Spring Festival

Kirk Elementary wil host a Spring Festival on Friday, April 27, 2012 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. Basket Raffle, Bouncy Houses, a cake walk, dunking booth, face painting, games, food and family fun.

Kirk Elementary is located at 12421 Tanner Road, Houston 77041. Call 713-849-8250 for further information.

Explore the World Without Leaving Home!

Host an international exchange student through AYUSA International.
Learn the true heart and soul of a culture!

AYUSA International is a non-profit high school foreign exchange student organization. We welcome teenagers from over 60 countries worldwide and provide host family placement and ongoing supervision for 5 and 10 month academic programs. These exceptional young people look forward to a warm bond of friendship with your family and a rewarding cultural exchange.

Host families are asked to
• provide meals
• and provide a bedroom either shared or private.

Students pay for all other personal expenses while in the U.S.
All across the world, AYUSA students are eagerly awaiting their host family placement. Please call today and begin the adventure of a lifetime!

Call Ayusa Interenational at 1-888-552-9872 or email at staff@ayusa.org.

Locally you can contact Vicki Odom at vickiayusa@yahoo.com or call 832-455-7881 for more information as well.

Northwest Houston Mothers of Multiples (NWHMOM)

This group meets at 7PM, the third Thursday of every month, at Event with Elegance, 20320 Northwest Freeway, Suite 900, Houston, Texas 77065 (off 290 at Huffmeister).

NWHMOM assists mothers of multiple birth children by lending them support; sharing information and relating experiences of the joys and struggles of raising multiples.

We have playgroups for children newborn to school age, as well as weekend playgroups. We celebrate most holidays with family style get togethers and even have adult social gatherings for a night away from the kiddos.

We welcome all expectant, newly delivered and seasoned (veteran) mothers of multiples.

For more information please visit www.nwhmom.org or just come by one of our meetings! We would love to have you!

American Cancer Society Seeking Teams for Relay For Life Cy-Fair!

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Cy-Fair is just around the corner. Register your team today by emailing or contacting the local contacts listed below. Relay For Life is a fun-filled, overnight event that mobilizes communities throughout the country to celebrate survivors, remember loved ones lost, and raise money for the fight against cancer.

Relay For Life of Cy-Fair takes place on at Cy-Falls High School located at 9811 Huffmeister, Houston, Texas 77095-2307 on April 13th and 14th, from 7pm to 7am. Teams are encouraged to sign up early as this gives teams more time to raise money.

For more information on the Relay For Life or to register a team, see the local contacts listed below:

CyFairRFLTeams@gmail.com, Catherine Kovar at 713-826-2841 or Karen DePaul at 713-471-1265.

You can also visit RelayForLife.org to connect with other relayers in your community and across the nation.

An Expose on Youth Culture & Sexuality

Thoughts and attitudes about sexual values among teens in our country are always a concern for parents. But parents aren't always aware of the pressures that teens face out of the home␣or even in their home while teens socialize online.

A private school in northwest Houston is bringing knowledgeable speakers on the campus for a two-day conference. Rosehill Christian School is hosting the event which will address the issues of the youth culture and sexual values.

Conference dates are Friday, March 23, 2012 and Saturday, March 24. The main speaker, Andy Braner, from Colorado, will examine how to restore youth to a better place. In an average year, Andy will speak to more than 80,000 high school and college students.

Supporting speakers include Len Shelby and Destiny Cortez. Coach Shelby, an All-American baseball player, is a graduate of Rice University. He has been an educator, administrator and coach in the Houston area for 30 years.

Destiny Cortez is the director of Living Truth at the Tomball Pregnancy Center. This conference is for Pastors, Youth Pastors, Parents, and Teachers. Local media outlets are invited to attend. Media credentials can be obtained by calling the conference coordinator.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR AN EXPOSE ON YOUTH CULTURE & SEXUALITY CONFERENCE MARCH 23- 24, 2012

Becca Pearce- Conference Coordinator 281.351.8114 ext. 4470 bpearce@rcseaglesonline.org

For additional information, go to www.rcseagles.org Click on the graphic link in the middle of the page.

