Calling all Cedar Trails creatives!
The National PTA Reflections Program invites students to explore their ideas, experiences, and creativity through the arts.
This year’s theme is:
Culture can be expressed in many ways — through family, traditions, language, community, experiences, values, memories, places, or the things that have helped shape who you are.
Culture Is
• 🍔 Food: The recipes passed down through generations, like Mexican tamales or Chinese dumplings.
• 💃 Movement & Art: How people express joy, like Irish step dancing or listening to specific types of music.
• 👗 Clothing: Traditional clothes, like a Korean hanbok, worn for special occasions.
• 🗣️ Language: The words and phrases a group uses to speak, write, and tell stories.
• 🎉 Traditions: The routines or celebrations a group repeats every year, like Chinese New Year or Thanksgiving.
We encourage Cedar Trails students to interpret the theme in their own unique way and tell their story through art.
Reflections is a National PTA arts recognition program that encourages students to explore their creativity and express their ideas through the arts.
Students create an original work inspired by the annual theme and may participate in one or more arts categories.
Entries are first reviewed at the school level. The top 12 entries advance to judged by the Issaquah PTSA Council. Qualifying entries may then advance to Washington State PTA, with qualifying state entries continuing to the National PTA level.
Learn more about the Reflections Program
Cedar Trails students may enter in one or more (maximum of 3 entries) of the six Reflections categories. Be sure to review the guidelines for each category you enter.
Create an original solo or ensemble dance. The student submitting the entry must be the choreographer and may also perform.
Maximum: 5 minutes / 1,000 MB
Accepted formats: MP4, MOV, AVI
If background music is used, it must be cited on the Student Entry Form. Entries with added graphics in the dance video are not accepted.
Important: Do not include the student’s name or other identifying credits anywhere in the video, including opening or ending credits.
2026–27 Dance Choreography Category Guidelines | en Español
Create an original animation, narrative, documentary, experimental film, or media presentation.
The student submitting the entry must be responsible for the original filmmaking work, including screenwriting, cinematography, editing, and production.
Maximum: 5 minutes / 1,000 MB
Accepted formats: MP4, MOV, AVI
All entries must include original student footage, media, or material. PowerPoint and digital slide presentations are not accepted.
Important: Do not include the student’s name or other identifying credits anywhere in the film, including opening or ending credits.
2026–27 Film Production Category Guidelines | en Español
Submit an original work of fiction or nonfiction, such as prose, poetry, a reflective essay, screenplay, play script, narrative, or short story.
Maximum: 2,000 words
Accepted format: PDF
Entries may be handwritten or typed. Students may write in their primary language as long as an interpretive English translation is also provided.
Format your PDF on 8.5 × 11-inch pages and number all pages. The Artist Statement is not included in the 2,000-word limit.
2026–27 Literature Category Guidelines | en Español
Create an original musical composition, with or without lyrics.
The student submitting the entry must be the composer and may also perform.
Maximum recording: 5 minutes / 1,000 MB
Accepted audio formats: MP3, WAV
For middle and high school entries, notation — such as a score, tablature, or reflective statement — is also required and must be submitted as a PDF. This does not replace the required Artist Statement.
Entries using algorithmic composition techniques are not accepted.
Important: Do not include the student’s name anywhere in the submitted audio recording.
2026–27 Music Composition Category Guidelines | en Español
Submit one original photograph. The student submitting the entry must be the photographer.
Digital editing techniques may be used, but collages, collections of photographs, and photographs with added graphics are not accepted.
Digital minimum: 640 × 960 pixels at 300 dpi
Accepted formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG
2026–27 Photography Category Guidelines | en Español
Create an original two-dimensional or three-dimensional work of visual art.
2D artwork: May not exceed 24 × 30 inches, including matting, and must include at least one digital image of the artwork.
3D artwork: Must include three digital images showing the artwork from different angles.
Accepted digital formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG
The student’s name or identifying information should not be visible on the front of the artwork.
2026–27 Visual Arts Category Guidelines | en Español
Reflections also offers an Accessible Arts Division for students who identify as having a disability and may receive services under IDEA or Section 504 of the ADA.
Students participating in Accessible Arts also select one of the six arts categories above.
Eligible students may receive non-artistic accommodations, but the artwork itself must remain the student’s own creative work.
2026–27 Accessible Arts Guidelines | en Español
Students may participate in one or more (maximum of 3) of the six arts categories.
Review the category descriptions and guidelines in the Choose Your Art Form section above before beginning your entry.
Your entry must be a new, original work created by one student and inspired by this year’s theme:
The student is responsible for developing the idea, planning the composition, selecting the materials or technology, and completing both the artwork and Artist Statement.
Other people may appear in or perform in the work, but the creative work itself must be the product of the student submitting the entry.
According to Issaquah PTSA Council guidelines:
Every entry must have its own unique title.
Choose a title that helps tell the story of your work and adds meaning to your interpretation of the theme.
Your title may be inspired by the theme, but it should not simply repeat “What My Culture Means to Me.”
If you submit more than one entry, each entry must have a different title.
Every entry must include an Artist Statement of 10–100 words.
Use your Artist Statement to explain:
The Artist Statement helps reviewers understand the meaning behind your work and your interpretation of the theme.
If you submit more than one entry, do not reuse the same Artist Statement for multiple entries.
Titles and Artist Statements should reflect the student’s own voice. Any adult guidance should be minimal and non-artistic.
Complete the official 2026–27 WSPTA Student Entry Form for your submission.
Both student and parent/guardian signatures are required.
Download the 2026–27 WSPTA Student Entry Form
Before submitting, make sure your entry follows both the official Reflections rules and the requirements for your specific arts category.
The individual category guidelines are linked under each art form in the Choose Your Art Form section above. These include category-specific requirements such as file format, size, length, dimensions, music or copyright information, and other submission requirements.
Students and families should also review the 2026–27 Student Entry Packet, which contains the official rules that apply to all Reflections entries.
Review the 2026-27 Reflections Student Entry Packet & Official Rules
Before submitting, prepare a digital version of your project/artwork according to the requirements for your category. Please review the category guidelines in the Choose Your Art Form section above for the required file type, size, length, dimensions, and any additional materials.
Project file naming:
Please name your project file using this format:
Category_Title_StudentInitials (no spaces)
Example:
VisualArts_HomeIsHere_DA.png
Then submit your:
through the Cedar Trails Reflections Submission Form by:
Please make sure all required files are included with your submission.
If your category requires a physical artwork submission please drop it off at the Cedar Trails Main Office by the deadline above. Any additional instructions will be provided separately.
Before submitting, please double-check that:
The Issaquah Council training emphasizes that Reflections entries must be independently created by the student and comply with all WSPTA and Council requirements.
Digital technology or software may be used to develop, enhance, or present an entry, but it may not provide the primary design or concept.
If technology is used, students must describe the tools and methods used in creating the work — including any generative elements — in the Additional Details section of the Student Entry Form. This explanation must be 10–50 words.
Questions about Cedar Trails Reflections or your submission?
Please contact:
Amber Malmgren
Cedar Trails PTSA Reflections Chair
📧 reflections@cedartrailsptsa.org
