The kids were back to school today. Danny left later on the bus so wasn't in the picture.

Danny graduated today out of Ocean Breeze elementary. The ceremonies were held this evening at Satellite High School.

It was quite a surprise when they announced the very first award, the 2008 Student Leadership Award, and called out Danny Dolnik's name! A member of the Melbourne-Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce was even there to present the award, which you can see the Ocean Breeze Principle holding in her hand in the photo. It was quite an honor and we are very proud of Danny. Everyone was full of congratulatory remarks after the ceremonies.

Danny Receiving the 2008 Student Leadership Award

Devin's hard work at school has really paid off. We got her FCAT scores today and they are WONDERFUL! Who knew we'd have a math genius in the family :)

3rd Grade FCAT

Danny on Instrument

Ocean Breeze held their Winter Concert tonight and Danny was part of the Orff Ensemble. His group played the Diatonic Orff Warm-up, Little Bit, and Carol of the Bells. It actually all sounded really, really good!

Great job Danny!

Squinting in front of the house

The kids got all dressed up for their first day of Sunday School today.

Lisa had a school function to go to this morning so it was up to me to get the kids off to school. Everything went fine (I'm great at delegating), and the kids pretty much got themselves ready to go all by themselves (Devin's hair stayed down).

We were in the car, on time, and half way there when Devin mentioned... "Derek forgot his shoes!" We HAD to turn around and go get them. Even so, with some fancy driving, we where still able to make it on time (with 1 minute to spare).

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Derek started Kindergarten today at Ocean Breeze Elementary. Kindergartners start a few days later than the older kids.

Lisa took pictures and I'll get them posted on here as soon as I have a chance to get them off the camera.

Lisa said he handled being dropped off in class just fine, "he went and sat at his desk, and was ready to start".

Danny & Devin on their way to school

Danny and Devin went back to school today. Derek doesn't start until Monday. Lisa took some pictures as they were leaving and I'll post those tonight. In the meantime here is a link to the Ocean Breeze website http://www.ocean.brevard.k12.fl.us/.

School's out. Ocean Breeze Elementary students and faculty celebrated their last day of summer school on Friday. From left, Grace Dwight, teacher Adam Lang, Devin Dolnik and Tracy Balelo work on a project in the Art and Writing Enrichment class.

An article appeared in the Florida Today last week that detailed Devin's summer school. It was written by Kate Brennan. The link to there website can be found at the end of this article.

When 9-year-old Skylar Etheridge woke up Friday to his last day of summer school, his first thought was "Hallelujah!"

For the past month, the Ocean Breeze Elementary student sacrificed lazy mornings, skateboarding and time with friends for extra reading and math lessons. Now, Skylar said he plans to maximize the last five weeks of summer with sleepovers and trips to Orlando's theme parks.

"I'm excited about summer," he said. "I can have fun with my friends now and stay out late."

Summer vacation officially began Friday for more than 15,000 students who participated in Brevard Public Schools' Summer Opportunities for Acceleration and Remediation program, which includes classes for struggling students and enrichment camps for advanced students.

About 2,000 more students than last year participated in summer programs -- growth that's likely a result of expanded enrichment offerings this year at each of the district's 82 schools.

For some students, attending summer school could make the difference between being promoted to the next grade or repeating a grade. Enrichment camps, including Spanish, music and art classes, offered other students a chance to learn more.

At Ocean Breeze in Indian Harbour Beach, nearly 100 students attended remediation courses and 15 participated in the school's first arts and writing camp. Principal Colleen Skinner said summer programs give students of all levels a chance to strengthen their skills before the school year starts Aug. 9.

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Here's what I did at swim class today... I went all the way under water without holding on to the wall. I got the rings off the steps all by myself. That's pretty much all my things that I did.

Oh, and... I went went under water for 3 minutes, no, seconds. That's kind of pretty much it. Oh yea, gliding on my back I kind of did a hand stand. I canon balled under water and I ran and jumped. I sat on the ground. That's it.