their classmates on March 10. Each student acted as a weather forecaster, giving their five-day report on temperatures, what to wear, and how to prepare for the upcoming weather. Students also provided comment cards to their peers about what they liked most about their weather presentation.
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Notice of Board Meeting – April 3, 2017
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Read A Shirt Day
Students and staff at Susan E. Wiley celebrated literacy by making March 24 “Read A Shirt” Day. Students and staff came to school dressed in their favorite sayings to encourage a love of reading.
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Celebrating Pi
In observance of Pi Day, students in Melody Cesare’s math classes at Copiague Middle School participated in a celebration of the mathematical constant.
The middle schoolers began the class period by measuring round items and dividing that measurement by its diameter before competing in the annual recitation of Pi by memory challenge. Breaking the school record of 164 digits set in 2013, student Sean Moore recited 165 digits by memory, earning him a second-place finish. Setting the new school record with 171 digits, Sebastian Ortiz came in first place. The top three finishers received gift certificates donated by Pizza Express in Copiague.
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