TarwaterElementary School

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Tarwater Elementary (2023-2024)

Four outstanding educators from the Chandler Unified School District, including three from Tarwater Elementary, have been honored with the prestigious Milestone Award by the United Chinese Association of Arizona (UCAA) and the Chinese Language Teacher Association of Arizona (CLTA-AZ). This award is a testament to their remarkable contributions to education in Arizona. Notably, among the nine teachers recognized statewide, an impressive four belong to the CUSD community: Hongyu Yang - Tarwater Elementary, Linyong Yao - Tarwater Elementary, Hong Zhou - Tarwater Elementary, and Ran An - Hamilton High School. Additionally, Tarwater's recognition for being named an outstanding Chinese Language School was published this month in the Chinese Language Teacher Association Journal. Click for more information about the Chinese Teacher Milestone Award award.

Tarwater Elementary (2022-2023)

On February 3, Tarwater hosted its Annual Lunar New Year Festival! Games, performances, cultural activities, and more were showcased to the Toro community. Photo Album: Tarwater Lunar New Year Celebration

Tarwater Elementary (2022-2023)

The inaugural meeting of Tarwater's Genius Hour was held this month. Project Managers - Travis Nguyen and Elise Bohn (pictured) are fourth graders helping facilitate the project process for the second grade teams. They will also get an opportunity to work on a project of their own. Students work on their projects at school in a self-directed manner within clear project process framework. Teams recommend and vote for a topic to explore, hone in on a question, and decide how they would like to present their learning. This is part of the empowering skill practice Genius Hour targets. They are nurturing self-motivated learners and self-directed problem solvers. Genius Hour has also provided opportunity for second grade teachers Cindy Bickley, Janell Ochs, Sophia Limjoco, and fourth grade teacher Regina Rahberger to collaborate. They hope to expand the program in the coming semester.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Congratulations to Sophia Limjoco who was honored at a Diamondbacks Game for being one of 10 DBacks Most Valuable Teachers in STEM for April.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Sophia Limjoco's 2nd grade class at Tarwater Elementary recently threw a surprise celebration for their reading support volunteer, Margaret Anne Dunn. Mrs. Dunn recently became a U.S. citizen, so the class seized the opportunity to learn about the Statue of Liberty, immigrants, and the citizenship exam. They celebrated not only a newly minted citizen but also a generous and kind Tarwater volunteer.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Tarwater raised $3,129.96 in gift cards for Phoenix Children's Hospital. This student-driven fundraiser was led by students Isa Llanos, Jayde Brower, Hailey de la Rosa, and Myka Canavan and directed by student services coordinator, Joanna Plumb. 5th and 6th grade DLI (Dual Language Immersion) classrooms challenged each other to raise more money, and the winners got to throw a pie in the face of their challengers. This is an example of how a few students can lead and make a big difference in the lives of others.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Tarwater Elementary held an annual Black History Month essay contest for grades K-6. About 300 entries were submitted this year in various categories! Winners read their essays for the whole school.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Emmett Perry in Sophia Limjoco's 2nd grade class at Tarwater Elementary School proudly displays his friendship poem. Second graders wrote about what makes a good friend as part of the Caring Schools SEL curriculum. Emmett believes a good friend is one who is kind.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Tarwater Elementary held a community festival and celebration on Friday, February 11. Photo Album: Lunar New Year Celebration

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

February started off with an exciting Market Day in Mrs. Limjoco's 2nd grade class at Tarwater Elementary. Here, students sell their last hand made item to classmates before celebrating their business success. Students gained deeper understanding of how marketing and customer knowledge can impact demand. Future Market Day events have already been planned.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Congratulations to Tarwater 3rd graders Kate Menghini who won 2nd place and Gabrielle Berard who won 3rd place (Visual: K - 3rd Grade) in the City of Chandler's Creative Expression Competition. This year's theme was: Connected Through Diversity: Finding commonalities and connections in our diverse community.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Tarwater 6th graders performed a dragon dance at the Chandler Multicultural festival on Saturday, January 15.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Congratulations to Alexandra Gabriel in Amanda Yang's 4th grade class who won 3rd place (Visual: 4th - 8th Grade) in Chandler's Creative Expression Competition. This year's theme was: Connected Through Diversity: Finding commonalities and connections in our diverse community. City of Chandler's Creative Expression Competition website

