Reflections,
an Arts Recognition and
Achievement Program for Students
2009-2010 Theme: "Beauty Is... " |
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About
Reflections
National
PTA believes all children deserve a quality arts education,
and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through
participation in its annual arts program, Reflections. The Reflections
Program offers students opportunities to create works of art
for fun and recognition. Students in preschool through grade
12 are encouraged to create and submit works of art in four
areas: literature, musical composition, photography, and the
visual arts (which includes art forms such as drawing, painting,
print making, and collage). In its more than 25-year history,
Reflections has encouraged millions of students across the nation
and in American schools overseas to create works of art.
Each
year, Reflections challenges students to create art that supports
a specific theme. Themes are selected from thousands of ideas
submitted by students to the National PTA's Reflections Theme
Search. Past Reflections themes have included "Dare to Discover
. . . ," "If I Could Give the World A Gift . . . ," "Imagine
That . . . ," and "Exploring New Beginnings. . . ."
National
Recognition and Honors
The
Reflections Program is structured for PTAs to recognize students
at the local, council, district, state, and national levels.
Entries are first judged at the local level and selected works
are chosen to represent the PTA at each subsequent level, which
may be a council, district, or state PTA, depending on each
state's structure. Once entries reach the state level, the state
PTA may select entries to submit to the National PTA. Awards
of Excellence and Awards of Merit are recognized at the National
PTA Annual Convention and receive exposure as a part of the
Reflections traveling art exhibit.
Professionals
working in the visual art, music, photography, and literature
fields volunteer to judge student entries at the national level.
Three Awards of Excellence and five Awards of Merit are selected
in each grade division for each of the four arts areas. In addition,
one Outstanding Interpretation work is chosen from among the
Awards of Excellence in each arts area from among all grade
divisions. The four students who receive the national Outstanding
Interpretation award have demonstrated the most creative interpretations
of the theme. These students receive a trip to the National
PTA Convention along with one adult. At the convention, the
students are recognized for their achievement and actively participate
in a special awards ceremony.
Awards
given by the National PTA vary each year. All national level
participants receive a letter and certificate of participation
from the National PTA. In addition, entrants may receive awards
from the program's national sponsors. In past years, these have
included cash awards, scholarships, books, encyclopedias, art
supplies, computer software, and medallions.
Who can Participate?
Participation
in Reflections is organized by student age and grade levels.
Student works are critiqued against others in the same grade
division. This allows recognition and judging of artworks by
appropriate developmental age and skill levels.
Grade
Divisions
- Primary-Kindergarten-Grade
2
- Intermediate-Grades
3-5
General
Rules
- You
may download the full General
Rules in PDF format from above.
- A student
may submit one (not more) entry per category
- Photography, Visual Arts, Literature, Music Composition,
Dance Choreography or Film/ Video Production . You may enter in all six categories.
Please use a separate entry
form for each entry.
- All
entries submitted must be an original work and must relate
to the annual Reflections theme.
- Each
entry must be the work of only one student. Assistance from
teachers, parents, or friends is not permitted except
in special cases, (such as for the visually or physically
challenged), and only with permission from the student's
state PTA.
- Participation
in Reflections encourages creativity and exploration-students
should do their best, but crooked lines, incorrect musical
notes, or misspelled words do not disqualify anyone.
- Fill
out entry form and attach
it to your entry.
- Detailed
rules are specified for each category. Please follow the
rules and instructions pertaining to the category or categories
you want to enter. Note the rule documents are in PDF
format.
- Rules
for Literature, Visual Arts, Photography, Music can be downloaded when we have them
- Any
student who takes the time and puts forth the effort to
submit an entry to Reflections is a
winner! Unfortunately not all entries can go to the
County competition. Everyone who participates will receive
a certificate and ribbon, and will be honored at our Reflections
Cake Party.
- The
emphasis of Reflections is on creativity, not perfection.
You each have a chance to express yourselves using your
imaginations while interpreting the theme. Most importantly,
have FUN!
Important
Dates
Packets delivered to Students: Friday Sept 4 , 2009
Deadline: All entry forms are due to the office on Wednesday Sept 30, 2009 by 3:30pm
All Artwork Due: Wednesday Oct 7, 2009 by 3:30pm
Art show: Thursday Oct 8, 2009, 3:00pm - 7:00pm - WJE Gym
County Reflections Art Show: January 10-23, 2010, Red Rocks Community College
Reflections Party: TBD
Artwork Return: TBD
State
PTAs determine the artwork return policy for their respective
states. Visual artwork and photographs in the Reflections Traveling
Exhibit are returned to the students the following summer.
Notification
All state PTAs are notified of national award recipients each
spring in late April. The National PTA sends letters directly
to students. Special awards from sponsors, such as art supplies,
computer software, and encyclopedias, are sent directly to these
students from the sponsors during the summer or early fall.
