Since 1969, the PTA Reflections program has encouraged students across the nation and in American schools overseas to explore their artistic talents. Each year, students in preschool through high school are invited to create and submit works of art in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography, and the visual arts.
In the 2012-2013 school year, Reflections students shared their artistic interpretations on the theme “The Magic of a Moment.” We received a wide variety of deeply felt and beautifully executed original works of art that express the importance of family, the simplicity of nature and the buoyant feelings of hope, adventure and achievement as seen through the eyes of a child. We are proud to share with you this year’s Outstanding Interpretations in each art category, the top honor Reflections bestows upon our young artists.
Dance Choreography
Outstanding Interpretation
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Demiana Remick: This song has personal meaning to me because my life as a dancer consists of moment after moment of making choices that can create magic or possible havoc. For example, selecting a certain dance prospect can create opportunity or cause injury; and I have experienced both. Dance is “all I live for, the air I breath,” as the song says, “I keep on shuffling on and on” from one moment to the next trying to create the magic and avoid the turmoil.
Film Production
Outstanding Interpretation
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John General: A broken hearted graffiti artist is shocked to find his art work come to life and tell the story behind his broken love life. After hard work and overcoming the obstacles in his way during a failing romance, the artist finds the true magic in a moment when he finds the sensation and happiness in fulfilling his heat’s desire. His swelling heart basks in the magic of the moment when his heart is put back together.
Literature
| There was nothing so peculiar about New York City on a bone-chilling, winter morning. Like a set of ringing alarms, New York City was set adrift ubiquitously at the exactly prescribed time. The enthusiastic street sellers were seducing the passing crowed with flashy merchandise and then some, while the bustling street were rowdy with impatient businessmen and women, curious, quick-paced tourists, and avid shoppers who were all anxious to arrive at their destinations, whether it was the next grand sale at the nearest mall, the majestic Empire State Building, or the desolate offices and cubicles that English its prisoners in fatigue and boredom. Read more… |
Outstanding Interpretation
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Jenny Pham: Losing hope, an orphan embarks on a journey to a new life and meets a woman who teaches him that there is always a silver lining in a thundercloud. The theme, “Magic of a Moment,” is proven through the forever changed lives of the boy and woman because of their selfless actions. This story was inspired by events in my home country, Vietnam, and Howard Kelly’s milk story. I truly hope that this story inspires others to do kind deeds without ever expecting a reward because I know that the best things in life are never given – they are earned.
Music Composition
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Outstanding Interpretation
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Savannah Du: Sometimes, I get up early in the morning and wait for the sun to rise. Most days, the sky is cloudy grey, the water still and unclear, the sun hidden from view, and I walk home cold and disappointed. But once in a while, the sky is deep maroon, the water hits the shore in ripples, and ducks dance across the surface of the pond. And when the first light of the sun rests upon my face, there are no sounds to describe the warmth of the magical moment of sunrise.
Photography
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Outstanding Interpretation
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Tatum Long: This past year, I learned to both snow ski and water ski. I was thinking it feels magical the moment you learn how to do something difficult for the very first time. I wanted to show myself snow skiing but I couldn’t figure out how to take a picture of myself while I was ‘actually’ skiing. That’s when I decided to create an imaginary world of skiing in my bedroom with things I could find around my house.
Visual Arts
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Outstanding Interpretation
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Alice Abrams: My painting reflects the excitement and wonder that comes with a young imagination. In my painting, the little girl is escaping her dull, “Black & White” world and stepping into a colorful world fueled by her imagination. One of the most magic times of a young child’s life is that moment when they realize that they aren’t condemned to this world and can be and do whatever they can imagine. This little girls is just realizing that the sky is the limit with her dreams.
Special Artist
Special Artist DivisionSarah Kahn |
Sarah Khan: It hasn’t been easy for me to make friends and keep them. When I am able to make a connection with someone and they remain a loyal friend, it’s wonderful and as we say here magical. The way I dance is mostly ballet. I like to take what I learn, and embrace the meaning of the music and words. I take what I am feeling inside and show in dance and the lessons I learned in friendship. When I am dancing, the feeling, the steps I take, and the meaning I have inside joined together that is magic for me. When I dance it expresses how I feel and uses the steps that I have learned in Ballet during the year.
Reflections at the U.S. Department of Education
Join us in celebrating arts in education by attending the Reflections Exhibit at the U.S. Department of Education between January 7, 2014- February 27, 2014. The public exhibit is open Monday-Friday, except federal holidays, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is located in the LBJ Education Building, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202. To schedule a visit, contact Nicole Carinci, Management & Program Analyst at the U.S. Dept. of Education, at nicole.carinci@ed.gov or call (202)453-5585. National PTA thanks the thousands of parent volunteers and the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Art Exhibit Program for this opportunity to showcase award winning Reflections.
Student artwork will also be featured at the National PTA Convention June 19-22 in Austin, Texas. Save the date!
View all Reflections dance choreography film production, photography and visual arts award winners on the National PTA Flickr Album.
Please email reflections@pta.org for questions regarding Reflections student art exhibits.
Ethan Clark is the Manager of Arts in Education for National PTA in Alexandria, VA. Contact Ethan at eclark@pta.org.
It is inspiring and refreshing to observe that while we are taking the state of the country and all human relationships as seriously to the core as we do, that our children are imagining and creating the world in which they live in with such talent, genius and expertise.