Chandler-Tullamore Sister Cities seeking young artists and authors
Chandler-Tullamore Sister Cities (CTSC) is looking for students from Chandler to participate in the Young Artists and Authors Showcase, which encourages youth from the city to express the mission of Sister Cities International (SCI) through original essays, poetry, art, film and photography.
This program is a great opportunity to reach out into the community and engage local English and art teachers, and reach a student audience who may not already be included in sister city programming, according to CTSC’s Ellen Harrington.
residents and between 13 and 22. Entry specifications for each is available on the CTSC website, www.chandlerirish.org. All entries must be submitted by Wednesday, March 25.
The showcase theme for 2016 is “Peace Through People,” and commemorates SCI’s 60th anniversary by celebrating six decades of global citizen action and impact while looking ahead toward a better future where the world’s citizens can come together and find common ground, prosperity and peace.
Participants for art, essay and poetry must be Chandler residents and between the ages of 13 and 18. Participants for film and photography must be Chandler
A reception, awards and public viewing will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, April 15, at the Downtown Chandler Community Partnership’s Third Friday ArtWalk in downtown Chandler. One piece of artwork, one poem and one essay from the Chandler entries will be submitted to SCI. National grand prize winners will receive $1,000 from SCI.
Sister city relationships foster partnerships within the community and between international cities, counties and states—one individual, one community at a time. When President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded Sister Cities International in 1956, he stated that “if we are going to take advantage of the assumption that all people want peace, then the problem is for people to get together and to leap governments—if necessary to evade governments— to work out not one method but
see SISTER CITIES page 35
Santan Elementary teacher wins lounge makeover for school
BY SRIANTHI PERERA
It took fourth-grade teacher Stephanie Lederman about one hour to write an essay describing the woeful inadequacies of the staff lounge at Santan Elementary School.
The time was not wasted. California Casualty picked her application from among 30,000 across the nation to award her its $7,500 School Lounge Makeover on behalf of her school.
It was also the first time an Arizona school won the award.
“It’s a very special school and there’s an amazing staff here,” said Lederman at the lounge’s unveiling. “The opportunity came up and I thought our staff deserves a makeover.”
At least 60 elementary school teachers hobnob, relax and eat in the lounge each day.
“When the school was built, it was a K-8 and then they divided it to K-6 elementary school and a seventh through eighth junior high school. So the elementary lounge was an afterthought,” said Amy O’Neal, principal. “It was very small and just minimalistic.”
The space is still the same size, but it’s much more functional, with bench seating and storage options, a new refrigerator and microwaves. The linoleum tiled flooring has been updated to a wooden floor, and the 5-gallon water bottles and the dispenser have been removed because a reverse osmosis water filtration system has been installed.
Santan Elementary also worked with its parent teacher organization to raise funds to augment the makeover.
“We’re all thrilled; the staff is thrilled,” O’Neal said.
The San Mateo, California-headquartered California Casualty does two lounge
makeovers each year, and Santan is the 11th school to receive one. It created the contest to provide educators a more conducive environment to take a break, relax and reinvigorate during the day, according to a release.
Lederman is a member of the Chandler Education Association, a requirement to apply.
The company provides auto and home insurance to educators, firefighters, law enforcement and nurses across the country.
“This is what we do across the country for educators, and really, we’re trying to be able to make more of a positive impact in giving back to our educators and our heroes in the education community,” said Jill Strandquist, senior field marketing manager.
In addition to the lounge makeover, teachers with a need for classroom supplies and materials can also apply for a $2,500 Academic Award at www. calcasacademicaward.com.
After the remodel, the break lounge features new flooring and picnic-style bench seating. STSN photo by Srianthi Perera
Santan Elementary teachers crowd into their newly refurbished break lounge after it was unveiled. STSN photo by Srianthi Perera
Young pianists bring musical joy to the elderly
BY KENNETH LAFAVE
On a given Sunday afternoon, the sounds of Chopin on the piano may drift from the community room at Brookedale Chandler Nursing Home. On another, it may be Beethoven that vibrates the walls of Village of Ocotillo Senior Living Residence.
