Creative Expression Competition

Competition Guidelines

• No names on the front of writing or visual entries. 
• Writing | Essay
  • Entries are limited to one page.
  • Eligible grade-level categories: K-3, 4-8, 9-12
• Visual | Photography, painting, sketch, or other visual art
  • Artwork size cannot exceed 8.5 x 11.
    • If the artwork is larger than 8.5 x 11, the art will not be able to be displayed in the libraries during December.
  • Horizontal orientation is preferred.
  • Eligible grade level categories: K-3, 4-8, 9-12

A student may submit an entry for both the writing and visual arts category, but only one entry per person for each category.

Due to the volume of artwork we receive, we are unable to return any of the submitted art or essays.

Judging Criteria

• Writing: Readability, reflection of theme, use of writer’s understanding of cultural experiences
• Visual: Composition, presentation, technique, and subject.

All material presented must be deemed appropriate by judges. All entries that do not meet contest guidelines may be subject to disqualification.

All entries will be displayed at one of the Chandler Public Libraries for the month of December 2025 and the winners of each category will have their artwork displayed at the Chandler Multicultural Festival on Jan. 17, 2026.

Due to the high number of entries we receive, we are unable to return the artwork to the students. The winning artwork will be showcased here, on the Chandler Unified School District website, and will be shared on social media.

Entries will be accepted Sept. 2 to Nov. 3, 2025.

Entries can be dropped off at the following locations and entry forms are available.

• Chandler City Hall: 175 S. Arizona Ave. 85226
• Basha Library: 5990 S. Val Vista Drive 85249
• Downtown Library: 22 S. Delaware St. 85225
• Hamilton Library: 3700 S. Arizona Ave. 85248
• Sunset Library: 4930 W. Ray Road 85226

Library hours and directions

Please include the Entry Form with your submission. Entry forms are also available at all drop-off locations.

Art and Writing will be judged by city staff, community partners and Chandler residents.

Communities are everywhere - in your own house, in your neighborhood, and even at your school. They are made up of diverse people who come together and accept one another. Every human is unique and plays their own part in forming a community. Think of building communities as simple as baking a cake, with each ingredient playing a big role in the final product. The key ingredients to keep in mind represent acceptance, trust, and patience. 

Acceptance is one of the ingredients in the recipe. The world is filled with eight billion people, and those people are diverse in many ways. No community can be made with only one ethnicity, which is why accepting people for who they are is very important. Judging people, criticizing, and misunderstanding is exactly what breaks up a community. Opening your mind up to different people can provide a sense of peace not only for others but also for you. One straightforward way to accept others is through communication. Communicating with your peers can improve everyone's perspectives - even yours! Acceptance lays out the base of the cake and it's the first step to make and improve a community. 

Furthermore, the special ingredient is trust, which is the most important thing in the recipe, rooted from acceptance. Without it, the community becomes incomplete. If people can't rely on and believe in each other. There really is no community. People can only come together if they build bonds with others. If there is no bond, there's nothing there. But on the flip side, preserving bonds are important too. If you add an extra ingredient in the cake batter that you aren't supposed to, you can't reverse it. It will change the final product and no matter how much you try to fix it, the taste will be different. Similarly, bonds between people can be severed easily when trust is broken. You can try to fix the bond and rebuild it, but ultimately, it will never be the same. Trust is crucial to the creation of communities. 

Additionally, being patient for the small situations can be helpful in the long run. Patience is the cherry on top - it benefits the community in many ways. The effects of being patient with ohe another are shown in kindness, mindfulness, and achievement. Say your friend doesn't know how to do anything when it comes to cooking or baking in the kitchen. You could help her by teaching her how to abide by the recipe and assist her with tutorials. Simply helping someone by teaching them can be an act of patience in the form of kindness. Health can also come into play when it comes to easing your mind. If you blow up at one of your community members for something small, who's making a big deal about it? Staying calm and thinking with your mind and not your mouth is the equivalent of being patient. The saying 'patience is a virtue' isn't something people say just because they feel like it. This relates to mindedness. but ultimately results in achievement. lt refers to being calm and accepting everything without losing your temper; once the state of being calm is achieved, anything is possible, and your community will skyrocket. Patience is the final ingredient to finish of the cake.

