Families, friends and mentors gathered in the Braden River High School Auditorium on Saturday morning to honor the approximately 50 Summer graduates from the Class of 2011. The graduates represented a number of county high schools, including Bayshore, Braden River, Central High, Horizons Academy, Lakewood Ranch, Palmetto, and Southeast. Braden River High School’s JROTC opened the ceremony with the Presentation of Colors, followed by the National Anthem, performed by members of Braden River High’s River Rhapsody choir. School Board Chairman, Bob Gause, a graduate from the Class of 1977 at …

Number of seniors: 467. Guest speakers: Graduating seniors Emily Townsend and Ederick Johnson. Invocation: Emily Schnering, student council president. Outsanding Mantee High School Alumnus: Rodney Potter, Class of 1954. Class flower: Sunflower. Class song: "Forever Young," by Jay-Z. Class quote: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Memorable quotes: Graduating senior Emily Schnering said during her invocation, "When you let your instincts and heart guide you ... anything is possible." In speaking about the Manatee High faculty, Principal Bob Gagnon said, "What they do …

Number of seniors: 412. Commencement Speakers: Steven Evens, Desiray Sutherland, Cesar Garcia. Quotable: "To err is human, but to 'arrrr' is pirate. As 2011 graduates, we may make a few mistakes along the way — but we will always be Pirates." — Desiray Sutherland, in her commencement speech. "As we set sail, we take away treasures of knowledge and great fortune." — Steven Evens, in his commencement speech. Notable: The musical selection was "Time of Our Lives" by Tyrone Wells and "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas. River Rhapsody also played the Choral Tribute, Aaron Copland's "At the …

Number of seniors: 343. Commencement speakers: Kayla King, Shanvi Patel. Class motto: "We Are Moving Forward and Never Looking Back" Quotable: "Throughout our four years here at Bayshore, we've been called freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, but the one name that binds us together forever is Bruin." — Kayla King, in her commencement speech. Notable: The musical selection was "We Are the World" by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. BAYSHORE HIGH SENIOR CLASS OF 2011 Note: All senior class lists were supplied by the School District of Manatee County on May 16, and the names contained in …

Number of graduates: 199 Class valedictorian: None. Commencement speakers: Amber Wolabaugh, Yatrik Solanki Class motto: "Our lives are before us, our past is behind us, our memories are forever within us." -- unknown. Quotable: "Always ask yourself: 'How much do I not know?' " — Yatrik Solanki during his commencement speech. Notable: The highest-honor graduates (top 4 percent) wore white gowns, while the honors graduates (top 10 percent) wore orange gowns. The remainder of the class wore royal blue gowns. Class officers wore silver gowns unless they qualified for honors recognition.  …

Are you the proud parent of a graduate? Whether it's preschool, college or somewhere in between, brag about it on Patch! Hear that? Somewhere, "Pomp and Circumstance" is playing, and someone is struggling to keep that mortarboard in place. Yep, it's graduation season, and whether it's your preschooler moving on to the big K, or your college senior heading out into the real world, you can brag about it on Bradenton Patch. First, make sure you are a registered user of your Patch (if you aren't, click on Sign Up in the top right corner of the home page). Once you are logged in, scroll to the …