Education
Young artists highlighted as national Reflections winners
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Local students shine on the national stage as PTA Reflections winners this year. Young artists from Lehi’s Eaglecrest Elementary and Willowcreek Middle School, as well as Shelley Elementary in American Fork, were among 230 winners at the national level of the art contest.
“Reflections is different from other arts programs because students have to reflect on a theme,” said Julie Wilford, Region 9 PTA Reflections Specialist. This year’s theme was Accepting Imperfection.
“Students came up with some amazing artist’s statements. When they put in the effort and think about it, they can have some profound reflections,” Wilford continued.
From Lehi, Eaglecrest Elementary student Claire Reid received an Award of Excellence for her entry, “Fix You”, in the Dance Choreography category in the Primary (Pre-K-Grade 2) division.
“This dance is about accepting imperfections, which means you can’t be perfect and sometimes it’s hard to do things. But you can try your best and let other people help you,” Reid wrote in her artist’s statement.
Leanna Young, another Eaglecrest student, was also a Dance Choreography Award of Excellence winner. Her entry, “Life is Wondrous”, won in the Intermediate (Grades 3-5) division.
“Life is wondrous! Even if things are not perfect, you can still look around and see wonderful things. I like how it says in the lyrics, ‘it grows from just a spark.’ You can be that ‘spark’ to help show that the world can be a wondrous place even if it is not perfect,” said her artist’s statement.
In the Film Production category, Willowcreek’s Sienna Tait won an Award of Excellence in the Middle School (Grades 6-8) Division.
Of her short film, “Imperfection is the Truth I Wear”, Sienna said, “Our limitations are sometimes seen as a weakness. But truly, being imperfect makes us stronger. When we overcome the challenges that took so long for us to fight, we come out of that battle stronger than we ever thought we could be. Imperfection makes us look at what really matters in life. Vulnerability can be a connector; bringing people together during our hardest times. You can not grow into something that you are proud of, unless you have to work hard to get it.”
American Fork’s Shelley Elementary student, Emily Shelley, was given an Award of Excellence in the Music Composition category for her original song, “Progress Not Perfect”, in the Primary division.
“I was learning to ride a bike and knew learning would be hard, so the next day I made a song about it. I tried to make the words that related to the theme. I was discouraged because my friends already learned, and I was one of the last ones to learn. I kept trying and I made a goal about doing seconds at a time. Other people were going super fast past me. I kept practicing and after a while I learned how to ride a bike. I hope it will help other people when they get discouraged,” she said in her artist’s statement.
As Award of Excellence winners, the students received a $200 Young Artist Scholarship, a Silver Medal, a Certificate of Excellence, and having their work featured in the virtual exhibition on PTA.org.
Region 9 PTA, covering the Alpine School District area, produced seven national award winners in this year’s Reflections contest, the most in Utah. Utah was the top winner among all the states, with 20 winners, despite having a smaller population to draw from.
Just over 200 entries were awarded recognition at the national level. Of the 850 entries from around the nation, Utah submitted 30 artistic works to the national contest.
Artists had to make it through four rounds of local competition, starting with their school PTA, to make it to the national competition level.
Next year’s Reflections contest theme is “I Belong.” Wilford said, “Students can start working on their entries now. It’s a nice way to share their talents and have the opportunity to be recognized for something outside of sports and academics.”
