FAMILY WALK NIGHT January 24th @ 4:30 p.m.

Volume 17. Number 5 January 2013

News From The Nest

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Cypress Ridge Elementary www.cypressridge.org (352) 394-6633

Welcome back! We hope everyone had a

safe and healthy holiday break. We wish

you a happy and prosperous new year!

Student safety is a concern. Our Safe School Committee is asking for BOTH Car Rider lines to be “Cell Phone Free” zones. When you are bringing or picking up students, please put all cell phones away as you enter the LOOPS on campus. Student Safety is a priority here at CRES! Thanks for your cooperation and support of our SAFE KID ZONE!

Chick-fil-A Night The next Spirit Night will be on Monday, January 14th, between the hours of 5:30pm & 7:30pm. Mrs. Schoenthaler will be hosting our January

Spirit Night to raise money for our Science Lab. These parties are fun for the whole family and Cypress Ridge receives 10% of the sales! We

get 100% of the profit from spinning the wheel!

FAMILY READING NIGHT & SNUGGLE UP AND READ

Please join us for our next Family Reading Night on Tuesday, January 22nd, 5PM - 7PM in the Media Center.

Kindergarten students and parents are now welcome to attend also. Students may wear

their pajamas. Milk and cookies will be served throughout the evening. Other

classroom teachers may have their classrooms open for Snuggle up and Read. Check your teacher’s newsletter for more

information.

Once again our second grade students will be participating in a Reading Carnival that begins January 11

th and continues through

Wednesday, April 3rd

. The goal of this incentive program is to have each student read at least 20 minutes each night. Students will be recognized for their efforts each Friday by wearing a badge which shows their progress for all to see. On April 5

th the students will be rewarded with a

carnival. If you wish to donate time and/or money for this wonderful event, please contact your child’s teacher.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Tuesday, January 15

th and

Thursday, January 17th – We will have

early dismissal @1:45.

Friday, Jan. 18th – No School – ELC Open

Monday, January 21st

– No School – NO ELC

In other words, students will have a 4-day

weekend after three early release days in

a row.

LOST AND FOUND Parents, we have quite a collection of sweaters, sweatshirts, lunch boxes, etc. without names. Please come by the office if your child is missing anything. Our storage space is limited and therefore items not claimed by January 18

th will be donated to the

Neighborhood Center. It’s a good idea to write your child’s name on the inside of their clothing and lunch box. It sure does make it easier for us to get things back to the right student.

FRIENDLY REMINDER

2 News From The Nest

STEM BOWL TEAM

Congratulations to all of the third, fourth, and fifth grade students who participated in this year’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). We started with about 130 eager scholars. After six weeks, the group was narrowed down to forty-five and the problems got a little harder. On December 4

th, that group took a test and was

cut to our final fifteen. These students will face off against other teams from across Lake County at a competition in mid-February. How would you do on this third grade STEM question? Simon was born 5 years before his friend Nadine. Simon’s cousin Marcus is twice as old as Nadine. Nadine’s older sister Beth is 4 years older than Simon. Simon is 6 years younger than Marcus. How old is each person? (Hint: The oldest person is 22 years old.) The 2012 – 2013 team members are: Third grade – Luke Anderson,

Collin Bishman, Kaluki Kithome, Connor McClain and J.D. Pike

Fourth grade - AnnaBella DeChick, Jake DeChick, Samantha Poreda, Kyla Schlickau and Collin Stebbins

Fifth grade - Merrily Arnold, Corbin Helton, Alexis Miller, Jamie Munoz and Andrea White

POSTER CONTEST WINNERS!

Congratulations to Morgan Pitcher who won 1st place in the poster contest for the Lake Soil & Water Conservation District and to Brynn Halpern for winning 2nd place. Morgan received a certificate and a Wal-Mart gift card. Her poster will be entered into the regional contest. Brynn received a certificate and a 2nd place ribbon.

