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Country Isles is in the process of improving our communication with the community. You can be a part of this endeavor. Our school's homepage now has a link to join our new email list. Once we receive your email address we will be able to send you important information, such as the Country Isles Chronicle, school lunch menus, flyers, etc. directly to your email account. Your email address will be kept confidential and will not be given to any outside agencies. Help us with our conservation efforts and sign up for our email list today.

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BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION RAISES FUNDS
FOR JOE DIMAGGIO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Country Isles Elementary School, Weston’s first elementary school, celebrated its 20th birthday in grand style with SPRING FLING on Saturday, May10th on the school grounds. The entire event benefited Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. SPRING FLING included a huge 100 vendor bazaar, kid’s fun zone, car wash, performances by the South Florida Pirates and other groups along with demonstrations by BSO and Memorial Hospital. Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine made a guest appearance at the Florida Marlins Dugout area and signed autographs for his many fans.

“ We are so pleased with the turnout today” stated Tonya Frost, principal at Country Isles “and we are happy to continue our relationship with Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.” she added. “We all worked long and hard on this project and the entire community has joined us in this great celebration.”

Dozens of volunteers worked the event, cooking hot dogs and other assorted goodies donated by local businesses. School staff manned the dunk tank area and did not mind their students taking the opportunity to watch their favorite teacher land in the tub for a good cause. Children’s face painting, temporary tattoos, a balloon artist and bounce houses kept children entertained for hours.

With the creation of a new Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital facility on the horizon, funds raised from SPRING FLING and other events and activities in the community will assist in making the vision a reality for the South Florida Community. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is the largest children’s hospital in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

MAY IS BETTER SPEECH AND HEARING MONTH

Learning to communicate is a very important part of growing up. Whether it’s stating an opinion, answering a question in class, or holding a conversation with a friend, effective communication can help children succeed in school and later in life. For an estimated 6 million children under the age of 18, communication is difficult, sometimes impossible, and often traumatic. Maybe it’s a stutter or a lisp. Maybe it’s extreme hoarseness. Or it could be an inability to speak. Communication disorders can develop at any age. Contrary to popular belief, many children do not simply “grow out of “ these disorders. Problems that are not identified and treated early can become more severe later on. The longer speech and language problems go untreated, the longer they interfere with learning in the classroom. Children with communication disorders may have trouble following instructions, making sense of written materials or expressing their ideas. Some children may avoid opportunities to communicate with others. Speech Language Pathologists help identify, evaluate, and treat communication disorders.

Alphabet Soup
Attn: Kindergarten Parents
You are invited to attend a meeting on
May 20, 2008 @ 8:30 a.m. in the Media Center

The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the "ingredients" needed to make successful readers in First Grade.

Please RSVP with your child's Kindergarten Teacher if you are planning on attending.

PTA News

The PTA will meet on Thursday, May 22nd at 8:15 AM in the cafeteria staff lunch room. The election of 2008-2009 Officers will be held. Anyone interested in running who has not been nominated and on the slate should be present at that meeting to add their name to the election. If there are any questions please email Lori Hersey lori@herseyproductions.com or call (954) 473-2114. Click here to see the nominated board list.

Pop Tabs

Congratulations to Country Isles and the Girl Scouts of the Blue Heron Service Unit. Together you collected over six water cooler bottles full of pop tabs! As you know, these tabs will be recycled by Ronald McDonald House. The money will help defray the cost of a family’s stay at the house while their loved one is in the hospital. This is our best collection ever (double our count from last year). We will of course, continue the program next year. So keep saving those tabs over the summer and we’ll see you in August!

Country Isles At Camp-Read-A-Lot

This summer, students will have the opportunity to participate in Country Isles’ Camp Read- A-Lot reading challenge. Details and information will be sent home with your child. Please support your child in helping them meet the challenge of Camp Read-A-Lot.

Cafeteria Payments

Cafeteria payments must be made by cash only and all accounts need to be brought current. If you are unsure if your account is up to date you can stop by the cafeteria.

Student Council 2007-2008
Sponsor: S. Gomez

     At Country Isles Elementary School giving back to the community is an important part of our education. Student Council sets the bar for excellence as we assist with school wide events, charity fundraising, and community involvement. Our purpose is to facilitate good relationships between our students, staff, and our community. We are proud to encourage character skills with an emphasis on citizenship, and we provide an outlet for students to share in the democratic process through our classroom and school wide elections in September.
     Third and fourth graders should start thinking about becoming a part of Student Council for next year. We are implementing some new rules. Take a look at our website for more details.
     This year we worked hard organizing and promoting the National Red Ribbon Week activities in October, we raised $1,300 for the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
     In November, we assisted PTA in a school-wide food drive to create Thanksgiving Day cards for local people in our community, and we sold leaves for donations as part of the Harvest Food Drive.
     We took part in a Holiday Festival at Publix (a Partner in Education) in December and we sang holiday songs.
     Our Student Council ran a coin drive in January, “Pasta for Pennies” to raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We had set a goal of $1,000 and raised over $3,000. We’ve never seen so many coins! We are so proud of our Country Isles’ Herons!
     For Valentine’s Day in February, we sold roses. And they sold out fast. We raised over $1,000 for a special family in our community.
FCAT kept us busy in March. We celebrated the end of FCAT with HATS OFF TO FCAT hat day! Almost every student came to school wearing a hat.
     In April, Student Council worked on a fundraiser for Autism Awareness Month. We sold Puzzle Pieces for $1.00 each. They are still displayed in the cafeteria. We raised over $500.
     We had the opportunity to Lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the Weston City Commission Meetings in November and May. We have been busy this year and our accomplishments are many!
     Yes, Student Council works hard each and every month to exemplify our school’s mission, “Educating Responsible Citizens!”

Let’s Remember Everyone!

During the month of May, Student Council reminds all of our CIE students that it is not only Teacher Appreciation Week, but also a time to remember everyone! Let’s think about how thankful we are. There are many people that make our school year a successful one. We need to remember where we start each morning; the bus drivers, car loop helpers, and crossing guards. Our day continues with teachers, assistants, volunteers, cafeteria staff, office staff, our school nurse and many others. It is important to let people know that you appreciate what they do!

Pizza Hut

Thank you to Pizza Hut in Weston for your generosity. Pizza Hut was very kind to give us an incredible discount on the pizza for our pizza party prizes!!!

Attention Volunteers

All volunteers must complete an application for the 2007-2008 school year.
This includes both returning and new volunteers.

Due to the Jessica Lunsford Act the criteria for field trip volunteers has tightened. Please be aware that when volunteers go on a field trip, they must be cleared through the volunteer database. This cannot be a last minute thing. Parents must apply on-line today! Visit our Link Library for Parents or go to www.getinvolvedineducation.com. Please pay special attention to the system requirements for applying online. Parents if you think you might go on a field trip please put in your volunteer applications ASAP. We cannot allow any volunteers to join a field trip unless they have been cleared.

Any parents that will be traveling on an overnight trip MUST have a level 2 clearance. This means that they must be fingerprinted and cleared.

This is a Florida Statute and School Board of Broward County policy.

This information and more can be found in the latest edition of the Country Isles Chronicle, our school newsletter.
Click here to download your copy now.