The Verde Independent

COTTONWOOD - When the Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District Governing Board made the final decision to close Tavasci Elementary School, the student council went into action.

Wanting to make certain that no one would ever forget their school, and what it meant to the students, staff and teachers, the student council organized a project to create a time capsule.

On June 10, Jose Velazquez, C-OC groundskeeper and a TES parent, placed the time capsule into a tomb of ice chest and concrete.

The time capsule will remain buried for 25 years, to be opened in 2036.

School secretary Trish Winters wrote a memorial about the capsule and its contents.

Most of all, Winters' memorial was about everything TES meant to those who worked there and went to school there.

"The top is decorated to read, 'In Loving Memory of Tavasci Elementary School,'" Winters wrote. "It is filled with lots of mementos including original construction photographs, pictures of staff, students and many of the events that took place at TES over the years including the famous Black Hawk landing.

"There are also some great photos of our amazing mascot, Rowdy the Coyote, who was well ... just plain rowdy. Yearbooks accumulated from all seven years were also deposited in the chest with items from food service, the office and custodial staff.

"A DVD created by Mr. Lewis was included from last year's fifth grade promotion, which contained the first class of kindergartners who attended TES when it opened seven years ago."

Winters said other items were included in the capsule, such as student artwork, T-shirts, newsletters and lots of farewell letters from previous students.

Everyone involved in the time capsule project hopes it will remind future generations how valuable the small school was during its short time.

"TES was a loving family environment where teachers and staff cared about each other and their students," Winters stated.

As well as looking back with the contents of the time capsule, Winters also looks to the future.

"When the time capsule is opened in 2036," she wrote, "it will be fun for young people to look back and see what education was like in 2011 at a very special place called Tavasci Elementary School."