Reflections Program Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the questions below. Many of your concerns or questions are addressed.


Who Is Eligible to Participate in Reflections?

Reflections is a program offered to students who are enrolled in a PTA school.  For Secondary Schools (Middle/Jr and High Schools) you need to be enrolled in at least one class that offers credits to participate.  For Elementary schools, you need to be enrolled for at least one class offered during school hours to participate. For questions, please contact reflections@utahpta.org.


How do I enter? Enter online at www.utahpta.org/ref. You may be asked to bring 2D, 3D, and Photography entries to the school for display purposes. All entries must be submitted online, even if the physical artwork is turned in at school. 2D and Photography entries will be requested by higher levels for winning entries. 3D winners who win at the state level will be invited to bring their entries for display. 


When are entries due at my school?

To find out the due date for your school, ask your PTA President.  If you do not know how to contact your PTA president, call the front office and they can put you in touch with him/her.  If you are the chair at a school, you set your own deadline. If you still need help, send an email to reflections@utahpta.org


When are entries due to the next level?

State PTA allows each level to set their own due dates.  To find out when your entries are due to the next level, contact either your council president or region director if you live in a region without councils.  Don’t know who they are? Ask your PTA president. If you still need help, send an email to reflections@utahpta.org


My school has a PTA but isn’t hosting Reflections?  What do I do?

Are you an adult?  If not, show this to your parent or guardian. This is the perfect opportunity for you to make a huge difference in the lives of children in your community.  If your school isn’t participating, offer to help out. If this sounds overwhelming, we can walk you through the process. Send an email to reflections@utahpta.org. Our new online system is so easy to run from home. 


My school doesn’t belong to the PTA?  Can we still have Reflections?

Reflections is a PTA program.  If your school is not a PTA school, but would like to start a PTA, go to https://www.utahpta.org/form/start-begin-here and we'll help you join!  Belonging to PTA is inexpensive and comes with enormous benefits, including a powerful voice of advocacy for children at our state legislature.  


Do I still need to use a manila envelope if I am turning in 2D, Photography, or 3D to the school for display?

No. Write your name on the back of your artwork. You do not need to include an envelope. However, you do need to protect your artwork. Make sure that 2D and Photography entries are mounted on sturdy material or matted, if needed. 

 


Can two or more students create a piece together?

No. All Reflections entries must be the original work on one student only. However, other people may appear in the artwork of a student such as performing in a dance or acting in a film.  


I am a Reflections admin/specialist and a student appears in his/her photography or film entry?  What do I do?

Students are required to be the photographers for the photography category and the cameraman for the film category. Before disqualifying an entry, ask the student to tell you about how he/she took the photo or filmed the film.  Sometimes technology or clever techniques were used that allowed the student to photograph or film him/herself.


Can someone help a student write the notation for a song?

No. However, a new change started in 2021 allows students in the Middle and High School divisions to either submit complete notation or a musically technical reflective statement. Notation is not required for Primary, Intermediate, or Special Artist entries.


How do I tell if an entry is 2D or 3D?

At the National level, 2D and 3D are combined as Visual Arts.  In Utah we loosely interpret 2D art as a picture that you would hang on the wall.  There is some flexibility here. You may choose at your school to apply a stricter definition, but, if you do, tell the students BEFORE they create their artwork.  If it is possible to leave artwork in the category it was submitted under, that is the best course of action.

 


When is the consent form required?

Beginning in August of 2023, consent forms are no longer required for Utah. Consent forms were previously required for anyone other than the student appearing in an entry with a recognizable voice or face. Parental permission is still required for the student to enter. 

 


Where are the entry forms on the website?

The entry form is online now. Entries must be turned in online, so there are no longer downloadable entry forms. Enter at www.utahpta.org/ref


Can students use Legos in their 3D art or Film entries?

Yes. As long as the legos are used as a building material for 3D art, it is fine to use them.  The entry needs to be an original creation rather than a kit. For film, legos may be used, but use of copyrighted characters needs to be incidental rather than the focus of the film.  A film about Batman using a Lego Batman would violate copyright laws.


Why does it take so long to get winning artwork back from state or nationals?

Because PTA is run mostly by volunteers, artwork is usually returned in a way that saves money and the time of the volunteers. Artwork that makes it all the way to the national level of competition could be kept for as long as 2 years.  A select number of state winners are also kept and displayed for the school year following the competition. 


How is artwork returned?

At the state level, artwork is returned at a state board meeting to a region director.  He/she passes it on to the region Reflections specialist who gives it to the council presidents at their monthly meetings. The council presidents then give the artwork to the local PTA presidents at their monthly meetings.  The local presidents then return the artwork at the school. In regions without councils, the artwork is given directly from region to local. Students with artwork that competed at the state level, but did not win, can expect to receive it back by the end of the calendar year in which state judging took place.  Artwork that competed at the region level, but did not advance to state, should be returned by the end of the school year in which the competition took place.


How do I know what region I’m in?

Regions are divided up by school districts.  We have 21 regions in Utah. They are:

1- Box Elder
2- Ogden/Weber
3- Davis
4- Salt Lake
5- Granite
6- Jordan
7- Tooele
8- North Summit/Park City/Wasatch
9- Alpine
10- Nebo/Provo
11- Uintah/Duchesne
12- Carbon/Emery
13- South Sanpete/North Sanpete
15- Seviere/Millard
16- Beaver/Iron/Garfield
17- Canyons
18- Grand County
19- Murray
20- Kane County/Washington
21- Cache/Logan/Rich


What are the different awards given in Reflections?

There are 2 standard Reflections awards given by PTA - the Award of Excellence and the Award of Merit. The Award of Excellence award is given to the entries that are judged to be the best in their categories, with the top score.  These entries then move on to the next level of judging. The Award of Merit can be given to entries with the next highest scores and are recognized at the school, council, region, and state level. Depending on the number of entries submitted, more than one Award of Merit may be given per category/division. If a school (council, region, state) desires, they can also offer additional awards such as Honorable Mention or Participation awards. National and Utah PTA encourage schools to hold an assembly or event of some sort that recognizes not only the students who receive awards but all students that participate. If this is done and how it is handled is up to the school/council/region.


How does artwork advance in Utah?

In Utah, our state is divided into 21 Regions.  As of 2021, 17 of them had active PTAs. Eleven of those regions are large enough that they are then broken into Councils (we have 54 active Councils.)  The council and region leaders work with Utah PTA to train and oversee the PTA programs held in the schools.  When the Award of Excellence winners advance from their school they move to Council or Region, depending on the area.  Students artwork must receive an Award of Excellence to advance through these levels and then to Utah PTA. If they receive an Award of Excellence at the state level, they are then advanced to National PTA for the final round of judging. Each level in the PTA is allowed to forward on up to 35 entries - 5 for each of the 7 arts categories. Large regions are allowed to submit double entries to state, and sometimes take double entries from lower levels. 

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