And on yet another, a Coldplay song transcribed for piano might be heard resounding at Solterra Senior Living at Chandler.
The origins of this traveling musical phenomenon are Jasper and Joseph Lee, two young Chandler brothers with a passion to share the music they have
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learned to make.
“We like to go to different assisted living and retirement homes and play the piano for people,” said Jasper, 15.
“It’s a community service, but it also benefits us as pianists to play for live audiences,” chimed in Joseph, 13.
Jasper, who started playing the piano at age 5, and Joseph, who began about a year earlier, said the performances strengthen their skills and their abilities to relate to audiences.
“We’re starting to get regulars at some of the homes. We’ll go to one of the places and recognize people who return for more,” Jasper said.
Jasper is a sophomore at Perry High School, and Joseph is in the seventh grade at Santan Junior High School. Both are enrolled in the Arizona Study Program for music, Jasper at level 10 and Joseph at level 8.
Jasper’s and Joseph’s parents, Pong Lee and Yoke Ho, decided their sons would take pianos lessons starting at a young age. They read that playing the piano improves mental skills. Such things as eye-digital coordination and the ability to listen for and identify patterns are among the advantages of learning how to play the piano.
and contrast style changes throughout history.”
“I was motivated to play the piano when I understood how it would help me progress in other studies in life,” Joseph said.
It doesn’t hurt that some of the greatest musical minds in history wrote pieces for the piano.
“The one thing that makes the piano stand out for me is that it has been around so long that composers from every country over many years have put their thoughts into pieces for it,” Jasper said. “Playing the piano, I can compare
The pair’s repertoire reaches back to the music of J.S. Bach, but also includes contemporary songs arranged for the piano. They play Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata first, followed by Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.” Jasper and Joseph said that music is “under consideration” as a career path, although both have other interests as well. Engineering intrigues Jasper, while Joseph is enthusiastic for basketball and just experienced being on a winning team at his school.
Whether they pursue musical careers or not, the Lee brothers are experiencing firsthand what music can do to enrich lives.
“People always come up to us afterward with big smiles and thank us for playing,” Jasper said.
Playing the piano can apparently strengthen not only the mind, but the generous spirit as well.
Jasper and Joseph Lee share their talents at the keyboard with the elderly, playing Bach, Beethoven and Coldplay at nursing homes and rest homes. Submitted photo
Bowler’s national success yields scholarship to Wichita State
BY MATT LAYMAN
Arizona College Preparatory in Chandler held its first national signing day event on Feb. 5, boasting just one signee—but that athlete might not fit the bill for the “typical” high school athlete.
Cortez Schenck is one of the top youth bowlers in the world, according to his coach, Mike Calderon, owner of Bowl 300 Pro Shop in Tempe.
“There’s just people who have gifts like that,” Calderon said. “That’s his gift. That’s his talent.”
Cortez signed a letter of intent Feb. 5 to bowl for Wichita State University. With 20 national championships since 1975, the Shockers boast the most bowling championships in the country, according to the school’s website.
“Not everybody gets to go to Duke to play basketball,” Calderon said. “Not everybody gets to go to Wichita State to bowl.”
As a member of Junior Team USA, Cortez has found success. He’s placed in the top three in his respective division of the Junior Gold Championships of bowling in each of the last four years, even winning in 2013. That success earned him a scholarship and a spot on the Wichita State bowling team.
“I was just so happy with joy,” Cortez said. “It’s pretty unbelievable how I felt. It’s just a dream I’ve been wanting for so long and I put so much hard work and practice into it. I was just incredibly happy.”
