Elementary art teacher Jodie Embleton asked her elementary student-artists what art means to them. Here’s a video that proudly showcases their love of art!

During the first week of June, the four elementary schools and middle school in the Copiague School District celebrated their students during individual school car parades. The parades celebrated the many successes of the Copiague students, while also giving them a chance to have a proper send-off for the summer months.

Teachers and administrators, dressed in blue and white and showing off their school pride, lined the sidewalks of their respective schools. As the teachers were waving, cheering and holding signs, the cars filled with students lined up down the street to catch a glimpse of their teachers. Students created their own signs, decorated cars and filled them with balloons and banners as they paraded down through the school.

Many of the schools have planned separate parades for their students that are moving on to the middle school and the high school next fall.

After she learned school was not returning for the remainder of the year, Deauville Gardens East school counselor Lysa Mullady, who is also a children’s book author, was looking for a way to keep in touch with the students. “The only thing I could think of was to read stories on the computer,” Ms. Mullady said. “I brought a wagon to school and brought home all my picture books.” Ms. Mullady learned about Google Classroom and Screencastify and on the first day of instruction, she recorded a story and posted it to every classroom at Deauville Gardens East. She has read a new story to the students every single morning since that day. “At first, I felt a bit silly, reading to a computer,” she said. “Then I heard from families who said how much the stories meant to them. They start their day listening.”

Copiague School District’s fine arts department put together an artwork slideshow as a tribute to essential workers. View some of the student artwork here:

Focusing on the home-to-school connection, Copiague School District presented an online Celebration of Wellness for both students and their families beginning on May 15. The resources and activities offered videos that ranged from learning a new skill to mindfulness practices and techniques.

For the elementary students and their families, videos centered around tapping in their energy, learning to relax through mindful minutes and yoga poses, and even learning a new skill, such as American Sign Language.

Copiague Middle School students had the opportunity to learn new ways to channel their energy. A technology lesson gave students some options for gaming, music and communication to escape and destress. Assistant Principal Stephanie Valeiko hosted a reading and crafting session to reduce anxiety. Exercise, also an important component to wellness and a stress reliever, was featured via a Zumba and step class.

Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School students learned mindful techniques that are helpful in managing stress both during high school and beyond. Lessons, such as journaling and breathing techniques, combined with movement exercises, such as Zumba and yoga, gave the high schoolers different sessions to boost their wellness and reduce anxiety and stress.