Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School’s 2019 valedictorian, Aaron Eng, was honored for his achievements, dedication and commitment at the 25th annual Suffolk County School Superintendents Association Valedictorian Luncheon. He was recognized along with his fellow valedictorians from throughout Suffolk County. Aaron is pictured with his family and (back, from left) Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon, Board of Education President Laura Gavey and Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Principal Joseph Agosta.

Copiague School District administrators and Board of Education members recognized the faculty and staff members who will be retiring at the end of the 2018-2019 school year and also acknowledged teachers who were granted tenure during the June board of education meeting.

Superintendent of School Dr. Kathleen Bannon, board of education members and district administrators offered their congratulations to the seven retirees, who have more than 170 years of combined service to the district. Retiring at the end of the school year are: Pete Cesare, director of physical education and athletics (32 years); Monica Csorny, science teacher, Copiague Middle School (23 years); Lorraine DeLuca, office assistant, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School (16 years); Carol Geakel, assistant cook, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School (15 years); Victoria Miranda, office assistant, Susan E. Wiley Elementary School (27 years); Diana Murphy, food service worker, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School (28 years); and Sarah Rowan, ESL teacher, Copiague Middle School (31 years). 

Seven Copiague School District teachers – Brittni Ferlazzo, Copiague Middle School mathematics teacher; Courtney Folan, Copiague Middle School music teacher; Susan Graber, Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School special education teacher; Brittany Jones, Copiague Middle School special education teacher; Maria Kennedy, Copiague Middle School psychologist; Lauren Lupinacci, Copiague Middle School special education teacher and Melissa Maggio. Great Neck Road Elementary school teacher – who were recently granted tenure, were also celebrated prior to the board of education meeting.   

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School senior and salutatorian Abigail Romero was awarded a $2,000 scholarship by the Association of Suffolk Supervisors for Educational Technologies on May 23. Abigail was recognized for her video submission on how technology has affected her life. All of the ASSET scholarship receipients were honored at a luncheon celebration in Bay Shore. Abigail is pictured with Copiague School District’s director of technology Kelly Urraro. 
 

Copiague School District has named William Bennett as the new athletic director, effective July 1. He will replace Peter Cesare, who announced his retirement in April. 

Mr. Bennett has been a physical education teacher in the Copiague School District since 2006. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education/teacher education from Adelphi University and a master’s degree in health education from Adelphi University. Mr. Bennett also holds a certificate in educational leadership.

Mr. Bennett has served as a coach for both baseball and football in for the Copiague School District since 2006 and in his current role as the head coach of the varsity baseball team since 2013. 

Twenty-four senior athletes from Copiague School District have committed to continue to play their sports at the college level this fall. In addition, Jackson Bright (boys track, Binghamton University) and Tayanee Peay (girls basketball, Queens College) have received scholarships to play in college. The district congratulates the following student-athletes: 

• Jackson Bright: boys track, Binghamton University
• Chris Carbajol: boys track, Suffolk County Community College
• Luis Castillo: boys cross-country/track, SUNY Stony Brook
• Bobby Elias: boys cross-country/track, Suffolk County Community College
• Aryes Garrett: boys track, SUNY Plattsburgh
• James Holland: boys track, SUNY Buffalo
• Vinosky Saintil: boys track, SUNY Buffalo
• Eric Tavarez: boys track, Farmingdale State College
• Tayanee Peay: girls basketball, Queens College
• Melinda Harris: girls basketball, SUNY Old Westbury
• Davandra Daniel: girls basketball/soccer, St. Joseph’s, Brooklyn
• Paul Illicete: wrestling, Nassau Community College
• Christian Ramirez: baseball, Queensborough Community College
• Gabriela Ordonez: girls soccer, John Jay College
• Faith McCombs: volleyball, Alfred State
• Brian Reyes: boys soccer, SUNY Cobleskill
• Mike Delgado: boys soccer, SUNY Cobleskill
• Jonathan Panameno: boys soccer, SUNY Canton
• Lorenzo Concepcion: football, Erie Community College
• Victor Gamarra: football, SUNY Morrisville 
• Julian Armstrong-King: football, Utica College
• Peter Auriemma: football, Western Connecticut State University
• Joshua Olivo: football, SUNY Morrisville 
• Erik Blanco: football, Western Connecticut State University

The Copiague School District celebrated the accomplishments of its student-athletes both on and off the playing field during the 19th annual spring sports awards dinner sponsored by the Copiague Booster Club.

