- April 8, 2025
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Several fifth grade students at Robert Willis Elementary School in Lakewood Ranch were honored Feb. 25 for writing winning essays in a contest sponsored by the Manatee County Retired Educators Association.
“Any time we can acknowledge kids and what they can accomplish, it is wonderful,” said Barbara Borderieux, the association president.
Borderieux and contest chairwoman Kris Williamson were at the school to award certificates, and for the first and second place winners, gift cards for their work.
The rules of the contest were simple: Write about a special moment you’ve had with a grandparent.
Willis fifth grade teacher Rachel Deitch said narrative writing is something students don’t get to do very often.
“Our curriculum (and testing demands) focuses more on argumentative and expository writing, so they're writing five-paragraph essays in kind of a set way,” she said.
“With these kinds of competitions, they get to flex their creative muscles and get to think outside the box more than they would normally.”
At the awards ceremony at Willis Elementary, Williamson thanked every student who participated.
“You have wonderful teachers and wonderful administrative staff," she told the students. "It is going to make such a difference in your life when you do your absolute best every single day.”
Katherine Ayres won second place in the contest for her essay about an important lesson she learned from her grandmother that it’s possible to have fun without electronics.
Kate was at her grandmother’s house during a vacation.
“I was bored because I had zero electronics and no idea how to work the TV,” she wrote.
“My grandmother had an idea. She said to me, ‘Let’s make a bet. I bet you can have fun without the TV or anything else that is electronic. If I lose, you can watch TV. If I win, you can’t watch TV for the rest of the week.’”
Having a day in town with her grandmother showed Kate it was, indeed, possible to survive without facing a screen.
“It was the most special and the most educational thing my grandma has taught me,” the 11-year-old said after she had read her essay at the ceremony.
“People have lived without electronics in the past. Now that they have become a thing, it’s like people are starting to get addicted to them. I think it’s important that people don’t always use their electronics.”
As for the first place winner Mark Eubanks, his essay was about his grandmother, who taught him to play chess.
“I always wanted to learn how to play chess,” Mark said after the awards presentation. “I just thought it was very kind of her to take the time to teach me and that it’s helped me to grow closer to her, and to my friends who play chess as well.”
His essay read, in part:
”She taught me how to be patient, to strategize, and to look at my surroundings. This has really impacted my life in a great way and has brought me closer to my grandma and to my other friends who play chess. I will never forget how she took the time to teach me how to play this game and how it has helped me grow closer to her. I didn’t just learn chess; I learned that me and my grandma had something in common that was special for just the two of us, and that is truly what makes this my favorite memory with a grandparent.”
The Manatee County Retired Educators Association is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support education and provide a community for retired educators and school personnel who continue to make a positive difference in the world around them.
The Manatee County group meets between September and May on every third Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Moose Family Center, 310 44th Ave. E., in Bradenton. You can contact the group on Facebook or visit the state association website.