Cy-Christian Students Excel at “You Be the Chemist” Challenge

The “You Be the Chemist” Challenge is a fun and innovative academic competition sponsored by EXPO Chemical Company that engages students in learning about important chemistry concepts, scientific discoveries, and laboratory safety. CCS middle school students took the challenge and came out on top! Congratulations to the following CCS winners of the School Qualifier Challenge:

CCS Chemist Awards

1st place - Amber Dingman received a trophy and $100 savings bond.
2nd place - Lizzie Gwyn received a trophy and a $75 savings bond
3rd place - Vynna Chitolie received a trophy and a $50 savings bond and
4th place - Kory Yankowski received a trophy and $25 gift card

First and second place winners, Amber and Lizzie, qualified to compete at the Houston Local Challenge. Winners from this challenge will compete at the State Competition to be held at the Museum of Natural Science.

To learn more: www.chemed.org.

Cy-Christian Student Earns First Place at Regional Spelling Bee

Congratulations to CCS fifth grader Allison Strange who won the first place title at the Regional ACSI District Spelling Bee!  Allison competed in two different bees. 

Spelling Bee Award

She earned a gold medal for the best in the fifth grade bee and a plaque for the best in the “Spelloff” held for all of the 5th-8th grade contestants in first or second place. She is the District Champion! Her achievement in the "Spelloff" qualified her to participate in the Dallas Spelling Bee.

Cypress Christian Prospective K-12 Parent Open House

On March 22, 2012, from 9-11 am, parents considering enrolling their child for the 2012-2013 school year will have the opportunity to visit classes and gather information.

Visit CypressChristian.org for more information.

St. Patrick’s Day Facts

1. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain, around 385AD. His parents Calpurnius and Conchessa were Roman citizens living in either Scotland or Wales, according to different versions of his story.

2. As a boy of 14 he was captured and taken to Ireland where he spent six years in slavery herding sheep. He returned to Ireland in his 30s as a missionary among the Celtic pagans.

3. Legend has it that he used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland.

4. Miracles attributed to him include the driving of serpents out of Ireland. However, evidence suggests post-glacial Ireland never had any snakes in the first place.

5. Wearing green, eating green food and even drinking green beer, is said to commemorate St Patrick's use of the shamrock - although blue was the original colour of his vestments.

6. St Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey. In the custom known as "drowning the shamrock", the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat is put in the last drink of the evening.

7. Popular Irish toasts on St Patrick's Day, include: may the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.

8. St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1737. Around 34 million modern Americans claim Irish ancestry.

9. It is believed that St Patrick died on March 17 in 461AD. It is a national holiday in Ireland, and on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, which was founded by Irish refugees. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

10. Dublin has a parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of people, while in Chicago the river is dyed green for a few hours. The biggest parade is normally held in New York, while the largest celebration in the southern hemisphere is in Sydney, Australia.

Traditional Irish Stew

Ireland's national dish is Irish stew. A traditional Irish stew was always made with mutton, but more often nowadays, is made with lamb. Controversy reigns over whether vegetables other than potatoes should be added; adding onions, leeks and carrots not only adds extra flavor but also nutrition to the stew. The choice is yours.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Ingredients:
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb/500g mutton or lamb cutlets (bone removed) cut into 2"/5cm chunks
• 2lb/ 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 cup/115g onion, roughly chopped
• 1 cup/ 100g leeks, cleaned and finely sliced
• 1 cup/170g carrots, roughly chopped
• 1½ pints / 750 ml dark beef stock
• 2 or 3 cabbage leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation:
Heat the oven to 350F/180C/ Gas 4
• In a large frying pan heat half the oil to hot but not smoking. Add half the lamb pieces and brown all over. Remove the lamb and place in a casserole, cover with a half of the potatoes, onions, leeks and carrots.
• Add the remaining oil to the frying pan, heat again then add the remaining lamb and brown all over. Add to the casserole and cover with the remaining vegetables.
• Add the stock, cover with a tight fitting lid, cook in the oven for 1 hour. Add the cabbage (if using) replace the lid and cook for another hour. Check from time to time to make sure the stock isn't reducing too much, if it is add a little boiling water. The meat and vegetables should always be covered by liquid.If the sauce is too runny at the end, cook a little longer with the lid removed. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve piping hot.

Enchandted Valley Home Owners Association Meeting Minutes for January

download here

Lost/Found a pet?

There is a facebook page dedicated to Cypress area pets that have lost their owners!!!!

If someone has lost their pet, they can post it so others can see and help find them.

Be sure you “Like” the page. This will allow you access to the page. You will then be notified whenever a Lost or Found animal is posted.

click here to go to page