AWARD REMINDER We would like to remind and encourage all

parents to assist their children with the Wild

About Reading Program. This award can be

attained by every student at CRES, Kindergarten

through 5th Grade. Even students who struggle

with the more difficult academic awards can

earn the Wild About Reading medallion at our

end-of-the-year ceremonies. Therefore, no child

should miss the opportunity to receive an award!

Please see your child’s teacher or Sherrie Smith,

our literacy coach, if you have any questions.

CYPRESS RIDGE

SPELLING BEE WINNERS

Congratulations to the following 4th

& 5th

grade students who won their classroom

Spelling Bees:

AND THE WINNERS ARE… The CRES Spelling Bee winners are:

1st Place, Nathan Akomeah from Mr.

Blackburn’s class, 2nd

Place, C.J. Williams

from Mr. Locuson’s class and 3rd

place,

Kristopher Ganesh , also from Mr. Locuson’s

class. Nathan will go on to compete in the

Lake County Spelling Bee on March 12th

.

We are very proud of all of the students who

participated in this year’s contests. Keep up

the good work!

DON’T MISS THIS MONTH’S SAC & PTO MEETINGS!

PTO – Tues., January 8th @ 5:30PM SAC – Tues., January 8th @ 6:00PM Daytime PTO Meeting – Wed., January 9th

@ 8:30 AM

5th Grade

Mr. Hand:

1st Place: Ally Bukunus

2nd

Place: Jon Quickel

Alt.: Nathan D’Agostino

Mrs. Johnston:

1st

Place: Joshua Ocasio

2nd

Place: Owen Visscher

Alternate: Marie Alvarez

Mr. Locuson:

1st Place: C.J. Williams

2nd

Place: Kristopher Ganesh

Alternate: Allison Sanders

Mr. Sedgwick:

1st Place: Nellie Onugha

2nd

: Brittney Dvoroznak

Alternate: Gabriella Ocasio

Mrs. Waterman:

1st Place: Corbin Helton

2nd

: Jordan Kelly-Truitt

Alternate: Christian Clem

4th Grade

Mr. Blackburn:

1st Place: Jamar Crockwell

2nd

Place: Nathan Akomeah

Alternate: Kendyl Cardwell

Mrs. Carrithers:

1stPlace: Caitlin Beasley

2nd

Place: Lexi Helton

Alternate: Jackson Staton

Mrs. Ligato:

1stPlace: Sophia Moses

2nd

Place: Chase Attaway

Alt.: Ella Boronat

Mrs. Olson:

1st Place: Sydney Benson

2nd

Place: Cameron Walls

Alt.: Shad Smith

Mrs. A. Smith:

1st Place: Alec Regis

2nd

Place: Sean Wilson, Jr.

Alternate: Holly Paul

3 News From The Nest

Children’s Author,

R. Friend Coming!!! Rhonda Friend, children’s author, professional

storyteller and entertainer will be visiting our school on January 14

th. Rhonda’s wholesome family series,

Down on Friendly Acres, centers around and includes original songs, recipes, poems, hidden sunflowers and true-to-life cliffhangers. Each book highlights a character lesson – forgiveness, patience, kindness, etc. This series has best been described as Little House on the Prairie meets Bill Cosby. Please visit the website: www.SunflowerSeedsPress.com. Books will be on sale after the visit. R. Friend will also be presenting an evening event on Monday night (Jan. 14

th) for students and parents.

So, mark your calendar now! Evening event times to be announced later. Watch for a note and order forms to come home this week.

FROM THE

GUIDANCE OFFICE The character trait being focused on for the

month of January is Tolerance. As the New Year rolls around, many of us think about resolutions we could make which would improve our lives, like dieting and exercise. While those things are important springboards for change, it is our hope that the children at Cypress Ridge will also resolve to become tolerant of individual differences, other cultures, and beliefs.

This month, why not try taking your children to an ethnic restaurant, and encourage them to try foods from other cultures. Teach them which types of jokes or humor are not acceptable, as they may offend other groups of people. Monitor what your children watch on CD’s, movies, and especially video games. If you haven’t ever watched them, be aware that some of them have content which is violent, prejudiced, and sexist.

