Honoring the many accomplishments of its students both in and out of the class, Copiague School District’s administrators and Board of Education held a student recognition awards ceremony on Jan. 27.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon welcomed the students and their families and congratulated them for being chosen for recognition. “Publicly recognizing excellence is a way of celebrating some of the great successes of the Copiague School District’s programs and, at the same time, enabling us to showcase outstanding role models to our school community.”

After reading a short description of each students’ accomplishments, they were called to the podium to receive their plaque and congratulations from the board of education members. 

The following students were selected for recognition: Deauville Gardens East: Mert Ergal and Josue Mendez; Deauville Gardens West: Maxumis Aguilera, Danika Eldora and Keyon Elliot; Great Neck Road: Andy Andino, Melanie Robertson and Maya Thompson; Susan E. Wiley: Julia Nerkowski, Janiah Staley and Nataly Torrez Gutierrez; Copiague Middle School: Anahi Avila, Christopher Brito, Merary Duran, Richard Fagan Jr. and Elmely Lucas Tejada; and Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School: Jonah Breskin, Yanelith Douglas Armistead, Edgar Feal, Allison Reyes, Donna Rivera and Gabriela Marie Sanchez. 

Third graders in Jeannie Mullins’ class at Great Neck Road Elementary School learned just how much force it takes to make a watermelon explode during a hands-on science experiment. The students began the lesson on forces using rubber bands around their hands to feel the push and pull of force. Using a watermelon, the students placed rubber bands around the center and made a prediction about how many rubber bands it would take to make the watermelon explode. Working in pairs with groups of 10 rubber bands, the students – wearing their goggles – learned the answer to their experiment: 200 rubber bands equals one exploding watermelon. 

More than two dozen of Copiague School District’s finest student-musicians have been selected to participate in the annual Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association’s All-County Festival. The Division I and II concerts will take place on March 15 at St. Anthony’s High School and Division II is scheduled for March 14 at St. Anthony’s High School. The district congratulates the following student-musicians:

Copiague Middle School
Hannah Alara, band (clarinet, Division I)
Madison Aquafredda, band (percussion, Division I)
Ashani Barnes, band (trumpet/cornet, Division I)
Shenn Barredo, orchestra (flute, Division II)
Adrianna Carbajal, band (trumpet/cornet, Division I)
Audrey Curto, chorus (children’s voice, Division I)
Raisaun Gibson, band (trombone, Division I)
Adam Guglielmelli, chorus (alto, Division II)
Maciej Grzegorzek, chorus (soprano, Division II)
Julianna Milonas, band (alto sax, Division II)
Analiz Rosario, chorus (children’s voice, Division I)
Shawn Smaldon, chorus (baritone, Division II)
Theresa Soraire, band (clarinet, Division II)
Arianna Townsend, band (trumpet/cornet, Division I)
Victoria Wheby, orchestra (violin, Division II)

Deauville Gardens East Elementary
Juliana Heckman, band (clarinet, Division I)

Deauville Gardens West Elementary
Noelly Linares, band (flute, Division I)

Great Neck Road Elementary 
Santiago Taveras, band (flute, Division I)
Ava Villalobos, band (clarinet, Division I)

Susan E. Wiley Elementary 
Veronica Karwowska, band (trumpet/cornet, Division I)
Kasper Sztabinski, band (baritone, Division I)

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School
Jennifer Calderon, band (baritone, Division III)
Nathaneal Jean, band (alto sax, Division III)
Valeria Padilla, chorus (alto, Division III)
Brianna Sammy, chorus (alto, Division III)
Alice Sztabinski, band (flute, Division III)
Dominique Tetlak, band (flute, Division III)

Using technology, third graders at Great Neck Road Elementary School engaged in lessons about Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 16. Students in Ms. Spadaro’s class used the nearpod.com website to take an interactive, virtual tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and viewed virtual protests around the world. Students spoke about what they learned from his legacy. In Ms. Moosbrugger’s class, the third graders watched videos about Dr. King and created a trifold brochure outlining many of his beliefs.

Students in grades three through five at Great Neck Road Elementary School showed off their mathematical skills as they went head to head against schools from across the globe as they participated in World Math Game Day, sponsored by 99math.com. Using their Chromebooks, the students had to accurately and quickly answer questions in addition, subtraction and multiplication during the various rounds. Some of the top scoring teams from Great Neck Road included Mrs. Mullins’s third grade class (10th place out of 232 teams) and Mrs. Maggio’s fourth grade class (17th place out of 224 teams).

Setting their students up for success in their future careers and beyond, the Copiague School District held a College and Career Day for all of their schools.

Students at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School had the opportunity to learn about college life firsthand when members of the Class of 2019 visited the school. The recent graduates spoke about their college experiences so far, including courses, dorm life and being away from home. The college students answered questions and provided an inside look into the first year of college for the soon-to-be graduates.

Throughout the elementary schools, students engaged in different activities related to their potential college and career choices. Younger students dressed up in their aspiring profession, with classrooms filled with doctor, nurses, teachers, firefighters, artists and even astronauts. 

The younger grades learned all about different colleges, vocational schools and occupations, while fourth and fifth graders researched different colleges and conducted virtual tours of the campuses on their laptops. Deauville Gardens East students used their math skills and knowledge of area and perimeter to design their own dorm rooms, while first graders at Deauville Gardens West Elementary School participated in career stations and explored what it was like to be a fashion designer, architect, chef and writer.  

Second graders in Stacey Barrett’s class at Great Neck Road Elementary School turned into scientists when they conducted hands-on research studying the state of matter. The students first made predictions of what would happen when they put sand in a glass and mixed it with water. Using their magnifying glasses, they recorded the observations and the changes that occurred when the water and sand mixed. 

 

In celebration of the districtwide effort of community giveback, this holiday season the fifth grade students in Kerri Maroney’s class at Great Neck Road Elementary School organized a schoolwide collection of goods to help soldiers in need this holiday season. 

The class collected donations of nonperishable food items, leftover Halloween candy and toiletries to donate to soldiers and veterans from the school community. Their “stockings for soldiers” campaign yielded almost a dozen boxes of donated goods. The class also created handmade cards to include with the packages. Members of the local VFW picked up the boxes and will coordinate the delivery before the holidays.