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Amy Shoot, Media Specialist at Tarwater Elementary, created a Book Tree with her students. 5th/6th grade Junior Librarians helped build a strong base for the structure of the tree. This fun and physical STEM project involved problem-solving, creativity, resilience, and teamwork. The construction of the project was spearheaded by 6th grade student Preston Hughes in Rebecca McLendon's class. Not only did the students decorate the book tree, but they hooked up a wireless speaker down the middle of the tree to play Holiday Music for all to enjoy.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Amanda (Hongyu) Yang has been named as Arizona Language Association Teacher of the Year for Arizona. She will now compete with teachers from the Southwest Region of the U.S. for the Regional Teacher of the Year.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

Tarwater Elementary School is one of seven schools in the United States recently selected for the Amateur Radio contact with the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Through a great deal of coordination with ARISS, NASA and the help of volunteers from NXP, Tarwater developed education and equipment plans to host this once in a lifetime event.

Tarwater Elementary (2021-2022)

At Tarwater's commemoration of Patriot Day 2021, 2nd graders sang patriotic songs and led our school in the Pledge of Allegiance. Commemorating Patriot Day at Tarwater Elementary photo ablum

Tarwater Elementary (2020-2021)

Tarwater Elementary first graders learned how the sun is used for energy and then put together solar water fountains for Earth Day. The students experimented with the fountains and quickly realized they would not work at all if there was a shadow on the solar panel.

Tarwater Elementary (2020-2021)

Congratulations to media specialist / permanent substitute Elizabeth Speciale who won the Apple Achievement Award, Christopher Tyk who was named the Outstanding Volunteer, and sixth grader Addison Jarecki who is the Superintendent Citizenship winner from Tarwater Elementary for 2021. Read their stories here!

Tarwater Elementary (2020-2021)

Tarwater Elementary media assistant Liz Especiale was surprised Thursday with a $100 gift card to her choice of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, or Fleming's. Liz biked to work to participate in the Maricopa County Trip Reduction contest, and is the February grand prize winner.

Tarwater Elementary (2020-2021)

Tarwater Elementary celebrated the Chinese New Year on February 12. The year of the Ox is a special year for sixth graders who are 12 and were born in the year of the Ox. An ox is also like a Toro.

Tarwater Elementary (2020-2021)

Congratulations to winners in the 2021 City of Chandler Creative Expression Competition from Tarwater Elementary. Visual Arts winners (K-4 Category): Hailey Tyk, 2nd place (pictured); Keira James and Keagan Murray, Runners-up. The theme for the 2021 contest: How your experience of culture or understanding of equity has changed with time. Winning artwork entries were displayed as street light banners in downtown Chandler during the month of January 2021 and on the City of Chandler website. City of Chandler Creative Expression Competition website

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Tarwater Elementary was named a recipient of an SRP Learning $5,000 grant. They will use the grant to purchase resources from the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) and the Museum of Science to support dual-language learning in science and math. Learning grants by SRP 2020-21 recipients website

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Parent comment: "We are so grateful for the teachers who volunteered PTO Bingo Night. As a parent, it meant a lot to have their help, allowing us parents to not have to volunteer and be able to experience the event with our kids. It doesn't go unnoticed to see them spending their free time supporting the school!"

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Tarwater celebrated Black History with their annual essay contest, classroom activities, and library selections highlighting a plethora of African American change-makers.