In conclusion, communities are based everywhere by embracing different diversities throughout the world. A cake isn't complete without the eggs or flour. It's formed by many ingredients mixing together. Likewise, a community is only complete by acceptance, trust, and patience. Without those essentials, people will break apart, immediately affecting the structure of the community. 

Inclusion! 
Some say it's an illusion 
But I think it's a fusion 
A mix of different people 
And all together they equal 
Inclusion! 

Inclusion! 
No matter who you are 
You can be a star 
If you just include 
All the people near you 
Then you get 
Inclusion! 

Inclusion! 
But what does inclusion mean 
Well to me it seems 
That you judge someone on their heart 
Not how they dress, act, or if they look the part If you do that you get 
Inclusion! 

Inclusion! 
No matter who you are 
If you're straight or if you're gay 
If you're black or if you're white 
We'll include you any day! 
Because we like 
Inclusion! 

Inclusion! 
Some say it's an illusion 
But I think it's a fusion 
A mix of different people 
And all together they equal 
Inclusion! 

Inclusion. It's a topic that most people recognize, but a topic that some people differ. But in order to connect and build a strong connection, people need to include each other, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, and all personalities. But in order to unite using inclusion, we must understand the parts of inclusion that bring it together. 

When including, being humble is the cement that holds inclusion together. No matter if you look the best, are the richest, or are the most popular, you have to stay courteous to all people. But once people begin thinking more about themselves, uniting falls apart. Arrogance is always lurking low to get you, but you have the power to avoid the attack. 

Patience and accessibility are key points to including each other. You have to be open to communication about different subjects or points of view to include others in. You may be living a nice life but don't know anything about other people's lives. To include people, you have to accept all lives and opinions. 

Lastly, equality are the bricks of the whole structure. In order for inclusion to work, everyone has to have equality, and treat everyone equally. If people in the higher area, doesn't mean they have to treat the lower class differently. This would make everybody feel included and treated equal to all other people. 

In conclusion, people can be united with inclusion. But inclusion is more than just letting people join you once or a few times, it requires you to be humble, accessible, and equal to one another. Inclusion is really important in making the world a better place. 

A weaver stood, 
With ancient hands, she spun the finest thread, 
From earth, from sky, from sea and rooted wood, 
She took each strand, with gentle fingers led. 

Her loom was broad, the warp both deep and wide, 
And every thread she placed with tender care, 
Some bright as dawn, some dark as midnight's tide, 
Yet each one needed for the cloth to bear. 

A thread of gold she wove, spun from the sun, 
And next, a line of shadow from the night, 
But in between, she placed a single one 
Of common grey, soft-worn and plain in sight. 

"That thread," a stranger asked, "so dull and weak, 
Why place it here, where colors blaze so strong? 
It has no luster, offers little sheen, 
In such a place, it does not quite belong." 

The weaver paused, her wise eyes soft with thought,
And with a smile, she took the thread in hand, 
"Though it be pain, this strand is what I sought, 
For without it/none of this cloth could stand. 

Look closer,' child, and see what lies beneath, 
The golden thread would snap without its brace, 
The shadow's strength would fail, and all would fall,
If not for gray, which holds it in its place." 

And so she wove, the colors bright and dull, 
A thousand shades, each life within her care, 
Some shone with fire, some whispered soft and still,
Yet all were bound in harmony so rarely. 

Years passed, and still the weaver worked her art,
The cloth grew wide, its beauty knew no end, 
And in its weave, all lives were found a part, 
A pattern strong where every thread could blend.
 
Now here we stand, the strands she once did guide,
Our lives entwined, though different we may seem,
For in her hands, no thread was cast aside, 
Each one a piece of the eternal dream. 

The weaver's work, though silent, speaks of love,
A truth as timeless as the stars above. 

Self-Reliance, the famous work of transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, is a text regarding the importance of independence. Throughout his writing, Emerson consistently asserts the value of listening to your thoughts and not allowing others to change your mind. 

Independence is a beautiful thing, and one of the ideals behind the formation of this nation. It allows us to live the way we do, free to make our own choices about religion, speech, tradition, and general ways of life. Independence is something to be eternally grateful for.
 
