Prior to the Jan. 23 board of education meeting, Copiague School District held its student recognition awards ceremony at Copiague Middle School. Held only twice per year, the board of education honors select students who have been chosen by administrators, teachers and staff in their respective buildings for their efforts.

The awards are presented to a small number of students for their extra special accomplishments. “Being honored is a very special award in and of itself,” said Copiague School District Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Bannon. “Appearing in front of your parents, friends, community and the board of education is a distinction. 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.”

Congratulations to the following students: Deauville Gardens East Elementary School – Carter Deegan and Juliette Peralta; Deauville Gardens West Elementary School – Hector Molina Godoy Jr. and Leslie Nunez Ramirez; Great Neck Road Elementary School – Jonathan Angulo and Brasen Cruz Meraz; Susan. E. Wiley Elementary School – Jeremy Duran and Kyle Lopez; Copiague Middle School – Caiden Cohen, Parker Cohen and Mary McClendon; and Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School – Ferris Garafola, Kaia Mabli, Nalbelys Marmol Pichardo, Rashel Nunez, Edison Peguero Rosario, Kevin Pineda Guzman and Karsten Spencer.

Click here to view the slideshow.

Date Added: 2/1/2023

Members of the Long Island Nets of the NBA G-League surprised members of the boys and girls basketball programs at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School on Jan. 13. L.I. Nets head coach Ronnie Burrell and players David Duke and Noah Kirkwood met with players to share their wisdom and experiences. Copiague graduate Wade Richardson, who works for the Long Island Nets, helped facilitate the visit as part of the Nets Martin Luther King Jr. program.

Date Added: 1/30/2023

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School students participated in the annual Poetry Out Loud competition on Jan. 10. The four contestants were supported by teacher mentors and performed two poems of their choosing. Mary Bridges performed “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost and “It Sifts from Leaden Sieves” by Emily Dickinson. Dariely De Los Santos recited “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “An Autumn Sunset” by Edith Wharton. The two poems chosen by contestant Shannon Higgins were “I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain” by Emily Dickinson and “Full Moon” by Elinor Wylie. Anna Garcia chose “The world is about to end and my grandparents are in love” by Kara Jackson and “’Hope’ Is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson. The two school finalists will compete in regional semifinals in early February.

Date Added: 1/27/2023

Twenty-six student-musicians from the Copiague School District have been selected to participate in the Suffolk County Music Educators’ Association All-County ensembles. The groups will perform at concerts on March 11 and 12.
Congratulations to the following student-musicians:
Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School:
Hannah Alara (clarinet)
Raisaun Gibson (trumpet)
Daniel Kister (tenor)
Mykelle Moore (soprano)
Linda Paiz (alto)

Copiague Middle School:
Carolina Acosta-Rivera (alto)
Katelyn Agtuca (percussion)
Judith Bonilla (children’s voice)
Kaitlyn Caldwell (clarinet)
Sebastian Chavez Minaya (baritone)
Yvonne Coleman (alto)
Alejandro Claros Sanchez (baritone)
Dianna Espinal (soprano)
Katie Gonzalez (flute)
MacKensie Goodman (baritone)
Alexandra Kaleka (clarinet)
Veronica Karwowska (trumpet)
Davi Malik (alto saxophone)
Mya Lucia Nunez (trumpet)
Elias Palacios (baritone)
Isabella Rufrano (clarinet)
Gianna Viglione (baritone)

Deauville Gardens East Elementary School: Carter Deegan (trombone)
Deauville Gardens West Elementary School: Damien Eldora (trumpet)
Susan E. Wiley Elementary School: Antonio Joseph (clarinet)
Great Neck Road Elementary School: Cole Sells (trumpet)

Date Added: 1/25/2023

Congratulations to Walter G. O'Connell Copiague High School basketball player Malachi Moore on reaching career milestone 1,500 points. Malachi has also become the first Copiague boys basketball player to hit the 1,500 point mark since records started being kept. A wonderful accomplishment!

Date Added: 1/17/2023

The SOUL Community Outreach Club at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, led by social studies teacher Joe Mannix, ran a homeroom food drive at the school to help replenish the Eagle’s Nest food pantry. The whole school was involved including students and staff and the outcome was more than 35 bins filled with food.

Date Added: 1/4/2023

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School recently hosted a moot court competition. A moot court competition simulates a court hearing, in which participants analyze a problem, research the relevant law, prepare written submissions and present oral argument. Students in two of Mr. Garcia’s advanced criminal justice classes went head-to-head arguing a case of First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights. One class served as the defense and the other class pleaded the offense’s side of the case as they presented their oral arguments to the honorable justices.

Date Added: 12/23/2022

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School senior class members of the Class of 2023 finally had the chance to once again connect with the seniors of the Copiague community as they hosted the Senior to Senior dinner in the school’s cafeteria on Dec. 6.

To kick off the holiday season together, the students served dinner for the more than 50 senior citizens in attendance. Dressed in their holiday best, the seniors were all treated to holiday tunes by the Walter G. O’Connell Copiague Madrigal Choir to start the night of celebration.

When dinner was complete, the guests and students made their way to the dance floor, where they had plenty of opportunity to show off their dance moves.

Click here to view the slideshow.

Date Added: 12/16/2022

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School has announced the top 10 students for the Class of 2023. With a weighted GPA of 105.69, Jack Langan has been named the valedictorian. Edison Peguero Rosario has been named salutatorian with a weighted GPA of 105.12.

The district congratulates the top 10 students in the graduating of Class of 2023: Jack Langan (valedictorian); Edison Peguero Rosario (salutatorian); Venessa Seguino (third); Richard Reyes (fourth); Antanina Petroglia (fifth); Nayshawn Ferebee (sixth); Yaselin Pichardo (seventh); Alice Sztabinski (eighth); Genesis Canenguez Mejia (ninth); and Marcel Mazurek (10th).

Date Added: 12/5/2022