Cypress Bay’s UNICEF Club Raises Funds and Awareness
School News
By Stacey Bomser
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embers of Cypress Bay’s UNICEF Club were busy this past year. The club hosted nine fundraisers and collected $22,000 to benefit the international humanitarian agency. The United Nations Children’s Fund, commonly referred to as UNICEF, is the world’s leading advocate for children. It provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. “At Cypress Bay, the UNICEF Club raises money and promotes awareness for the UNICEF organization,” explains Rebecca Norman, co-president of the UNICEF Club. Co-president Hannah Levinson says the club sponsored about one 2014-2015 UNICEF Club officers present a check to fundraiser each month. UNICEF representative Cynthia Valdez. The 250 members sold everything from chocolate bars and chips to teddy bears for Valentine’s Day, and water bottles and Gatorade at the school pep rally. The club also participated in UNICEF’s annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign at Halloween. The money raised will be used to help UNICEF purchase medical kits, malaria nets, water pumps and sanitation systems to benefit families in third world countries. “A great amount of money is dedicated to implementing water pumps to purify water sources in developing countries,” notes Hannah.
Shortly before the end of the school year, the UNICEF Club held its final program. About fifty members attended, along with Principal Neely and School Board Member Laurie Rich Levinson, as the club officers presented a giant ceremonial check for $22,000 to UNICEF Representative Cynthia Valdez. Rebecca and Hannah, who will stay on during their senior year and serve as chief advisors to the UNICEF Club, hope more students will get involved. “It’s important for students who live in such affluent societies to realize that not only is there incredible poverty in the world, but also that they themselves can make a tangible difference in the lives of people who have much less than them,” states Cypress Bay Principal Scott Neely Rebecca. with co-presidents Hannah Levinson Hannah encourages and Rebecca Norman. other students to help make a difference in the world. “Helping others is what is truly meaningful in life. There is no better feeling than giving back to those less fortunate than us. While many may be privileged in Weston, it is quite eye-opening when we allow ourselves to explore and truly help out people around the world.” To learn more about the United Nations Children’s Fund and the work it does around the world visit www.UNICEF.org.
Cypress Bay Ranks As One of Nation’s Top Schools By Stacey Bomser
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ne of the best high schools in the country is right here in our backyard. According to U.S. News & World Report’s “2015 Best High Schools” national ranking, Cypress Bay High School ranked #206 out of more than 21,000 public high schools. It earned a Gold Medal for being one of the top 500 schools in the country. In addition, Cypress Bay ranked #15 out of the nearly 600 Florida high schools. It was the highest ranked school in Broward County, both statewide and nationally. “The U.S. News & World Report ranking confirms what we have always known at The Bay, that our students are some of the best and brightest in the country,” states Cypress Bay Principal Scott Neely. “Our academics, programs, and test scores are the best in the nation and our students are extremely prepared to take that next step towards their college education.” The magazine’s rankings were based on three criteria: overall student performance on state-required tests; how effectively schools educate their least-advantaged students; and how well they prepare students for college based on participation in and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. One of the reasons Cypress
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Bay continually ranks high on this list is because of its college-readiness scores. Student performance on AP exams is used to determine how well the school prepares students for college-level work. According to U.S. News & World Report, Cypress Bay had a college readiness index score of 67.8. The school has a 72% participation rate on the AP exam, with a 66% participant passing rate. Those AP results were also used to help determine The Washington Post’s “America’s Most Challenging High Schools” list for 2015. More than 23,000 U.S. public high schools were evaluated based on the number of graduating seniors taking advanced class tests. This includes Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) classes. Cypress Bay offers both AP and AICE courses. In terms of most challenging high schools, Cypress Bay ranked 129th nationally and 25th in Florida. That is an improvement over 2014 when The Bay was ranked 144th nationally and 28th in Florida. To see the complete list of rankings go to usnews.com/education/ best-high-schools/national-rankings or washingtonpost.com/ local/highschoolchallenge/schools/2015/list/national/.