Reflections Chair Information
WHY IS ART EDUCATION IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILD?
It is both an important tool for learning, as well as a basic part of human nature. It is as old as the paintings on the walls of caves by our early ancestors. Art is not an educational “frill” but a form of expression and a way to covey feelings.
PTA recognizes the many ways a quality arts education can benefit all children. The organization has set a goal to establish the arts as a basic component in the curriculum of every public school and to ensure that every child receives a quality arts education.
CULTURAL ARTS PROJECTS TO ENHANCE YOUR PROGRAMS!!!
PICTURE PERSON–A program that has a parent volunteer do a 20-minute presentation about a famous piece of art and the artist. This can be set up with the art teacher or homeroom teacher.
MUSIC PERSON–A program which has a parent volunteer do a 20 minute presentation about a famous musician and students listen to the musician’s taped music. This can be set up with the music teacher or homeroom teacher.
ARTS IN THE SCHOOL–A program whereby local artists such as storytellers, mimes, dancers, musicians and actors share the elements of their craft. This would be good for large groups or as a hands-on experience for individual classrooms.
Encourage, organize and help teachers put on a school play, talent show, school and/or community art show, or local craft show.
Encourage understanding of foreign cultures as well as our native ones. Have a fair including all the different cultures that make up your school and community population.
Develop a volunteer art program for schools that do not have an art curriculum. Continue to educate local school administrators, community and parents about the importance of having art curriculum in the schools that will develop creative abilities of all students.
Encourage field trips to museums, special art exhibits, theaters, and concerts.
Work with music educators and co-sponsor “Music in Our Schools Week” in March.
HOW TO START A REFLECTIONS PROGRAM
Appoint an Arts-in-Education or a Cultural Arts/Reflections Chairman and a committee to administer the program. Whether at the local, council, or region level, the job of the chairman and the committee includes the following:
Locating judges and setting artwork judging dates
Enlisting support from the school and parents
Publicizing and promoting the program
Communicating the rules and deadlines
Determining costs of program and funds available
Arranging a lunch and/or small thank-you gift for the judges
Returning artwork to students
Developing a Reflections calendar that includes the following:
Entry deadlines
Potential judging dates and locations
Exhibit sites
Awards ceremony dates
Date to contact local paper
Date to send selected entries to the next level (council or state)
Make sure students have a copy of and understand the rules of the program. Parents, friends, and teachers may not assist a student in the creation of the work. Artwork must be the original creation of one student.
To enlist school and parent support, you should do the following:
Talk to your school principal and teachers to explain the value of the Reflections Program.
Arrange to talk to staff members at one of their meetings.
Decide with your teachers and the principal whether the Reflections Program should be created at home or at school.
Make sure parents get involved in the program early. Hand out information or letters to parents.
PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY
Write a press release announcing the program’s kickoff as well as later press release announcing all participation and the participants whose works are selected to advance to thenext level. Announce any business donations. Send the release to your local newspaper, radioand TV stations. Call your local paper or the community affairs department of your local stations to alert them to the program.
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE FOR A REFLECTIONS PROGRAM
The following are two examples of press releases that PTA can use to promote your Reflections Program. The first release is a sample announcement for the kickoff of your program. The second release is a model for reporting the success of your program conclusion.
Customize the text of these releases and format them on your typewriter or computer in order to produce copies that fit on your PTA letterhead. NOTE: You will need to fill in the appropriate information anywhere that words appear in parentheses, e.g., CONTACT: (name) (phone) – put the name and phone number of the person that the press should contact to learn more about your Reflections Program.
SAMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT (Place on your PTA/PTSA letterhead)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT (name)
(date)
(phone)
(NAME) PTA ANNOUNCES KICKOFF OF REFLECTIONS PROGRAM
(City, State) – The _________ PTA will officially kick off the (year) National PTA Reflections Program at the (name) school. The theme for this year’s program is (“theme”). (Names of contributing businesses) have contributed (contribution) to the (name) PTA for Reflections Program.
The National PTA Reflections Program is a national arts recognition and achievement program open to students in preschool through grade 12 in areas of literature, musical composition, photography, and visual arts. The works of art will be judged by professionals in the respective arts areas, and selected works will be advanced to the state or national levels of judging.
