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Dolphin Digest- Summer Edition
June 25th, 2024
Ocean Breeze: "Where Everybody Matters and Every Moment Counts"
Message From Your Dynamic Duo
Hello and Happy Summer OBE Families,
We can't believe how quickly time is passing this summer. We'll blink and school will be starting again. We are excited about the '24-'25 school year and look forward to continuing our tradition of excellence and success.
We are testing out this new electronic newsletter format, so we thought we'd share some summer news. Keep reading...
New Faces or Spaces
Welcome Our New Staff
As you already may know, Mrs. Breuer, Ms. Eswein, Ms. Hagen, Ms. Johnson, Mrs. Lang, and Mrs. Thompson are off to new adventures in '24-'25. While we'll miss them, we are excited to welcome Ms. Furino (kindergarten), Mr. Gleason (6th gr. science & social studies), Ms. Haroulakis (3rd gr.), Mrs. Merritt (2nd gr.), Mrs. Numan (kindergarten instructional assistant), Mrs. Rankin (5th gr. math), Ms. Shaffer (social worker) and Mrs. Weakley (behavior technician) to our OBE family. In addition, we have some moves happening as well. Mrs. Downie is moving to our STEM class, and Mrs. Tracy will be moving to 5th grade science. Mrs. Haire and Mrs. Cox will be teaming up and sharing a second grade class. We are thrilled to be expanding the Ocean Breeze team; it's going to be an awesome year!
Meet Ms. Furino
My name is Debra Furino, and I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the kindergarten team at Ocean Breeze. This will be my second year with Brevard Public Schools, as I previously taught kindergarten at Suntree Elementary School.
I attended Eastern Florida State College and the University of Central Florida. I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and hold a teaching certificate for Elementary K-6 with both ESOL and reading endorsements.
I was born in New York but have resided in Brevard County for over 20 years. Having attended Brevard schools all my life, this community holds a special place in my heart. My hobbies include antiquing, reading/watching historical fiction, and painting. My favorite activity is going out on the water and seeing the animals! I especially love spending time with my family and pets; they mean the world to me!
Moreover, I have a passion for teaching primary grades K-2. Being a teacher has brought pure joy and excitement to my life. My favorite part about being a teacher is the students! I look forward to coming into the classroom and seeing them every day. I love seeing my students make great strides and progress in their education. I am determined to do anything to help them reach their goals. I look forward to joining the Ocean Breeze family and teaching your children this year. Go Dolphins!
Meet Mr. Gleason
My name is Conor Gleason (Mr. G); I will be teaching 6th grade science and social studies for the 2024 school year! Born on the coast of the Jersey Shore, I grew up around surfing, skateboarding, and sports. Many influences such as former teachers and coaches ignited my passion for teaching. I attended Florida Southern College where I earned a degree in elementary education and played on the lacrosse team.
Upon graduation I followed my dreams of living in Hawaii where I taught 6th grade for four years. During the pandemic, I took a brief pause from teaching to follow in my father’s footsteps by enlisting in the army reserves as an infantryman. I am still serving today, as a newly minted Drill Sergeant. I look forward to being a part of the Ocean Breeze community and making a positive impact on your child. It’s going to be a great year, and I look forward to meeting you all!
Meet Ms. Haroulakis
Hello, Ocean Breeze! My name is Mia Haroulakis, I am 23 years old, and I grew up in Indialantic, Florida. Throughout college, I worked on and off as a nanny for two different families. After graduating from the University of Central Florida, I worked as both a substitute teacher in Brevard County and at Busy Bears Preschool and Day Care Center.
In my free time, I enjoy reading, gardening, and spending time outdoors. There is nothing better than a day at the beach with a good book. I look forward to joining the 3rd grade team this year!
Meet Mrs. Merritt
Hello, my name is Sandra Merritt, I have been teaching for 12 years and love that I can be a part of helping children grow. I have an incredible husband, 2 amazing boys, and 3 loving dogs at home. I spend most of the time with my family outside. We love to get fresh air and enjoy boating and beaching. I am so excited to join the 2nd grade team at Ocean Breeze and be a part of the family.