I would like to praise Sophia Cooper for her jeans-day idea to help Superstorm Sandy victims. My sincere thanks, as well, go to everyone who donated money for this cause; we collected just under $1,000.00. The Red Cross assured me it will only go into the fund helping those affected by the storm.

Student led projects are cropping up regularly now at CRES. Be watching in the months to come for the bullying prevention campaign efforts of a team of students from the 5

th grade. I’m always

astounded at the great ideas and positive actions of our students and families.

Remember, FCAT testing is coming in the spring, so as you are making doctor’s appointments and family vacations, keep that in mind. This year, 5

th

grade only will have their math tests on computer. Reading and Science will still be paper and pencil. CRES is doing everything we can to be ready for this change, and I believe our students will perform beautifully as always.

Remember, if you have any questions about your child’s educational progress; please give me a call at the office to make an appointment to meet.

CRES VOLUNTEERS The following people have met or

exceeded the 10 hours of mandatory

volunteer time for this year:

Kelly Allison Carey Bagley Kristine Bunting Dennis & Liz Cheplick Jennifer Clark Donald Comerford Christine Conklin Tammy Fuller Connie Gamb Ed & Jennifer Ganley Cherri Gillis Suzanne Hogan Jan Holness-Wilson Susie Hutcherson Stephanie Kish Daniel & Gina Kneser Jeanne Loftis Tonya Mattingly Joni Story Carol White

Thank you to all of our wonderful

volunteers who make Cypress Ridge

Elementary such a wonderful school.

Please remember to check in at the front

office and log your hours. For those of you who have not met your required

10 hours of volunteer time, here are some suggestions to help you meet your goal this year:

Family Reading Night

Family Walk Night

Family Math & Science Night

Helping in Lunch Room or Media Center

Ask your child’s teacher if there is any project that you can work on at home

BLOCKBUSTER by the Citrus Tower

is participating in a “Good Grades, Free

Rental” program that lets students trade in good grades for free movies:

1. Any student grades K-12 with a B average or better (minimum of a 2.7 or 80% overall score or a Satisfactory rating) can take their original report card signed by a parent or legal guardian to the BLOCKBUSTER store and receive a free Blockbuster Favorites movie rental (99 cent movie or game).

2. The report card must be presented within 30 days of issuance, or soon after 30 days.

3. Students are eligible to participate each new grading period.

4 News From The Nest

Experienced Quilters Needed Ms. Olson is looking for experienced quilters to assist with the sewing of several lap quilts. Her classroom is leading a school wide Service Learning Project to raise money to purchase books for a school in New Jersey or New York affected by the hurricane. They will be working with a number of classrooms around the school as they create quilt squares which correlate with their curriculum. Ms. Olson will supply you with the fabric, thread, and batting needed to complete each quilt. It is our hope to have all quilts sewn by the end of April. If you are interested in assisting, or know an experienced quilter who is available, please contact Ms. Olson at olsons@lake.k12.fl.us or call between 8 and 3 at 394-6633.

Dr. Cantwell’s

Outstanding Ospreys

Congratulations to the following students

who have demonstrated a significant

improvement in a specific academic and/or

behavioral area: Isabell Antonetty, Dylan

Banker, Emma Coffman, Ethan Heinzen-

Notartomaso, Evan Jessee, Jacob Kania,

Sabrina Martinez, Brenna Oliveri, Jillian

Orlando, Dylan Thomaselli, Jacob Krug,

Austin Demeree, Austin Castro, Anna Kneser,

Gavin Boronat, Bailey Smith, Emilee Powell,

Clarence Truitt, Kyla Kauffman, Faith

Ramsey, Samuel Aubuchon, Ava Azcano,

Reiley Gillis, Rylee Lindstrom, Tyler Miller,

Brock Oxford, Valerie Stein, Alexander

Sykes, Jonathan Taylor, Riley Thomaselli,

Jordan Vaccari and Rees Weldon.

These students were awarded with a personal

meeting and lunch with Dr. Cantwell and Mrs.

Nappi.

