Copiague Middle School held an art show on the evening of April 16. Friends and family were invited to the school to see some of the students’ artwork from throughout the school year.

Thanks to their recent fundraising efforts, the Copiague Middle School student council donated $251 to Operation Smile. This will cover one surgery fees and $1,400 worth of supplies and equipment.

Nine students from Copiague Middle School received honorable mention awards in the Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision contest. Honorable mention placed the students among the top 10 percent of all projects submitted to the competition this year.

Eighth-graders Griselda Guardado, Laila Campbell and Amani Hodge were honored for their project “Lupus Cure.” Eighth-graders Marcel Mazurek, Paulo Gonzalez and Kaylie Rodriguez were awarded for their project “Stroke Help.” The seventh-grade group of Julianna Milonas, Aliyanna Fernandez and Giselle Peralta were recognized for their project “BoneBots.”

Copiague Middle School’s National Junior Honor Society recently made a trip to the Ronald McDonald House in New Hyde Park. Along with advisers Francesca Walker and Paul Harvey, the students made six dozen cookies for the families at the house to enjoy. The students spent time with one of the younger patients staying at the house and left the trip with some positive life lessons.

Copiague Middle School’s studio art students are learning different techniques during their full-year art class. Studio art is an honors course offered to select eighth-grade students. Studio art students gain an advanced knowledge of various art media, skills and techniques. Students have the opportunity to create higher level artwork, explore self-expression through creativity and develop critical thinking skills. This year, students in Travis White’s class have been working on a cityscape project, learning linear perspective, and they recently completed wire art sculptures.

Four Copiague Middle School students were recently honored for their science research projects at the Long Island Science and Engineering Fair on March 14. Eighth-grader Alice Sztabinski received second place for her project “The Hidden Danger of Dirty Instruments.” Honorable mention awards, which are given to only the top 30 percent of participants, were received by seventh-graders Giselle Peralta and Shenn Barredo for their project on “Regular Vs. Sterile Soil” and seventh-grader Rosangel Peralta for her project on “How Does Plastic Affect the Growth of Corn Plants?”

It was a morning of community pride, as Copiague Public School hosted its annual Community Summit for more than 600 invited guests on March 16. Among those in attendance included the Copiague Board of Education, district administrators and staff, representatives of community organizations, local politicians and students and their families.

“The summit is an opportunity to showcase some of the things that are going on within our schools, celebrate the success we’ve had and collaborate on ways we can make things better,” board of education trustee Brian J. Sales noted in his address. Continuing, Mr. Sales shared a number of the district’s and student accomplishments. “For this board, our administration and staff, our top priority is putting children first. We are extremely proud of our results, we have spent our money wisely and effectively and we have delivered with excellent results.”

Echoing Mr. Sales’ message of success, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon presented her annual State of the Copiague Public Schools. During her address, Dr. Bannon provided an overview of district highlights, including various student accomplishments, expansion of the pre-K program and the completion of the community-approved capital project. She also provided an update on the budget process and the district’s funding.

“Over the last several years, we have stayed within the New York State tax cap,” Dr. Bannon said. “We continue to contain our costs and budget conservatively, so we can maintain the programs and services we have. If we were to see an increase in state aid, we would expand and add to our offerings, which would positively benefit our students. In a perfect world, there would be adequate and equitable funding for public education. Funding which is predictable, transparent and sustainable so that we can plan for the long term rather than year-to-year.”

With the theme “Copiague Students Soar,” the summit also featured student performances, spotlights on elementary, middle and high school programs, clubs and projects and an introduction of the Class of 2019 top ten students.

How do you get students excited and engaged during math lessons? Just ask Copiague Middle School because the excitement is palpable in each and every classroom.

Lessons incorporate hands-on learning, real-world scenarios, games and technology. For example, sixth-graders in Kirsten Ostrofsky’s class recently completed a statistics lesson – learning fractions, percentages and decimals – using Skittles. Seventh-graders in Cara Horigan’s class were learning unit rates and participated in a scavenger hunt around the classroom to test their knowledge. Students in Paul Kounadis’ class had to figure out exponents and bases using different colored dice. In Richard Radziewicz’s class, students were using scientific notation to calculate the approximate distant of different planets in the solar system.

In addition to these classroom lessons, Copiague Middle School students have the opportunity to get involved in after-school activities. Math researchers are preparing and practicing their presentations for the math research papers they have written and will present at an All-County competition in the beginning of March. The Math Club/Team is open to all students, where they can go to have fun with math while others practice for upcoming math team competitions. 

The Copiague Middle School’s student council celebrated “Kindness Is Contagious Day” in January in an effort to spread kindness among students and staff. Students and staff members were asked to wear bright colors, and members of the student council handed out messages of kindness to students. 

Copiague Middle School offers a peer-to-peer tutoring program after school four days a week. The tutors – and a few select super-tutors – are hand selected by members of the mathematics department and math department chair Dr. Natasha Murray.

The middle school tutoring program has been in place for five years and approximately 30 eighth-graders are currently serving as tutors, which is overseen by teachers in the homework center. Pete Casale, one of the teachers who oversees the homework center, believes it’s a great opportunity for students to help them reach their potential. Different tutors, some of whom are bilingual, rotate days of the week.  

The tutors are paired with students who may need assistance with specific problems, homework or even online with the Go Math program. 

Middle school students work hard during their physical education classes trying to cross “the island.” Check out the video of this team-building activity.

Thirteen Copiague School District students were recognized at the Feb. 11 board of education meeting by members of the Knights of Columbus in the organization annual poster and essay contests.

The poster contest, now in its ninth year, had a record number of entries at 104 from Copiague student-artists. The goal of the contest is to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse. The winners, who received certificates and prizes were: Deauville Gardens West: Carolina Acosta-Rivera and Sandavi McCants; Susan E. Wiley: Ivanna Gonzalez Rodriguez; Deauville Gardens East: Kiarisleidy Baez Fabian; Great Neck Road: Jazlyn Batista, Justin Martinez Canas and Rayana Gooden; Copiague Middle School: Jayden Risch, Joseph Risch and Eliud Bonilla. 

Three Copiague Middle School eighth-grade students were presented with certificates and prizes for their essay contest entries. The contest is in its third year and essays are focused on religious freedom. Paulo Gonzalez was the first-place winner. Diana Carbajal placed second and Ari Chervony was named the third-place winner.

 

Doing their part to spread love, kindness, friendship and companionship this Valentine’s Day, the Builders Club from Copiague Middle School spent the day visiting with those at the Tanner Park Senior Center on Feb. 13. The club makes the trek for Valentine’s Day annually for the past 16 years.

Along with adviser Maria Ostrofsky, the students spend the day with the local seniors making connections. The club makes cards, notes and letters, which are then hand-delivered to the seniors with a rose, to help brighten their day. Many students spent their time talking to the senior citizens, while others joined them on the dance floor for some fun.