Meet...?
We are accepting applications for an exceptional student education teacher, who is also certified in elementary education, to join our team. Please apply in the Brevard Employment Application Center ONline (BEACON) if eligible and interested!
Meet Mrs. Numan
Hi! My name is Mariana Numan. I am thrilled to join Ocean Breeze as the Kindergarten Instructional Assistant! I’ve always had a passion for working with children, and after spending many wonderful years as a stay-at-home mom, I am super excited to transition into this role where I can support and nurture young learners!
I have lived in Satellite Beach most of my life where I met and married my military husband! We have 3 children; 16, 12, and 6. During my husband’s service, we've had the incredible opportunity to live in Germany, which is where our second child was born! We were able to travel all over Europe and visit many cities! I graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2017. Last year, I became a substitute and worked at Ocean Breeze, as well as, a few other local schools, so you or your kids may have already seen me around! I love to travel, go to the beach, and spend time with my family.
Meet Mrs. Rankin
Hello, my name is Traci Rankin. I was born, raised, and lived in Oklahoma my entire life until my husband and I moved to Florida last summer. We have three grown children who are busy pursuing their goals and dreams.
I have taught for the last 27 years, grades 4-8. I enjoy reading, playing word games and traveling. I also enjoy most outdoor activities from snow skiing to bicycle riding to kayaking. I am even learning to paddle board!
Meet Mrs. Weakley
My name is Michelle Weakley, and I am pleased to be joining Ocean Breeze Elementary this year as the school-based behavior technician. I recently graduated with a BA in Psychology, and hold an AAS as a licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant. The 2024-2025 school year will mark my 4th year with Brevard Public Schools. I am originally from the Washington, D.C. area and in 2019, my husband, two sons (20 & 16) and I left the cold winters of Maryland to live here in Satellite Beach.
I have a 28-year-old daughter living with her husband in Virginia, I am the grandmother to their 2-year-old daughter, Maya who is practicing to be a big sister in October. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, listening to live local music, hanging out on the beach, and traveling. I am obsessed with all things purple, mermaids, home organization, and spending too much money on Amazon.
Meet Ms. Shaffer
Hello friends! My name is Ashley Shaffer, and I am honored to be Ocean Breeze's new school social worker. I graduated from the University of Central Florida with my bachelors and master's in social work and since then I have served our community through non-profits by providing counseling and case management to homeless veterans to become independent and self sufficient, providing individual counseling, family counseling, and couples counseling, housing counseling as a HUD certified counselor, I've worked with human trafficking survivors and victims, and I've worked with parents who are working toward making changes to regain children who were removed by the state. For the last year I've been the school social worker at Riviera Elementary, and I will now be the school social worker for Riviera, Sea Park, and Ocean Breeze Elementary schools.
I enjoy spending time with my family, reading as many books as I possibly can, swimming in the ocean, taking care of house plants, looking through thrift stores for treasures (plant pots and other pretties), biking and walking nature trails, playing old computer games, going to church and Bible study, and getting together for friend nights.
I look forward to meeting and working with you all, it's going to be a fun year!
Save the Date!
Important Dates:
July 8th- Online re-enrollment begins in FOCUS!
July 17th- 11:30AM Popsicles with the Principals for Summer Reading Challenge
August 8th- 9:00AM-12:00PM- Enrollment verification (tentative teacher assignments distributed) & Meet the Teacher
August 12th- First Day of School for grades 1-6
August 15th- First Day of School for kindergarten
"Boohoo" Breakfast for kindergarten parents/guardians (8:15AM)
August 19th- First Day of School for pre-kindergarten
Summer Reading Challenge: Battle of the Beaches
Don't forget to log your reading minutes in Beanstack (or use a paper reading log) and send us photos of you completing your reading challenge choice boards. We'll post them on our FB page!
Join us for the next "Popsicles with the Principals" on July 17th at 11:30AM!