The National PTA Reflections Program is more than 40 years old. Ten million plus students have participated in the program since it was created.
The National PTA, founded in 1897, encourages its more than 5 million members to be involved in key child education and welfare issues. The organization serves as an advocate for children and families in schools, the community and before governmental agencies.
PLANNING YOUR BUDGET
The following are some of the costs your program may incur:
Exact costs depend on the number of participants. The National PTA encourages you to ask local businesses for in-kind contributions to the program. Try to prepare a formal request and consider including the National PTA Reflections Program information so they understand the scope of the program. Be sure to give them credit in any written information you publish.
ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION
Distribute Reflections Program information to parents.
Set up an orientation/information meeting. Distribute informational handouts. Ask a representative from another area PTA who has worked with the program to speak. Hand out your state rules and your local deadline.
Set up a “get started” workshop for participants. You may want to discuss the theme, but always leave room for individual interpretation. Provide basic art supplies and rules.
Give your teachers copies of rules, and tell them that Reflections works can be created within the classroom, if desired, or at home.
Use community and school bulletin boards to promote the program.
Print literature entries from the previous year’s program to encourage participation.
Play musical composition entries at a school function and/or display entries from previous year’s program.
COLLECTING, STORING, AND EXHIBITING ARTWORK
Find a place where students can submit their entries, possibly some place at the participating school.
Check to make sure that each entry is eligible for judging. Each entry should meet the size and art medium requirements specified. Leave a “grace period” of a week for students who may have misinterpreted the rules to adjust their works.
Try not to let students know their works were “disqualified” unless a parent pursues you for an answer. It could discourage a student from further artistic endeavors.
Create a list of participants’ names, age divisions, art areas, and addresses.
Try to display all participants’ entries in the school hallway or in a community forum such as your community center, local library, bank or a business. Try to display the works some place where parents can view them after regular working hours.
Locate a safe place to store the artwork.
Establish a return policy.
RECOGNITION
Make sure that all participants are recognized, including those with artwork advancing to another level. You may want to have a ceremony at a school assembly, an in-class presentation, or a PTA function. This can encourage future participation. Students see their peers enjoying the program and look forward to participating themselves. You may want to do the following:
Include an article in your PTA newsletter or school newsletters.
Send congratulatory letters.
Set up a lunch or dinner party for the participants with the PTA president and/or school principal or teacher.
Hold a “show and tell” day for young participants to discuss their entries.
Have students read their literature work, display visual arts and/or photography entries, show video of dance choreography or film/video production entries, and invite students to perform their winning musical composition.
Acknowledge anyone who supported the program including parents, staff, volunteers, and community members.
Announce the names of the participants over the school public address (PA) system.
Provide a party or after-school event for participants.
AWARDS
Ask local businesses to find or provide prizes to your Reflections entrants and/or winners. Art supplies, film, sheet music, and books are all options.
TENNESSEE PTA REFLECTIONS PROGRAM
2009-2010 THEME: “Beauty is ...”
The Reflections Program is an arts recognition and achievement program. Students in preschool through grade 12 participate in the arts areas of literature, musical composition, photography, visual arts, dance choreography and film/video production. Age divisions are preschool through grade 2, grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12. The State Reflections Program allows five (5) entries for each art division per school. This is regardless of how many age divisions a certain school may have. Reflections provides a venue for students to create and be recognized for original works of art based on a pre-selected theme, while increasing community awareness on the importance of the arts in education.
The Reflections Program was established in 1969 by National PTA board member Mary Lou Anderson. Since that time, more than 10 million students have participated in the program. The program’s longevity and participation figures attest to its strength. The excitement and enthusiasm that the program generates for children, parents, schools, and communities is unmatched.
The goal of the Reflections Program is participation, not winning. Although the program follows a “contest” format, winning should not be the emphasis. Arts in education chairs should remember that all children are gifted and talented; the Reflections Program can give children who have never tried creating a work of art a chance to experiment and feel good about their work.
Students’ interpretation of the theme is endless. The theme, “Beauty is…” will allow the children to use their creativity, so encourage them to use their thoughts and feelings. The theme should be reflected in the student’s work. Title of work and inspirational thought is optional, but is helpful with the judging process.
For all student entry forms and local unit submittal forms, see the Local Unit Report Forms section.
**Information from TNPTA.ORG