Coaches, administrators, board of education members, friends and family gathered to share the notable accomplishments of the sports teams in varsity softball, boys lacrosse, girls track, girls lacrosse, baseball and boys track.

Coaches called athletes up front to be recognized and celebrated both their individual and team achievements during the season. They also distributed individual awards, including the Coaches’ Award, Most Improved and the MVP award, to worthy recipients. 

Six Golden Eagle Awards were presented to students from each team with the highest cumulative grade point average. This year’s receipients were: Kiara Bennett (girls track); Christopher Caneguez (boys track); Victor Gamarra (boys lacrosse); Henry Molina (baseball); Kriyal Patel (girls lacrosse); and Carol Rodriguez Rodriguez (softball). 

Three special memorial awards were presented to student-athletes for boys lacrosse and baseball. The Jared J. Pennington Memorial Lacrosse Award was given to Tquan Wint, D. Johnson Moline was the recipient of the Sean Ryan Noonan Memorial Lacrosse Award, and Justin Taveras received the Daniel O’Connell Memorial Baseball Award.

Fifteen student-athletes were named Gold Key winners. The Gold Key Award is the highest honor in the section that an athlete can receive for sports participation. It is awarded to student-athletes who letter in eight junior varsity or varsity seasons in grades 10-12. Copiague School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon presented each winner with a special pin. Winners were: Jackson Bright, Christopher Carbajal Vargas, Ajhani Carroll, Luis Castillo, Nia Cooper, Robert Elias, Emmanuel Espinal, Aryes Garrett, Melinda Harris, James Holland, John Jerrick, Faith McCombs, Kriyal Patel, Melissa Perdomo and Eric Tavarez. 

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School art students in Christie Layden’s ceramic class had an in-school Raku firing field trip with guest artist Gina Mars. Students learned how to build an outdoor kiln, fire their work using traditional Raku techniques and then learned techniques on the potter’s wheel.

Copiague School District showed off the many talents of its student-artists and student-musicians during its annual districtwide art festival at Great Neck Road Elementary School. The hallways featured art pieces from all of the schools in the district and gave guests a glimpse into the students’ hard work and dedication. Guests also voted for their favorite elementary artwork. The superintendent’s art gallery was also on display, featuring the art pieces hand-selected by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon to be hung in the administration building.  Throughout the evening, the elementary school choruses took turns sharing the stage and entertaining audiences with a sampling of their vocal talents.

Check out the high school students working on their ceramics project.

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School celebrated the many successes of its science research students during the fifth annual science symposium held in the school’s cafeteria. Invited guests, district administrators, board of education members, Town of Babylon officials and local members of the science community gathered at the symposium to recognize the students’ accomplishments.

“[Almost 10 years ago], we had the idea we should have a science research program; we knew we had science students walking through our halls who could achieve great things in science,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon. “We had a germ of an idea to start the science research program; that was nurtured by [science research teachers] Mrs. Locker and Dr. Lecesse. They took that idea and grew it into what you see today.”

Research students – from the introduction to research, independent and advanced research classes – had the opportunity to showcase their project during a poster presentation walk before and after the symposium, allowing attendees an opportunity to speak with the students about their projects. Thirteen science research students presented a brief overview of 10 different projects to the audience, many of which have garnered notable awards throughout the school year. 

