PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT RECIEVES “A” FOR 5th CONSECUTIVE YEAR

The Florida School Recognition Program rewards schools that sustained high student performance or demonstrated substantial improvement in student performance. If schools receive an “A” or improve one or more performance grades from the previous year, they are eligible to receive an additional $75 per student.
· All Boca Raton elementary and middle schools received As with one, Coral Sunset Elementary School moving up from B to A this year.
· While Olympic Heights High School dropped to a B this year from an A, all other Boca high schools got As including West Boca High School.
· Five schools in the district jumped from Cs to As and a school in the Glades went from a D to an A.

FCAT standards will be increased next year, and Palm Beach County will increase teacher training and provide coaches. Moving to departmentalization for 3rd, 4th and 5th grades, all elementary school teachers will teach two or three subjects instead of all six. E.g., math teachers will teach math and science and a language arts teacher may teach social studies, not needing to shift from one content to another. Classrooms will be located next to each other and students will only change classrooms two to three times a day. The Palm Beach County School District is the only urban school district to have received an A for 5 consecutive years. Statewide, more than ¾ of all public schools were named as high performing (A or B). The number of schools earning an F decreased to the smallest number in the last 3 years.

MOVIE NIGHT JULY 2, 2009

THURSDAY
JULY 2nd, 2009
7 pm in BAMBOO ROOM

Starring
Tom Cruise
Kenneth Branagh

The story of the men who led
the attempt to assassinate
Hitler

DELRAY BEACH FACTS UPDATE

Population in 2009 is 64,112, growing 7.68% since 2000. Median home cost is $201,960. Home prices are down 27% since last year.

BOCA RATON FACTS UPDATE

Sperlings Best Places to Live likes Boca Raton, with beautiful weather year round, and great shopping. Population in 2009 is 85,407, a 15.56% growth since 2000. Housing prices are down 23.10%. Median home cost is $383,650.

PALM BEACH DINING OPPORTUNITIES DURING JUNE 2009

Lunch for $20.09 or have dinner for $35 per person for a 3-course meal – appetizer, main course, dessert. Beverages, tax and gratuity are additional. Here are the restaurants, addresses and phone number for reservations in alphabetical order:

Bice, 313 ½ Worth Avenue, 561-835-1600

Café Boulud at Brazllian Court, 301 Australian Ave, 561-655-6060

Café L’Europe, 331 So County Rd, 561-655-4020

Charley’s Crab, 456 So Ocean Blvd, 561-659-1500

Leopard Lounge and Restaurant at Chesterfield Hotel, 363 Cocoanut Row, 561-659-5800

Coco Palm Beach, Bradley Park Hotel, 290 Sunset Ave, 561-832-3734

Flagler Steakhouse at Breakers, One South County Road, 561-659-8488

Italian Restaurant at Breakers, One South County Road, 561-659-8488

Seafood Bar at Breakers, One South County Road (reservations not accepted)

Ocean Bistro at Four Seasons, 2800 So Ocean Blvd, 561-582-2800

Renato’s, 87 Via Mizner off Worth Avenue, 561-655-9752

Temple Orange at Ritz-Carlton, 100 So Ocean Blvd, 561-533-6000

Ta-Boo, 221 Worth Avenue, 561-835-3500

• Trevini, 150 Worth Ave, 561-833-3883

Enjoy these “gifts of summer.” Great way to try out new restaurants, or go back to old favorites!

SOME NEW THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME…OR ANYTIME

Heard the expression “VOCs”? That stands for VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. Consider that the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) says that out of about 300MM Americans, 60MM have allergies or asthma.

Painting your home to show it off? Be sure to get paints that have low VOCs as those with VOCs can have smells that linger and cause symptoms such as eye irritations

Re-staining your floors? Ask for low VOC stains and use pre-treated floors rather than raw wood where you have to apply polyurethane on top so the house is not chemically offensive

New flooring going down? Be aware that carpets harbor dirt and moisture which can cause mold and mildew. You might want to choose tile and consider area rugs. Avoid biocide-treated (moth repellent) wool or cotton carpets. Remember that the padding under carpets is tough to clean or to remove for drying.

Don’t use PVC shower curtains as they might release over 100 VOCs, some which could be hazardous pollutants

Instead of cleaning with bleach, which has a strong odor, use hydrogen peroxide or sodium perborate to avoid allergic relations when prospects com to look at your property.

When replacing wallboard, use mold resistant products.

Cracks in foundation can be mold sources

If windows are not completely sealed, a mold problem could occur

These are suggestions from the AAFA. If you want to read more, go to asthmaandallergyfriendly.com. You might want to spend some time on this site!

