William Floyd High School senior Thomas Coppola, who also serves as a member of Boy Scout Troop 138 of Mastic, has completed his Eagle Scout project, a new communication board for the adaptive playground at Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary School.
Thomas selected this project to assist non-verbal students with communicating their wants and needs outside during recess or any time visiting the playground. This professional-quality communication board contains 36 pictures with words in English and Spanish depicting various feelings or wants such as asking a friend to play, being thirsty, and much more, along with each letter of the alphabet so students can spell things not listed.
This new communication board is an excellent addition to the adaptive playground, which is enjoyed by Nathaniel Woodhull students on a daily basis and has become a favored destination of children and their families from across the community.
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“My hope is this board will open up a new dialogue for both the students and staff and help create a stronger environment for communicating with one another,” added Thomas. “I also believe it will open the door and teach other students that there are many other ways we can communicate with our friends and help in keeping them connected.”
After graduation, Thomas will be attending Suffolk County Community College to study planetary sciences and then plans to transfer to Stony Brook University to study astronomy. For future Eagle Scouts, Thomas attended William Floyd schools K-12 including William Floyd Elementary School, William Floyd Middle School and William Floyd High School.
At William Floyd High School, Thomas was a four-year member of the junior varsity and varsity golf teams. In addition to his service with Boy Scout Troop 138, he has been very involved with volunteering with multiple organizations and helping improve his community wherever he can.