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Congratulations to Evan Garcia, Jaden Bullock and Caden Villarreal for their project titled Project Elimination, winner of the State Farm Computer Science Award in the Computer Science Showcase at the 2020 Chandler Innovation Fair. CIF 2020 Award Winners

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Tarwater Elementary was selected as only one of a few schools in the country to have contact with the International Space Station next August. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) selected 10 schools from around the country to participate. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of student and career possibilities. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station website

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Superintendent's Student Citizenship Award winner: It's hard to be "the new kid" after school has started in the 6th grade. Savannah Pendleton quickly made friends and joined the Girls STEM Club, Robotics Club, Student Council, Running Club and Toro Ambassadors. She constantly volunteers on campus, helping those in need. She happily brings her family to community events. Savannah loves to help in the library, but she can also be found on the playground, playing hard. She made a name for herself as an outstanding Toro!

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Over 650 members of our Tarwater community gathered to celebrate Chinese New Year on Friday, January 24. The amazing celebration included food, music and entertainment, games and interactive booths that educated about and celebrated Chinese culture. The Mandarin immersion students demonstrated their expertise with dance, Kung Fu and songs. It was an incredible night for our school. Chinese New Year Celebration Photo Album

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Each year the Tarwater community gets together to help make the holidays a little brighter for others in the community who may not be so fortunate by conducting our Giving Tree Toy Drive. All toys collected for babies to preteens are donated to the Chandler Care Center. We celebrate the Toy Drive with an assembly that also features the amazing Tarwater Chorus Club singing wonderful holiday music!

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Congratulations to Isabella Dangelo whose Lions Club International Peace Poster Contest entry was selected as the school winner for Tarwater Elementary. For over 30 years, Lions clubs around the globe have sponsored this international art contest to give children everywhere the chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art and creativity. Audrey was awarded a certificate and cash prize from the Sun Lakes Lion's Club, sponsored by Intel.

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Thirteen Tarwater Elementary sixth grade girls participated in the Hermanas Event held at Chandler-Gilbert Community college and hosted by Intel. The students participated in various activities to inspire them to go to college and consider a future career in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). One sixth grader ended the event saying, "I want to go to college. I felt like I was sitting in a college class."

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Arizona Cardinals cheerleaders and mascot "Big Red" were at the Tarwater Elementary Fall Festival on Friday, November 1!

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

This week in STEM, Mrs. Nowotarski's kindergartners participated in the Engineering Academy with Mrs. Limjoco, discovering mechanical engineering and simple machines. Students were able to make the connection that the conveyer belts they see at stores, malls (escalators), and airports are based on the simple machine called a pulley. While demonstrating the Toro Targets, these inquisitive students successfully completed the challenge of making a conveyor belt using limited supplies. Way to go, Toros!

Tarwater Elementary (2019-2020)

Tarwater second graders celebrated our country on September 11 by putting on a patriotic performance. Singing patriotic songs and teaching us about our American symbols, they truly turned a difficult day into a beautiful special celebration of the wonderful country we live in.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

In appreciation for all the love and support they offer all year, we recently honored our amazing parent volunteers with an assembly filled with music, chants -- and even a little magic! Thank you for all you do!

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater Elementary held its annual Art Masterpiece night on April 9. Families enjoyed viewing a variety of works by student artists and students collaborated on the beautiful cherry blossom tree on the outside stage.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Sixth grader John Davis received the 2019 Youth Echo Award presented by DMB Community Life and Eastmark Subdivision. This award is given to outstanding youth that have dedicated their life to helping others. In addition to receiving a certificate, John received donations (lemon juice, cups and sugar) towards his annual lemonade stand. Profits from the stand will be donated to a local non-profit organization. Thank you, John, for your dedication to helping others in our community!

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater Elementary held an annual spring barbeque on April 5 to celebate its 20-year anniversary. Bogle Junior High band was on hand to play and families enjoyed the beautiful weather with the school's namesakes, Robert and Danell Tarwater.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater student Jackson Robert Scott starred in the short film Skin that won the academy award for best live action short! So cool! ABC: Oscar Winners 2019 - SKIN Accepts the Oscar for Short Film (Live Action)

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

The Tarwater Lunar New Year celebration on February 19 was a hit. They had a wonderful turnout, despite the chilly weather!

