Copiague School District recognized its finest artists and student achievements during a special ceremony held prior to the June 19 board of education meeting.

District administrators, faculty and board members gathered with invited students and their guests in the Copiague Middle School auditorium to celebrate their successes. 

Chosen by the Board of Education, the Student Recognition Awards highlight students for their outstanding achievements in their academic, fine arts or community service. They are presented twice a year to a small number of students for their special accomplishments. “Publicly recognizing excellence is our way of celebrating some of the great successes of the Copiague schools’ programs and, at the same time, enabling us to showcase outstanding role models to our school community,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon. 

Twenty students were honored during the ceremony, as board members read a brief description from teachers and principals on why the students were chosen for the award. 

The 2017 Superintendent’s Art Gallery inductees and Fine Arts Festival crowd favorites were on display for the audience to enjoy. Now in its 21st year, the Superintendent’s Art Gallery began when the Copiague art teachers selected several pieces of student artwork to display. 

Over the years, the collection has grown to provide a showcase of student artwork in corridors and offices in each of the schools. Each of the framed pieces is identified by a brass plate noting the student-artist’s name, grade level and year the piece was completed. Crowd favorite art pieces – four in total this year from the elementary, middle school and high school – are also chosen by the community during the annual Fine Arts Festival. 

The Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School Key Club was recently presented with an appreciation award from the New York Blood Center for holding three blood drives during the 2016-2017 school year. The Key Club blood drives yielded 169 pints of donated blood.