Lilith Kopman came to General Douglas MacArthur High School in 1969, where she has become synonymous with the Attendance Office. Over the course of 36 years, her familiar voice has been heard on hundreds of telephones in Levittown as she has called to check on an absence or notify a parent that a child "...was very naughty today." In her role she quickly became known - as she likes to tell it - as "everyone's grandma."

In addition to her duties in the Attendance Office, Lil has been involved in a myriad of activities. She has directed plays, among them: Arsenic and Old Lace, The Wizard of Oz, You Can't Take It With You, Bye, Bye, Birdie, and Up the Down Staircase, in addition to the ever-popular Senior Variety Show. She has been a class advisor to freshman, sophomore and junior classes over the years, as well as serving as the advisor to the select group of Peer Leaders. A familiar face at graduation, Mrs. Kopman has always tearfully bid good-bye to "her bubbilahs," as she fondly calls her students. For several years she assisted the physical education teachers by sharing her knowledge of square dancing with the students in P.E. class, an activity which was followed by the very popular Square Dances which drew hundreds of students to the gym in full regalia - assisted, of course, by Mrs. Kopman. Always by her side in all activities (but especially in square dancing) is her loving husband of 50 years, Lee Kopman, a world-renowned square dance caller who has traveled the world sharing his talent and who can also be found pitching in at school events.

A list of activities, however, does not tell the full story of Mrs. Kopman. Walking into the tiny office where she has held thousands of conversations with students and parents alike, one is struck by the collages that cover the walls from top to bottom. Crammed full of tiny photos of students from bygone years, each case tells the story of students who laughed - and cried - with Mrs. Kopman. From the teary-eyed little freshman to the hulking senior football players, Mrs. Kopman has listened, lent a tissue and hugged. She has traveled thousands of miles on school buses on innumerable field trips where she could be seen corralling "her kids" and reminding everyone that "we have the best kids in the world." One can't help but add that here she is only half-right because MacArthur High School, too, had "the best in the world" in Mrs. Kopman.

- Submitted by MacArthur High School Vice Principal Kathleen Valentino