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Congratulations to 6th grader Victoria Miller for being selected as the Sun Lakes Lions International Peace Poster Contest winner for Tarwater Elementary. Tori was honored by the Lions at the Sun Lakes Country Club. Tori's poster speaks volumes as to how she perceives the need for peace in our world.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater teachers received four Chandler Education Foundation (CEF) Cash for Classrooms grants: Jamie Ezolt and Kim Johannsen for their We have a Mystery to Solve project; Anne Jones and Jim Chiang for their All Aboard! Bring on the STEAM! project; Ying Shao for her Chinese Language Olympics project; and 3rd Grade Team Nikole Bohn, Mike Wittreich, Mark Morris, Kailie Fisher, Grace, McCourt and Ying Shao for their Author's Tea project. Thank you, CEF, for helping us do great things for kids! Chandler Education Foundation - Cash for Classrooms website

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Technology teacher, Jamie Droeg, is bringing 3-D printing to Tarwater! Mrs. Droeg was awarded a school-wide Chandler Education (CEF) Foundation Cash for Classrooms grant which will help fund the purchase of a MakerBot Mini 3-D printer. Mrs. Droeg is furthering her technology expertise by receiving certification through the MakerBot Certification Program. Well done, Mrs. Droeg! Chandler Education Foundation - Cash for Classrooms website

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater kindergarten teacher Jamie Ezolt has a new friend in Hollywood -- actor, Mark Duplass! Mark Duplass is one of several celebrities taking on Instagram's #10Featured Teachers Celebrity Challenge. Mrs. Ezolt explained to Duplass that her classroom is full of children eager to learn, yet providing relevant, hands-on STEM activities is a financial challenge. Duplass took on the challenge and now, Mrs. Ezolt is receiving packages full of much-needed supplies. Mrs. Ezolt sums up her kindergarten class' experiences with this: "They're (students) talking about it, they're building it, they're making it and they're learning on the trials and fails that come with it. " STEM is alive in Jamie Ezolt's kindergarten classroom! AZCentral.com - Chandler kindergarten teacher chosen in #10FeaturedTeachers celebrity challenge

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Congratulations to Tarwater Elementary PE teacher Jennifer Traficano who was one of four CUSD teachers who presented at the Arizona Health and Physical Education State Convention during the week of October 22. Their session was titled "CUSD PE TEACHERS are OPEN to Fitness!"

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Not only is Ms. Block a sensational sixth grade teacher at Tarwater, she is also a member of the Young Professionals Council. YPC is a governing and working council that helps to facilitate opportunities for young professionals to network and develop leadership skills. Ms Block also works closely with the Cancer Support Community of Arizona. Thank you, Emelia, for caring about our community! You are an outstanding Tarwater Toro.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

At the Board meeting on Wednesday, September 12th, the American Heart Association (AHA) recognized Chandler Unified as the number one district in Arizona and the eighth in the Western States for the Jump Rope for Heart campaign. Additionally, top teachers were recognized: Jennifer Traficano (Tarwater), David Angell (Ryan) and Grace Alvarado (CTA Goodman) on 30 years of service to AHA. They also presented a CPR kit for a high school.

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Tarwater parent and Intel employee Liz Kuehn continues to provide opportunities for classroom instruction using the S.T.E.M process. Mrs. Kuehn heads up a powerhouse volunteer program providing resources and volunteers available to co-lead students in S.T.E.M. (Science Technology Engineering and Math) project activities. Classroom teachers have project bins full of supplies and detailed activities available to use throughout the school year. Mrs. Kuehn was also awarded an Intel grant which funded updates to our S.T.E.M. lab and various projects around our campus. Thank you, Liz Kuehn, for all you do at Tarwater!

Tarwater Elementary (2018-2019)

Jim Chiang, Tarwater's Dual Language Immersion (DLI) Mandarin kindergarten teacher, was chosen as a presenter for the ASU Confucius Institute's Professional Development Series. Jim will be leading a lecture and sharing his expertise as a successful, Dual Language Immersion educator. Tarwater is very fortunate to have Mr. Chiang, and we are proud to call him a Toro!

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