P.E. Fun Run The seventeenth annual Fun Run is scheduled for Friday, February 15th. The kick-off for this fundraiser will be Jan. 28th. Watch for more information to come home.

Florida Statute 231.29 requires that parents be given an opportunity to provide input into the instructional performance assessment of teachers. During the course of this year, your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to call the school or send any concerns or commendations relevant to your child’s education.

GoodSearch & Shop Did you know that you can support the

technology program at Cypress Ridge by searching the web and/or shopping online? That’s the idea behind GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com. We have partnered with the search engine www.goodsearch.com for several years. They pay us a penny every time someone does an internet search using their search engine. It’s very easy to do. Just go to the Internet, type in www.goodsearch.com, and enter Cypress Ridge Elementary School as the name of your charity. We just received a check for around $20 from searches in the last year, and we didn’t have to clip, save, or sell anything! The GoodSearch team also has www.GoodShop.com in their program. They predict a return of 3% on all online purchases made through their retailers. There are also money saving coupons added to the site daily. If you search the web or shop online, please consider checking out these websites and naming Cypress Ridge as your charity. Every penny helps pay for supplies and materials for our children as they learn about careers, technology, business skills, and economics in the tech lab.

Discount Card Fundraiser

Thank you for your support in this fundraiser. We raised over $4,000! Mrs. Dickson’s first grade class will receive an ice cream party for selling the most discount cards. And the student who sold the most cards is Tayler Roberson. Tayler won Legoland tickets. We still have more cards available. Please email Mrs. Giachetti if you would like to purchase additional Discount Cards. giachettir@lake.k12.fl.us. Cards are only $10 and have savings over $500.

HEALTH CORNER I would like to remind you of Lake County Schools’ Policy

for Temperature/Fever. A child with a temperature of 100 or above will be sent home and should not return to school until temperature is normal for 24 hours without Tylenol or other fever reducing medications.

Please be sure to let the front office know if there is a change in your contact phone numbers.

Any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. Thank you, Nurse Iyesha

Lunch Menu/Calendar January 2013Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4 5

6 A 7 B 8 PTO 8:30AM 9 C 10 Deli Sub D 11 12

Grilled Cheese Chicken Fajitas Nachos/Chilli/Cheese Turkey & Rice Stuffed Crust or

Chicken Soup Hot Ham & Cheese Fish Patty w/ Bun Rib-B-Que w/Bun Pepperoni Pizza

BBQ Pork w/Bun w/Bun PAPA JOHN'S PAPA JOHN'S Limo Lunch

PTO @ 5:30PM W.W. Planning 2nd Gr. ReadingSAC @ 6 PM Early Dismissal Park & Read Carnival Kickoff

13 Cheeseburger 14 A 15 B 16 C 17 18 19

Max Stix w/Sauce Quesadilla Popcorn Chicken Cheese Pizza

E Author's Visit Fish Sticks Sloppy Joes Vegetable Pizza

Rhonda Friend Deli Sub

at CMS @ 6:30 PM

Chick-fil-A Night End of 2nd Nine Weeks

Sci Lab Hosts Early Dismissal Early Dismissal Early Dismissal ELC Open

20 21 D 22 E 23 A 24 B 25 26

Meatball Sub Hot Dog Spaghetti Cheese Pizza

Philly Style Burger Fish Stars Chicken Patty w/Bun Pepperoni Pizza

Park & Read Deli Sub

Family Reading Night 2:45-3:305PM - 7PM Family Walk Night 4th Gr.Pioneer Day

ELC Closed Snuggle up & Read Early Dismissal 4:30 @ Waterfront Park

27 C 28 D 29 30 E 31

Chicken Nuggets Tacos Cheeseburger Roast Pork w/Gravy

Lasagna Roll Burrito Quesadilla Grilled Chicken Patty

w/Bun

FUN RUN Kick-off Candy Store Candy Store Candy Store

Report Cards Go Home W.W. 5th Grade Park & Read

Celebrate Literacy Week

Winter Holidays Continue

Four-day Weekend

Early Dismissal Tues-Thurs!!!

Math Superstars begins for Grades K-3