Fifth graders in Mrs. Shanahan’s class at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School held a Battle of the Books. As a class, they read 16 different books and created a bracket for their favorite pick out of two books. Students predicted which book would be the overall winner as they advanced through the brackets to the final winner.

Throughout the district, elementary schools highlighted the artwork of the K-5 students from throughout the year. Parents, guests and classmates had the chance to enjoy some of the works on display in the school’s gymnasiums for all to see.

Members of the Susan E. Wiley Dance Club joined forces for a dance workshop with members of the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Hip Hop Club and Zumba Club for an afternoon of collaborative fun on March 3. Joined by Hip Hop Club adviser Mr. Garcia, the elementary students learned about the club’s mission to spread positivity and give back to the community through dance. After breaking into small groups and getting to know their high school instructors for the day, the students learned two TikTok dances – Renegade and Say So – and competed for the title of best dance group. The students joined together in the end for a finale performance of both songs and were treated to a dance by the Zumba Club. 

As a culminating activity to their study of the Native American tribes in New York, students in Jennifer Rosario’s fourth grade class at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School shared their research projects about each of the different tribes. Working in small groups, students conducted research both online and in the library. After gathering their information on their tribe, they presented to their class. Students also had the option to create and present an artifact that related to their tribe, such as a dreamcatcher or mask. 

Copiague School District’s students were recognized by members of the Knights of Columbus for their participation in the organization’s annual poster and essay contests at the Feb. 10 board of education meeting.

The poster contest, now in its 10th year, garnered 161 entries to tackle the issue of substance abuse. Students received a certificate and gift card sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. The district congratulates the following students for their winning entries:  

Susan E. Wiley Elementary School: Christie Arce, Shyla Brown and Alyson Vargas; Deauville Gardens East Elementary School: Brittany Carbajal Vargas, Juliana Heckman, Darlene Herrera and Eliana Rodriguez; Great Neck Road Elementary School: Kiana Fauntleroy, Leanny Soto and Maya Thompson; Copiague Middle School: Hadasa Argueta Botzoc, Shenn Barredo, Nina Bartoli, Eliud Bonilla, Yeritsa Caba Rodriguez, Cristhian Cruz Meraz, Merary Duran, Kiara Escofet Santiago, Cianna Parchment and Liliana Rosario Jimenez. 
This year’s essay contest focused on the importance of religious liberty to teach the students about tolerance. From the Copiague Middle School, this year’s Knights of Columbus essay contest winners were: Vincent Zito (first), Kemmora Simmons (second) and Kiara Escofet Santiago (third.)

Payton Lewis, the second grade student at Deauville Gardens West Elementary School who launched a recycling effort in the schools this year, has just placed his third pail in the school. The new pail is at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School, and according to Principal Cynthia Florio, is will be placed in the hallway to educate all students on this recycling effort.  

Payton’s Planet recycling pails are also located in the faculty lounges at the Copiague Middle School and Deauville Gardens West Elementary School and encourage faculty and staff to recycle their bottles and cans. Payton, along with his mother Shakira, will pick up the bottles each Friday. The funds collected will be used to purchase additional pails, which they hope will become a staple throughout the school district. 

It was an indoor snow day for the first graders at Susan E. Wiley Elementary School when they celebrated the white weather with plenty of hands-on lessons.

Dressed in their warmest pajamas, students started the day by reading snow-themed books and practicing their writing and math skills with snow-based activities. As a science experiment, the students hypothesized about whether or not oil and water in a mason jar could mix together or stay separated. The resulting experiment, with a bit of added glitter, created a snowstorm in a jar. 

Using baking soda and hair conditioner, the students even made their own snow inside the classroom. Snow paint was created using  flour, salt and water, which results in a fluffy art creation. Before the students had a chance to snack on cheesy snowballs, they ended the day’s activities with an indoor snowball fight. Each student wrote a kind message on a piece of paper. They crumbled their papers, tossed them at each other and read aloud the positive messages at the end of the snowball fight. 

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.