Yet often we forget that independence does not mean exclusion or separation. To be independent, we need not remove ourselves from others. Ralph Waldo Emerson expresses the need for non-conformity, repeatedly delving into the importance of not allowing others to sway our beliefs. His fellow transcendentalists believed that knowledge came from an inner illumination, an insight bestowed at birth, a fire burning within our minds. 

However, light from a flame can only be sustained with the help of oxygen or the energy from coal. 

Other philosophers often believed in something beyond our mortal plane, maintaining the theory that our knowledge is based on a shadow of a reality more divine and unfathomable. If this is true, then the knowledge given to us at birth is likely only a glimpse of all there is to learn about this world. 

lnclusivity is the tinder for the flame of intuition. It is the charcoal, wood, or hay - the substance that fuels the progression of our knowledge. Humans must most often be guided by that inner light, but our perception of the world is limited, and there is no shame in allowing another to ignite us. We cannot separate ourselves from those who are different. We sometimes need people from varying walks of life to shine their truth on us. 

Chemist Rosalind Franklin was responsible for the research that guided many of the developments of her male colleagues, despite often being ridiculed as a woman in science. Though she passed before receiving any award, a fellow scientist credited her groundbreaking research in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Rosalind Franklin pioneered the developments that led to her colleagues' success, and they illuminated her skill when she couldn't herself. Independence is a value Franklin had to rely on when she felt alone, yet togetherness with those who were different from her helped burn her story into the history books. 

Another woman carved into the country's history, African-American songwriter Ella Fitzgerald, was a great inspiration to Marilyn Monroe, who listened to Fitzgerald's music to better her singing. When the Mocambo Club refused Fitzgerald based on her appearance, Monroe offered to sit front row if they permitted her friend to sing. Marilyn Monroe, as well as Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, sat in on Fitzgerald's performance, which became monumental to her legacy as the "Queen of Jazz." Fitzgerald and Monroe, though different in the eyes of the era, acted as guiding lights during each other's time of need. 

Self-reliance ii empowering. Non-conformity is necessary for change. People must not forget, however, that America is built on diversity. When in need, we cannot stray from others' help, refuse to hear t􀃥eir opinions, or ignore their experiences. By combining the light within each of us, we create a more lively and powerful flame. This is the flame that burns in the heart of our country and lights our path toward a brighter future. 

In a world as vibrant and varied as ours, inclusion is more than a principle-it is a transformative superpower that enriches lives, communities, and the very fabric of society. Like the threads in a complex tapestry, each individual, with their unique background, perspectives, and experiences, contributes to a beautiful, unified whole. When we commit to inclusion, we unlock the true potential of human creativity and collaboration. Inclusion is not simply about making room for everyone; it is about celebrating the differences that make each of us valuable. Through embracing this superpower, we create spaces where everyone feels seen, heard, and empowered to bring their authentic selves forward. 

Imagine a garden, lush with flowers of every color, shape, and size. If only one type of flower were allowed to bloom, the garden would lose its vibrance and variety, becoming less captivating and, ultimately, less alive. Diversity is nature's gift, and inclusion is our way of honoring it. When people from various walks of life, beliefs, and abilities come together, we see how their differences can blend harmoniously. This blending opens doors to innovative solutions and fresh perspectives, producing results that a singular mindset could never achieve. A 
workplace, for instance, where different cultural backgrounds, abilities, and life experiences come together, is one that adapts and thrives. It grows stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to handle challenges. 

Inclusion is also a powerful catalyst for personal growth. By embracing people who see the world differently, we expand our own understanding and empathy. Sharing diverse viewpoints challenges our assumptions, pushes us to rethink old ideas, and inspires us to reach beyond what we thought possible. This inclusive mindset helps us break down the walls of fear and prejudice, empowering us to replace them with bridges of understanding. We begin to see that differences don't divide us; they enhance us. Each person brings something irreplaceable to the table, whether it's a new idea, a different way of solving a problem, or simply a fresh perspective on life. 

At its core, inclusion is about building a better world-a world where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to and share in the success of the whole. It's about recognizing that our differences are strengths, not obstacles, and that by coming together, we can achieve more than we ever could alone. Just as a superhero team is strongest when each member's unique powers combine, we are most powerful when we unite our diverse talents. With inclusion as our superpower, there is no limit to what we can accomplish together.