Arizona College Prep recognized Cortez in front of a school assembly. Academic and athletic awards were handed to students before Cortez and his father, Stephen, said a
Tatum Stewart, a fourth-grader at Navarrete Elementary, chose the Storm Water Pollution Prevention theme in 2015. Submitted artwork
few words.
A few words are all Stephen Schenck could say. The emotion of seeing his son, a junior in high school, sign to the country’s most prestigious bowling program was apparently overwhelming.
“I’m just really happy for him because he’s actually going to do what he loves to do,” Stephen said. “This is what he’s passionate about.”
Stephen described Cortez’s dedication to bowling.
“He would bowl literally 20 games a day for the first two years of his bowling career,” he said. “He would basically say ‘I gotta bowl. I gotta bowl,’ and if he didn’t bowl, he’d say ‘I’ve gotta bowl,’ almost like an addict.”
His mother, Fawn Cheng, attended the assembly as well. She said Cortez’s signing to Wichita State was a dream come true for him.
“It’s amazing. He has worked so hard for this,” she said. “Literally every weekend away from home, doing homework in the truck, getting home at sometimes 2 a.m., 12 a.m., every weekend; getting up early and coming to school—because he lives a good 40-minute commute to school—and never fussing about it.”
Cortez said he felt “blessed” to be offered the scholarship to Wichita State.
“That’s the crazy thing about it—I never thought this would ever come true,” he said. “It’s always been a dream of mine. Ever since I was 10 or 11 I always wanted to go there and bowl so when they offered me the scholarship, I just felt blessed. I was very, very happy.”
Candice Liu, a fourth-grade student at CTA Independence, drew this winning entry about water conservation for the 2015 contest. Submitted artwork
Environmental art and calendar contest set
Fourth grade students who are home schooled or attend public, private or charter schools in Chandler are encouraged to participate in the City’s 13th Annual Environmental Art Contest. The contest asks students to draw colorful pictures promoting recycling, water conservation or storm water pollution prevention in Chandler.
Kayla Reese, a fourth-grader at Kyrene de la Paloma Elementary, won for her recycling poster in 2015. Submitted artwork
The contest is an opportunity for students to learn more about environmental stewardship in their community and can become a catalyst for environmental education in the classroom, as the City offers classroom presentations and curriculum about conservation topics. The City recently distributed contest rules and entry forms to fourth grade
Madison Gonsalves doodles for Google and wins
BY SRIANTHI PERERA
Eight-year-old Madison Gonsalves has turned her love for art into good use.
The third grader at Santan Elementary entered the nationwide Doodle 4 Google contest in 2015 and has been selected Arizona’s winner in the grade group K-3.
The contest continues and the public is invited to vote for their favorite doodle to help select a national winner, whose doodle will be featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage for one day. To vote, go to www. google.com/doodle4google/vote.html.
The contest is themed “What Makes Me... Me” and is judged on artistic merit, creativity and theme communication.
“Kids have all kinds of things that make them unique, so they could use all kinds of materials to create their doodles, from crayons, to clay, to yarn, to graphic design, even food and video games,” according to the Google website.
Madison’s pink- and purple-toned doodle shows a back view of her, dog at feet, drawing at a computer in her bedroom. The background paraphernalia include a bookcase, nightstand and many framed pictures.
Framed art, a clock, flower vase, lamp and a toy each represent the letters for the word “Google.”
“It shows me doing Khan and I like to do Khan and program on it,” said Madison, referring to the online teaching program, Khan Academy. “And I also show my favorite stuffed animals in it and my dog.”
Madison’s prize winnings are an Android tablet and a T-shirt with her doodle imprinted on it. Her school also received
Madison Gonsalves is shown with her parents, Mark and Sandy Gonsalves, just after the Santan Elementary School’s announcement that the third-grader is this year’s state winner for Arizona in the nationwide Doodle 4 Google contest. Submitted photo
$2,500 for art supplies.