“The research and recognition you receive at competitive events speaks to the quality and timeliness of your projects,” said Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Principal Joseph Agosta. “Your successes also speak to the support and guidance you receive from your mentors both at the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School and the variety of institutions with which you collaborate. We celebrate the scientific knowledge of our outstanding students today. These intellectual powerhouses have demonstrated that they can recognize problems, understand experimental methods, organize and interpret data, understand how data relates to the solution of a problem, plan experiments and test hypotheses and make generalizations and assumptions. These are the students that will change the world.”

Showing their appreciation and dedication to the arts, 30 students from Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School were inducted into the Tri-M Music Honor Society or National Art Honor Society. Joined by family, friends, administrators and board of education members, the students pledged their commitment during an induction ceremony held in the school’s cafeteria. 

Copiague School District’s Coordinator of Fine Arts Jennifer Ross-Troise welcomed guests to the ceremony and spoke about the talented musicians and artists who were honored into the respective societies and their dedication to both their school and community.

During the ceremony, honor society advisers shared examples of the high level of talent and community service contributions of their society members. Each society’s executive board members explained the criteria a student must exhibit to be inducted into the society. In unison, they were led in reciting the pledge of the Tri-M Music and National Art honor societies. 

Honorary lifetime membership for the Tri-M Honor Society was given to Copiague Middle School band director Timothy Gavin, inducted based on student nominations. For the National Art Honor Society, Susan E. Wiley Elementary School art teacher Jeanne Daly received lifetime membership.

In the hallway outside the cafeteria, an art show displayed the skill and talent of the many artists in the National Art Honor Society for all guests to enjoy. 

The district congratulates the following students who were inducted into the Tri-M Music Honor Society: Ryan Bott, Sophia Bright, Jennifer Calderon, Anna Carvajal, Eitan Chervony, Isabella Galarza, Jayleen Garcia, Katelyn Gonzalez, Sophia Gonzalez, Samantha Gonzalez, Vanessa Gonzalez, Adrianna Michal, Jeremiah Moya, Edinelly Peguero Rosario, Kyree Scott, Andrew Szabo, Kayla Urban and Morgan Weeks.

The district congratulates the following students who were inducted into the National Art Honor Society: Arlin Alvarez Almonte, Rachell De Lamar Sime, Rebecca Demonaco, Asiatul Hoque, Sarah Hussain, Jade Jones, Jillian McLaurin, Yosselin Medina Licona, Blanca Reyes, Marlin Valerio, Angie Vasquez Sanabria and Natalie Unger. 

Driver’s education students at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School had a hands-on lesson in the dangers of driving under the influence from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s S.T.O.P.P.E.D. program uses simulation driving carts to teach the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol. Students drove a pedal car through a cone maze while wearing goggles that impair their vision and balance. After the simulated driving portion, students then had to wear the goggles and walk through the maze with a partner, trying to avoid the cones and get home safely.

The Walter G. O’Connell Copiague girls track team participated in the 2019 Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The 4x100-meter team took second place, running a personal best of 52.33. The relay team consists of freshman Jillian McLaurin, junior Alivia Lawrence, senior Ajhani Carroll and sophomore Trinity Roberts. 

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School students in Diana LaSpina’s computer skills for the 21st century class recently were transported to another reality during a lesson from the Copiague Library. A librarian recently visited the classes throughout the day to offer a look into the world of virtual/augmented reality. 

Students learned about the history of virtual reality during a short video presentation. They also spoke about the differences between virtual reality and augmented reality and some future uses for both technologies. Using their smartphones, students downloaded a variety of virtual reality apps – such as a roller coaster, maze walk, Apollo 13 and maze solver – and had the chance to use the viewfinders to transport into one of the virtual reality worlds. 

The varsity club from Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School attended the AHRC Suffolk’s second annual Polar Splash on April 13 at the Bay Shore Marina. The club raised $200 to donate to the AHRC Suffolk by selling coffee and hot chocolate during parent-teacher conferences. The student-athletes who attended were able to brave the bay in 40 degree temperatures for a good cause.