Last week, four outstanding robotics teams from our schools competed at the VEX Robotics World Championship in St. Louis, earning international recognition and showcasing the very best of our community.
Against teams from around the globe, our students demonstrated elite communication, resilience through challenging matches, and true collaboration with international alliance partners. This is what excellence looks like!
Behind every great team? Incredible support. Families traveled, cheered, encouraged, and stood beside these students every step of the way — proving that success like this is truly a community effort.
Celebrating our world competitors:
The Thunderbolts | McNeal Elementary School
Coached by Vic Kolomiychenko, with proud support from Principal Sheila Waid, who attended to cheer them on. Their positivity was unmatched, and they embraced every moment of learning on the world stage.
Whiteout Geckos | Willis Elementary
Coached by Hanna Cuervo & Jennifer Hubley
Winners of the Energy Award (Engineering Division) — an incredible honor at the WORLD level!
The Sesame Squad | Willis Elementary School
Also coached by Cuervo & Hubley, these students represented with heart, teamwork, and determination.
The Pibblers | Nolan Middle School
Led by Dominique Bagunu with assistant coach Hanna Cuervo
Placed 24th out of 83 teams in the Design Division — competing with excellence and showing respect and positivity throughout.
We are beyond proud of these students, their educators, and their families for representing Manatee County on the international stage.
The future is bright and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next with the new VEX game, Level Up!
Shout out to STEM Coordinator Lynne Johnston for sharing this #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews!
Against teams from around the globe, our students demonstrated elite communication, resilience through challenging matches, and true collaboration with international alliance partners. This is what excellence looks like!
Behind every great team? Incredible support. Families traveled, cheered, encouraged, and stood beside these students every step of the way — proving that success like this is truly a community effort.
Celebrating our world competitors:
The Thunderbolts | McNeal Elementary School
Coached by Vic Kolomiychenko, with proud support from Principal Sheila Waid, who attended to cheer them on. Their positivity was unmatched, and they embraced every moment of learning on the world stage.
Whiteout Geckos | Willis Elementary
Coached by Hanna Cuervo & Jennifer Hubley
Winners of the Energy Award (Engineering Division) — an incredible honor at the WORLD level!
The Sesame Squad | Willis Elementary School
Also coached by Cuervo & Hubley, these students represented with heart, teamwork, and determination.
The Pibblers | Nolan Middle School
Led by Dominique Bagunu with assistant coach Hanna Cuervo
Placed 24th out of 83 teams in the Design Division — competing with excellence and showing respect and positivity throughout.
We are beyond proud of these students, their educators, and their families for representing Manatee County on the international stage.
The future is bright and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish next with the new VEX game, Level Up!
Shout out to STEM Coordinator Lynne Johnston for sharing this #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews!
Dear Teachers, Here's a special message from Dr. Laurie Breslin regarding Teacher Appreciation Week.
https://vimeo.com/1184919879/fdb68f2a7f
#ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
The VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis is officially underway! ✨
We’re so proud to have FOUR amazing teams representing Manatee County on the world stage, including two from Willis Elementary, one from McNeal Elementary, and one from Nolan Middle School!
Wishing all of our teams the best of luck as they compete, learn, and make unforgettable memories.
You’re representing our community with excellence — go show the world what Manatee County can do! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
The Florida Department of Education released the Florida Value Added Model (VAM) Fiscal Transparency Tool, a web-based fiscal transparency tool that identifies public schools and districts with high academic achievement based on the ratio of classroom expenditures to total expenditures. VAM is intended to help taxpayers evaluate the financial efficiency of a school district with other similarly situated school districts. View the VAM for the School District of Manatee County at https://floridavam.org/e/vamPublic.html?w4=54#/entity/262385.
The results and moments captured during Saturday’s Middle School XC meet are in…
Girls - Teams and Individuals
🥇 Dr. Mona Jain Middle School
🥈 R. Dan Nolan Middle School
🥉 Martha B. King Middle School
🥇 Tatum B., Dr. Mona Jain MS
🥈 Katelyn M., Nolan MS
🥉 Emma V., Nolan MS
Boys - Teams and Individuals
🥇 Buffalo Creek Middle School
🥈 Dr. Mona Jain Middle School
🥉 Haile Middle School
🥇 Maddox R., Buffalo Creek MS
🥈 Rafe T., King MS
🥉 Mitchell F., Dr. Mona Jain MS
Congratulations to ALL the runners from Manatee County middle schools and their families for finishing the race and supporting your teams! #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
What a fantastic turnout at Saturday morning’s middle school cross country meet, hosted by Lee Middle School at the Home of the Bayshore High School Bruins. Thank you to the coaches, administrators, and families who came out to support these amazing student-athletes!
🏃♀️ Girls Top Finishers:
🥇 Kaitlyn – R. Dan Nolan Middle School
🥈 Tatum – Dr. Mona Jain Middle School
🥉 Emma – Nolan Middle
🏃♂️ Boys Top Finishers:
🥇 Mitch – Dr. Mona Jain Middle
🥈 Sean – Dr. Mona Jain Middle
🥉 Nathaniel – Lincoln Memorial Middle
Great job to everyone who put their best foot forward! We can’t wait to see more strong finishes at the District middle school XC meet at Palmetto High School coming soon. #ManateeSchoolsGoodNews
Security Screening at Secondary Schools – Beginning Monday, August 11, 2025, all students and visitors at district middle and high schools will be screened each school day using a high-tech security scanner system.
For more information on this enhanced security screening procedure, visit https://www.manateeschools.net/securityscreening.
School Board Seeks Civic-Minded Citizens to Join Audit Committee –
The School Board of Manatee County is seeking civic-minded citizens to serve as members of the Audit Committee. The Committee, which meets six times a year, recommends the appointment of the internal and external auditors; reviews the scope, plan and reports of the internal and external auditors; and assists in maintaining open communications between the selected auditors, the School Board and the District’s financial management. The Committee also reviews the collection and proper use of the funds raised through the one-half cent sales surtax for school capital outlay expenditures. Membership on the Committee requires an average of five-to-eight hours per month, with meetings scheduled every other month for three hours. The term is approximately three years.
Those interested in serving must:
• Live in Manatee County.
• Be a CPA (active or retired) or had employment experience in school district financial operations.
• Submit a letter expressing interest, provide contact information and provide a brief summary of their work experience.
Responses must be sent to the Manatee County School District, Attention: School Board Agency Clerk, P.O. Box 9069, Bradenton, Florida 34206-9069.
Interested individuals may obtain additional information about the Committee by emailing the School Board Agency Administrative Associate at cox3l@manateeschools.net.
Family Empowerment Scholarship – Parents interested in applying for either FES-EO or FES-UA may review the eligibility requirements and application instructions at https://www.manateeschools.net/FES.