This is not the first time that Madison entered the contest. In 2013, her mom, Sandy, saw the competition listed online and alerted Madison and her elder sister, Reagan, because of their penchant to doodle. The sisters submitted their doodles and Reagan was selected the state winner that year.
“Madison was disappointed,” said her father, Mark Gonsalves, a software developer in Chandler. “We tried again last year and both did a really good job, and this time, thankfully, Madison won, so she was really thrilled.”
Since the winner was announced, Madison has been interviewed by a local TV station and print media. “She’s having her 15 minutes of fame,” Gonsalves said.
If she qualifies to the next level and becomes a national finalist, Madison would receive a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the Google headquarters in California to meet the Google Doodlers. A $30,000 college scholarship awaits the national winner, who will be announced on March 21.
teachers in Chandler and is hoping to reach home schooled children as well.
“We want every fourth grade student in Chandler to know about and participate in our contest,” said Traci Conaway, Chandler’s Recycling Coordinator.
Entry forms and rules can be found on the Kids for Conservation page at chandleraz.gov. The deadline for submittals is March 4, and entries are judged on creativity, content and colorfulness.
Selected drawings will be featured in an environmental calendar and poster and also may appear in newsletters, social media, on recycling trucks and the City’s website. For more information, contact Traci Conaway at 480-782-3510.
Gymnastics
Tumbling
Trampoline
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Ballet, Hip Hop and Tap
Martial Arts
Swimming
3-13! Check out our website for upcoming dates.
Chinese New Year
Tarwater
Outdoor activities complimented the indoor fun. Izzy Henry celebrates the Year of the Monkey with a paper monkey she made herself.
First-grade teacher Stacy Randazzo leads a colorful bingo game that illustrates the animal characters of the Chinese calendar.
Students drew “Fu” characters to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Tristen Ly plays a version of bingo featuring the animals from the Chinese New Year calendar. Jaime Ezolt’s kindergarten class is about to head in to a fun Chinese New Year activity.
Puja Rastogi, a student at Bogle Junior High, volunteered to help with the activities.
The courtyard was decorated for the outdoor activity portion of the celebration.
Friends Ava Rivera and Sophia Lee enjoyed the shuttlecock activity outside.
First-grade teacher Jenna Graff demonstrates fan making.
Kare Bears Faire hosts last event of season
More than 40 vendors will bring their wares to the Kare Bears Faire, the last event of the winter season, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5.
It will feature a white elephant table, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes, coffee and rolls for 75 cents and a $2 coupon for a meal that day at the Horizon Room restaurant.
The event will be held at the SunBird Golf Resort, 6250 S. SunBird Blvd., Chandler. Sunbird Kare Bears is a nonprofit organization and all funds that are raised are distributed to charities in Chandler or to its HOA on an annual basis.
Student headed to regional spelling bee
BY SARAH AUFFRET
Connor King, a seventh grader at Payne Junior High School, won the championship in the 27th round in the Chandler Unified School District Spelling Bee on Jan. 29 at Perry High School.
Thirty-nine students from each school in the district competed, and the top 10 were scheduled to go to the regional bee in Gilbert on Feb. 19.
After third-place winner Olivia Warkins, seventh grader at Santan Junior High School, was eliminated in the 12th round, Connor and Jason Gong, a seventh grader at Arizona College Prep-Oakland, continued to spell for 15 more rounds.
Jason misspelled a word, but Connor misspelled another word in the same round, so the two continued. When
Jason misspelled “plié,” Connor correctly spelled “centrifuge” to take the top prize.
All 10 finalists received plaques and Changing Hands bookstore gift cards from Assistance League of East Valley, which sponsored the event along with the Arizona Education Foundation.
The other seven finalists were Emmie Kowalczyk of Anderson Junior High School; Josua Ortega of Santan Elementary School; Anushka Agrawal of Chandler Traditional AcademyIndependence; Elijah Burlend of Ryan
Anthony is in Pre-K at St. John Bosco Catholic School. His teachers help him work toward achieving his dream by encouraging discovery through an inquiry-based curriculum and enrichment programs. He will learn the importance of valuing all of God’s creation while exploring math, science and reading, preparing him for a playground journey to Mars.
