Students create original works of art in response to a theme.
The 2026–2027 Reflections theme is “What My Culture Means to Me”
For ideas, visit the National PTA page: Craft Your Entry
Reflections is a National PTA arts contest open to students in grades pre-K through 12th grade. While the primary focus of Reflections is a celebration of creativity through positive recognition, finalists from local PTAs will move on to their council PTA (if applicable), then finalists from councils will move on to the state round. Washington State PTA finalists who receive an “Outstanding Interpretation” award will advance to the National PTA round.
Participate in the PTSA Reflections program by submitting your completed works of art in one or all available art categories:
Dance Choreography | Film Production | Literature | Music Composition | Photography | Visual Arts (2D)
Students may submit in as many arts categories as they would like, but only one piece per category.
The program has four rounds: RMS (September–November), District/Council (November–January), State (January–March), and National (March–May).
Theme: What My Culture Means to Me
DUE DATE FOR ONLINE SUBMISSIONS: Friday, October 30, 2026
DATE FOR PHYSICAL ARTWORK SUBMISSIONS: TBD
Email your project and complete the electronic entry form to reflections@rmsptsa.org and cc sreerupab@rmsptsa.org by 11:59 PM on October 30, 2026.
Entries must meet the criteria written in the guidelines, especially file type/format, length, and size. Students should not have their full names displayed in the art piece.
. Dance Choreography - Originally choreographed dance composition presented in a video entry
. Film Production - Original works, with or without sound, of animation, narrative, documentary, experimental or multimedia
. Literature Category — Original works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, prose, drama, reflective essay, narrative or short story. Entries must be a single literary work; collections are not accepted.
. Music Composition— Original musical composition, with or without words, presented in an audio recording
. Photography— Color or black and white. Included techniques: Photogram, panorama, photomontage (one print of multiple original photos), single or multiple exposure, negative sandwich.
. Visual Arts— Drawing; painting in tempera, oil, acrylic, watercolor or T-shirt paints; computer-generated art; two-dimensional collage; printmaking; needlework; leather tooling (see link for all accepted visual art forms). NOTE: LWPTSA Council (and so Redmond Middle) is accepting ONLY 2D visual art. [Sólo aceptamos entradas en 2D.]
If you have any questions regarding submission, please email reflections@rmsptsa.org.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each year, National PTA seeks a theme for the Reflections program year to be held two years from now. The student submitting the winning entry receives $100 and their theme is presented at the annual National PTA Convention.
Only students who attend a school with an active PTA/PTSA may participate in the theme search contest.
WSPTA holds an annual contest to determine Washington's entries to the national theme search. The due date for the 2025 Reflections Theme Search contest is November 3, 2025. The top five submissions from Washington will be sent to National PTA as part of the contest to select the 2027–2028 Reflections theme.
Go to the Reflections Theme Search online entry form
Watch the 5-minute video walking through the entry form
A warm congratulations to all of our first- and second-place winners who advanced to the State level of the competition!
Honorable Mentions:
