School pride was in the air on Sept. 24 as Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School celebrated homecoming with festivities, including a parade, fair, football game and Hall of Achievement induction ceremony.

The day’s events kicked off with a spirited parade that started at Great Neck Elementary and ended at the high school. The freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes marched along the route with their “Around the World”-themed floats, while the marching band provided the soundtrack. Also taking part in the parade were numerous groups and organizations from the high school, middle school and elementary schools.

Following the parade, a ceremony was held on the football field where cheerleaders and the step team performed after the homecoming queen and king, Diana Lopez and Rigaud Destime were introduced. Speaking during the ceremony were school administrators and local government officials.

The afternoon continued as the varsity football team took on Centereach High School. Despite their best efforts, the Eagles were unable to defeat the Cougars.

During the halftime show, the marching band, cheerleaders and step team treated the crowd to rousing performances.

The festivities concluded with the district’s annual Hall of Achievement induction ceremony at the high school. This year’s inductees included Class of 1984 alumnus Jim Konen, Class of 1998 alumna Dr. Leslie Marino and Class of 1977 alumnus Craig Stadelman.

Two Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School students have been selected for the New York State School Music Association’s All-State Conference. Additionally, three students have also been chosen for All-County Honors.

Lesly Decastro and Kishaar Hodge were chosen to perform with the mixed chorus in the NYSSMA All-State Conference from Dec. 1-4 in Rochester, New York.

Joining Decastro and Hodge in the Suffolk County Music Educators Association’s All-County Festival are student-musicians Nicholas Favichia, Sarah St. Jean and Ashley Weekes in mixed chorus.

These students were chosen among thousands of student-musicians who auditioned at solo and ensemble festivals throughout Suffolk County and New York State.

Students enrolled in Advanced Placement classes at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School achieved high marks both in the classroom and on exams. The College Board recently recognized 61 current seniors and Class of 2016 graduates as Advanced Placement Scholars.

With an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams, 2016 graduates Adrian Chochorek, Dawn Gioia and Karla Lopez were named National AP Scholars.

Sixteen past and current students were named AP Scholars with Distinction for earning average scores of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. They are: Mikayla Angel, Adrian Chochorek, Jade Dickenson, Cristian Dilone, Jessica Escobar, Dawn Gioia, Sophia Hall, Kasandra Hanson, David Hararah, Karla Lopez, Gregory Morgan, Brayan Pena, Tomasz Solecki, Steven Szabo, Maegan Tosun and Marcus Weeks.

Eleven students who received an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams were named AP Scholars with Honor. They are: Katherine Abreu, Kimberly Cheung, Robert Favichia, Jason Hernandez, Ashley Hudson, Letisha Jenkins, Artur Karczewski, Jailene Peralta, Ethan Taveras, Chanyia Welch and Sofie Wilson.

Thirty-one students were named AP Scholars based on earning scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. These students are: Monica Assaf, Asante Carroll, Olivia Clark, Gabriella Dattolo, Patricia Estevez, William Feldman, Gernelle Forrest, Carolyn Gonzalez, Jackalyn Gonzalez, David Grinthal, Juan Gubisch, Jonathan Gudel, Teja Jabouin, Cameren Jackson, Ona Kean, Ryan King-Claytor, Jenna Langan, Jaritza Lopez, Jaylene Lopez, Joel Lopez, Brady Madden, Anthony Molina, Andre Morgan, Claudia Motley, Karla Paragna, Anessa Pierce, Rose Spanato, Nichole Sutton, Alexandra Urban, Lyndsey Wilson and Nilsu Yildiz.

Despite the gloomy weather, spirits were high as Copiague School District welcomed back students and staff on Sept. 6. Please look below for a slideshow of some first day of school highlights.

At the Aug. 15 Board of Education meeting, the district appointed Jonathan Cutolo as assistant principal of Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School, effective Aug. 22.

Since 2004, Cutolo has served as a special education teacher at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School. He has also held the position of site-based home instruction supervisor since 2013. Cutolo also served as the summer school principal at the high school during the past two years and assistant summer school principal from 2011-2013. Since 2006, Cutolo has coached varsity and junior varsity softball, varsity and junior varsity girls basketball, varsity and junior varsity football, varsity boys bowling and varsity girls bowling and golf intramurals teams.

Cutolo holds a masters degree in liberal studies from Stony Brook University. He also earned an advanced graduate certificate in educational leadership from Stony Brook University.