Discover
Visit sjbosco.org/dreams and schedule a campus tour today!
Assistance League of East Valley is an all-volunteer group which provided school clothing and uniforms to more than 7,000 children in East Valley school districts last year. They also provided 3,000 assault survivor kits to nine agencies.
Elementary School; Mihira Karnik of Knox Gifted Academy; Marissa Acuña of Weinberg Elementary and Alexia Gomez of Arizona College Prep-Erie.
Youth
Seton students donate $5K to ICAN
Seton Catholic Preparatory students recently presented ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth with a $5,000 check to help the nonprofit organization continue its mission of providing services to East Valley youth.
The check presentation, held during a pep assembly in the school gym, capped off Seton’s celebration of National Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 31-Feb. 6. Students raised the funds by contributing $25 each to participate in the annual Walk-A-Thon, a 3K supervised walk around Seton neighborhoods. The student council designated ICAN as the recipient of this year’s funds after considering several charities.
“Seton students were impressed by ICAN’s mission to help kids achieve success by offering a number of positive programs, including after-school and summer programs. They also liked the idea of kids helping other kids,” Seton Principal Pat Collins said. “Realizing their blessings, our students are committed to sharing with others in the community.”
ICAN Executive Director Becky Jackson said she was impressed with the students’ commitment to the success of the walk.
“The dollars raised will impact our programs that specifically prevent substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and gang involvement in our community—all of which is led by our Chief Programs Officer Melissa Kowalski, who is an alum of Seton,” Jackson said. The Walk-A-Thon has been held for
more than 20 years and concludes with activities and lunch at the Seton field.
Over the years, Seton students have designated a variety of charities to receive the funds, including a program that provides bicycles for homeless adults and the Lost Boys Center for Leadership Development.
ICAN is a free, family-centered youth service in the East Valley providing a full complement of programs proven effective in equipping youth to achieve personal and academic success by tackling substance abuse, gang involvement and juvenile delinquency. For more information, visit http:// icanaz.org/.
Founded in 1954, Seton Catholic Preparatory is a private, coeducational high school in Chandler, open to students of all faiths and dedicated to academic excellence, leadership and loving service to others. Seton Catholic Prep serves young men and women from parochial, private, charter, public and home schooling backgrounds. For 60 years as the only Catholic college preparatory high school in the East Valley of Phoenix, Seton Catholic Prep focuses on developing the individual student. The Seton experience allows ample opportunity for students to discover and develop their God-given talents in a supportive community, thus enabling them to succeed in higher education. For more information, visit www.setoncatholic.org.
thousands of methods by which people can gradually learn a little bit more of each other.” What does this mean to our students? Artists and authors are encouraged to draw inspiration from Eisenhower’s words and present their vision of how people-to-people exchanges and citizen diplomacy build peace in their communities.
After the national finalists for art and literature have been announced, they embark on a year-long tour hosted by local sister city programs on a monthly basis. Chandler-Tullamore Sister Cities has been honored for the third year to host the national exhibit in April. Last year’s Art and Author Showcase yielded a national grand prize winner for essay
from Chandler’s Sister City, Tullamore, Ireland. Beibhinn Cullen, a student at Sacred Heart School in Tullamore, wrote the international grand prizewinning essay and it will be exhibited. Underwriting for the 2016 Art and Author Showcase is made possible through a grant received from the Chandler Special Events Committee and the Chandler Cultural Foundation.
Entry Guidelines and Forms may be found at www.chandlerirish.org. For further information and entry submittal for Young Artists and Authors, contact Ellen Harrington at chan.to.tull@gmail. com or (480) 600-8509.
For information on ChandlerTullamore Sister Cities’ activities, information and membership, visit website, www.chandlerirish.org.
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