JUNE 25th MOVIE - 7 pm in Laurels - BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU ARE DEAD

NEWSWEEK NAMES THEIR TOP 100 PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE US

Boca Community High School was listed as #83, Atlantic High School in Delray Beach, ranked 52, Dreyfoos School of the Arts ranked 50 and Suncoast in Riviera Beach ranked 7. Schools are ranked considering the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008, then divided by the number of graduating seniors.

More students taking advanced courses resulted in some schools moving up to higher numbers.

SUPERBOWL CHAMP ALAN VEINGRAD SPEAKS AT DOWNTOWN CHABAD TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 11:55-1:30

Alan Veingrad is a professional motivational speaker, a member of the national speakers association, and ”just happens to wear a Superbowl ring”. The event is sponsored by the Downtown Boca Jewish Business Network, Chabad of East Boca, and J.A.C.O.B. ( Jewish American Chamber of Business) Investment of $20. at the door is all inclusive for food, beverages, tax, tip, etc...

Business Introductions

Card Networking

Door Prizes

Celebrity Speaker

Former offensive lineman with the Dallas Cowboys & Green Bay Packers, and a member of the Super Bowl XXVII World Champion Dallas Cowboy Team in 1992, Alan Veingrad uses sports metaphors to characterize his journey, and vividly relates the discipline of being a professional football player to success in life. For information on the even go to http://bocaratonbusinessnetworking-rss.eventbrite.com/. For details about Alan, go to http://www.alanveingrad.com/. Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime business luncheon! Address: 120 NE 1^st Avenue, just south of Mizner Park.

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

On June 18th at 7 pm in Laurels,

FROST/NIXON will be shown.

BUDGET CUTS AFFECT FAU… BUT THEY MAY HAVE A SOLUTION

Florida Atlantic University In Boca Raton is hoping to get by with a 13% tuition raise, but will ask for 15% when the board of trustees meets June 10^th. The additional 2% will be dedicated to need-based financial aid and will increased this funding by nearly a half-million dollars.. This increase will generate about $900,000. The state increased base tuition by 8%, and each state university is now allowed to levy an additional 7% differential tuition on top of that. This equates to about $500 more per year for instate students. Thirty employees will be laid off and 45 courses will be discontinued to meet legislative-mandated funding cuts. Many of the deleted positions are in the administration and staff categories. One solution FAU has come up with: additional courses may be added to online and distance learning making it very easy for you to learn-at-home.

MOVIE FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 11th, Bamboo Room - 7 pm

NO NEED TO LOSE YOUR SERVERS AND DATA IN A HURRICANE

As hurricane season fast approaches, you may be worried about your office continuing to operate when problems arise as a result of a hurricane. No need to worry; now there is a solution that others are using. Talked with Senior Global Account Manager, Don Sabol recently. His 1Vault Networks (www.1Vault.net) true CAT 5 Rated & SAS 70 type II Data Center in Ft. Lauderdale has created a full suite of Business Continuity Planning. The company offers a Co-location center where data communications and media converge and interconnected, servicing multiple high end IT solutions customers. Each client can locate network, server and storage equipment there and interconnect to a variety of telecommunications and other True Tier 1 network service providers. Co-location is provided on a massive scale for needs ranging from modest-sized racks to custom cages with 22,000 sq ft of raised floor. Hardware and software installation, maintenance, managed and unmanaged servers and IT consulting are offered. If you are a Co-location client at 1 Vault, DR Seats and DR Suites are available, so your entire businesses can temporarily relocate to ensure continuity to customers in spite of outside conditions. They also provide and full range of Managed Security, Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery solutions. Check this out! Contact Don Sabol, Office # 954-736-2725 or dsabol@1vault.net. CALM YOUR WORRIES NOW, folks! Remember that old saying, "AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE."

BEST RESTORED BEACH: BOCA’S NORTH BEACH

Boca Raton acquired three large beachfront properties in the 1970’s which they converted into public parks, now valued at $330MM and Boca’s biggest asset. Residents and visitors did not always have beach, e.g. fronting Spanish River Park, during the winter months but now they do, and the beach is a major attraction that our residents and visitors head to when they want relaxation. Sand is periodically pumped to restore what is blown away or washed into the sea. Most residents and visitors are not aware that the beach is periodically restored. The beach was restored in 1988 and in 1998, and will be restored again later this year. For each dollar spent on beach restoration, studies have shown that $4-5 accrues back to taxpayers in benefits. The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association named Boca Raton’s northern shoreline as winner of the 2008 Best Restored Beach Award. Only 7 beaches received the award, four of them in Florida, but only Boca Raton’s is on the southeast coast