Visual Arts
Drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, architecture.
Submit asJPEG, JPG or PNG
2-D sizeMax 24" × 30" including matting
3-D workPhotograph from 3 angles
2026–27 National PTA Reflections Theme
What My CultureMeans to Me!
Every Owl in Kindergarten through 5th grade is invited to answer that question — in paint, in a photograph, in a song, a story, a dance, or a film. No experience needed. No entry fee. Just something only your child could make.
Entries due [DATE TBD] Free · Open to every AES student · Takes 3 minutes to sign up
Culture isn't only the country on a map. It's the food, the language, the holiday, the song someone sings while cooking — and the traditions your family made up yourselves.
What we tell students at kickoff
Why this one matters
Reflections is the A in STEAM — and it's the PTA's to run.
AES exists to grow students who think critically and creatively through an integrated STEAM approach. Science and math get a full school day. The arts get this. Reflections is the one program each year where every Owl, regardless of talent or training, is asked to make something and say what it means.
Curiosity
The prompt is a real question with no right answer. Students have to go find out something about themselves before they can start.
Creativity
Seven ways in. A child who freezes at a blank page might write a song, shoot a photo, or choreograph thirty seconds of dance instead.
Connection
Most entries start with a conversation at home — with a parent, a grandparent, an aunt. Then the whole school sees what our families are made of.
Stuck at the kitchen table?
Six questions that usually unlock it
The strongest entries start small and specific — one memory, one object, one person. Ask your child these and listen for the one that makes them talk.
A recipe that's ours
A dish only our family makes, or makes differently. Who taught it to whom, and what happens if you get it wrong?
Words that don't translate
A word or phrase in our family's language that English can't quite carry. What does it actually mean?
The day we celebrate
A holiday, ritual, or annual tradition — big and public, or small and private and slightly strange to everyone else.
How we got here
A journey someone in our family took, or an object that traveled with them and is still in the house.
The culture I'm in right now
Being an AES Owl. Your class, your team, Encino, the group chat. Culture isn't only inherited — some of it you're building.
More than one
Lots of Owls belong to several cultures at once. That in-between place is one of the best things to make art about.
Seven ways in
Pick the medium that fits your child
Students may enter more than one category — each entry just needs its own original artwork, title, and artist statement. Specs come straight from the National PTA rules packet.
Photography
One original photograph. Great for students who'd rather notice something than draw it.
Submit asJPEG, JPG or PNG
DigitalMin 640 × 960 px, 300 dpi
Prints3"×5" up to 8"×10"
Literature
Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, reflective essay, screenplay or play script.
Submit asPDF
LengthUp to 2,000 words
On paper8.5"×11", single-sided
Music Composition
An original piece in any style, performed by your child or by someone else.
Submit asMP3 or WAV
LengthMax 5 min / 1,000 MB
NotationOnly required grades 6–12
Dance Choreography
Original choreography in any style — ballet, hip-hop, folk, modern, tap, jazz.
Submit asMP4, MOV or AVI
LengthMax 5 min / 1,000 MB
NoteNo added graphics or effects
Film Production
Animation, narrative, documentary, experimental, or a media presentation.
Submit asMP4, MOV or AVI
LengthMax 5 min / 1,000 MB
NoteOriginal footage — no slideshows
Accessible Arts
An optional division for students who receive services under IDEA or a 504 plan, or who identify as having a disability. Any of the six mediums.
Open toAll grades and ages
SupportAdult assistance allowed
AlsoMay enter the general division instead
How judging works
A kindergartener is never judged against a fifth grader
Entries are scored inside their own grade division. AES serves K–5, so every one of our Owls lands in one of the first two — or in Accessible Arts.
PrimaryKindergarten – Grade 2Our Owls
IntermediateGrades 3 – 5Our Owls
Middle SchoolGrades 6 – 8Beyond AES
High SchoolGrades 9 – 12Beyond AES
Accessible ArtsAll grades welcomeOptional
The path
From your kitchen table to Sacramento
Entries selected at AES advance to our PTA Council, then District, then California State PTA, and the top ones go on to National.
1
Enroll
Tell us your Owl is in, and roughly what they're thinking. Three minutes. You can change your mind later.
2
Create
Your child makes something new this school year — their own work, inspired by the theme, plus a short artist statement in their own words.
3
Submit
Turn in the artwork and a signed entry form by the AES deadline. We handle everything after that.
4
Celebrate
Every single participant is recognised at our showcase night. Selected entries travel on to Council and beyond.
Calendar
Key dates
Dashed rows are still being confirmed with our PTA Council. The State PTA training dates are already locked.
[DATE TBD]
Reflections kickoff & enrollment opensAnnounced in the PTA newsletter and at drop-off
Needs dateAug 26, 2026 · 7:00 PM
State PTA training: using the Reflections Virtual FormFor PTA leaders — register on Zoom, recording sent to registrants
ConfirmedSep 15, 2026 · 7:00 PM
State PTA training: how to judge entriesFor our volunteer judges — no arts background needed
ConfirmedSep 30, 2026 · 7:00 PM
State PTA training: prepping entries for judgingFor PTA leaders
Confirmed[DATE TBD]
AES entry deadline — artwork + signed form dueTypically mid-to-late fall; set by our Council
Needs date[DATE TBD]
Judging & Reflections showcase nightEvery participant recognised
Needs date[DATE TBD]
Selected entries forwarded to PTA CouncilDeadline set by the Council chair
Needs date
Showcase night
This is the part they remember
Not the ribbon. The moment a seven-year-old walks their grandmother down a hallway and points at something they made, hanging on a wall, with their name under it.
Every entry gets hung. Every participant is recognised — not just the ones who advance.
Step 1Student
Step 2Parent
Step 3Entry
Step 4Review
Your Owl is in!
We'll email a confirmation with the printable entry form and drop-off details.
Next: make something, write the artist statement, and turn it in with the signed form by the AES deadline.
Straight answers
Parent FAQ
No — and this is the thing most parents get wrong. Reflections is judged first on interpretation of the theme: how thoughtfully the student connects the work to “What My Culture Means to Me!” Creativity and technique come after that. A simple crayon drawing with a real idea behind it beats a polished piece with nothing to say, routinely.
You can talk through ideas, buy materials, and handle every bit of paperwork and file wrangling. You cannot make the art or write the artist statement. Each entry must be the original work of one student. The one exception is the Accessible Arts division, where adult assistance is permitted.
Yes, and kindergarteners do well. The Primary division runs from PreK/TK through 2nd grade, so your child is judged alongside other Primary students and never against older kids. For the artist statement, write down exactly what they say, word for word — that counts as their own words.
Ten to a hundred words in the student's own voice, explaining what inspired the work and how it relates to the theme. It's genuinely part of the score, not a formality — the same drawing with a vivid statement and a vague one get different results. Worth spending twenty minutes on.
As many categories as they like. Each entry needs its own original artwork, its own unique title, and its own artist statement — you can't reuse a statement across two entries. Enroll once per entry.
Volunteer judges score entries within each category and division. Everyone is recognised at showcase night. Selected entries advance to our PTA Council, then District, then California State PTA, and the strongest go on to National PTA.
Entries that don't advance come home after the showcase. Entries that advance travel with the program and may not return until spring — occasionally not at all. If a piece is irreplaceable, photograph it first, or enter a photograph of it instead.
None. Reflections is free for every student. PTA membership is encouraged but participation is open to every AES Owl regardless.
This runs on about eight parents
Judging is one evening. Check-in is one morning. Showcase night is a couple of hours and it's the good one. No arts background required — California State PTA runs a free judge training on September 15, and we'll send you the link.