Northville Public Schools is proud to announce that a student has placed in each of the six Reflections Art contest categories this year, four will be moving on to the National PTA competition. Winners will be announced in May.
Each year, over 300,000 students across the United States in Pre-K through Grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-selected theme. This 50+ year-old program helps them explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning that will help them become more successful in school and in life.
Students participate in the appropriate division for their grade: Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2), Intermediate (Grades 3-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), High School (Grades 9-12), Special Artist (All grades welcome).
Students submit their completed works of art in one or all of the available arts categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, Visual Arts.
Congratulations to our winners:
- Felicia Wang
- Arts Category: Dance Choreography
- Grade Division: High School
- Award: Outstanding Interpretation (1st place), moves on to National PTA competition
- Artist Statement: Growing up as an Asian American, I often felt like my voice was insignificant and lacked the power to create change. However, as I learned about more people fighting against injustice and inequality in the world, I saw the amount of change people from all kinds of different backgrounds can create using their voice. I saw the strength and significance behind each and every single person's voice. This strength is what I hope to represent through my choreography, a piece of my voice that can help fight for more justice and equality in the world.
- Watch Felicia's dance titled: Quiet No More
- Nila Muthusamy
- Arts Category: Film Production
- Grade Division: High School
- Award: Outstanding Interpretation (1st place), moves on to National PTA competition
- Artist Statement: In my short film, Ved is bullied for being "too Indian". This struggle resonates with nearly all second generation kids; they find balancing their two identities quite challenging, especially when they have to take others' judgment into account. However, Ved learns that outside opinions are irrelevant, and there is no such thing as "too Indian" or "too American"; all Ved has to do is do his best to be his own, authentic self. In this way, Ved learns to stop suppressing his identity and brings his unique perspective to prom, showing the world his voice as a Tamil American.
- Watch Nila's film titled: unapologetic
- Ava Varughesekutty
- Arts Category: Literature
- Grade Division: Primary, 1st grader, Ridge Wood Elementary
- Award: Outstanding Interpretation (1st place), moves on to National PTA competition
- Artist Statement: This story I wrote about is some of the real things that happen to me. When I started first grade I was scared to do new things. My parents found out I was scared and I spoke up and told them and they helped me. I learned that if I have a problem I need to speak up and tell a grown up that will help me. The idea for the magical money in the story is because my favorite stuffed animal is my monkey. We play and make up imagination stories a lot.
- Read Ava's story here
- Max Calabrese
- Arts Category: Literature
- Grade Division: Special Artist, 12th grader, NHS
- Award: Honorable Mention
- Artist Statement: This two-part poem reflects the theme of "Show Your Voice" in that in the first part, I dream about inventing a way for individuals with disabilities including myself to have increased mobility. In the second part, however, I fail to act on this dream as I lay in my death bed, hopelessly wondering whether someone else would act on this plan. I like computer science and AI. I do not want my life to go by without making a difference for the disabled community.
- Read Max's poem titled: Innovation for Mobility
- Sami Hadijt
- Arts Category: Music Composition
- Grade Division: Intermediate, 5th grader, Amerman Elementary
- Award: Award of Excellence (2nd place)
- Artist Statement: My song is about a duck showing it voice, saying that it can go whatever way it wants to the finish. Initially, the duck waddles on the beach, then swims across the lake and waddles again to the finish, instead of going around the lake. This goes to show that you can reach any place in different ways, and you can still achieve your goals.
- Listen to Sami's song titled: Choose Your Way
- Jenna Thomas
- Arts Category: Photography
- Grade Division: Intermediate, 5th grader, Ridge Wood Elementary
- Award: Honorable Mention
- Artist Statement: I am a very shy person and have had a hard time speaking my feelings, so I show my voice through my photography by capturing emotions in pictures and the beauty of the world.
- Check out Jenna's picture:
- Hayul Park
- Arts Category: Visual Arts
- Grade Division: High School
- Award: Outstanding Interpretation (1st place), moves on to National PTA competition
- Artist Statement: Languages are how we communicate, whether it's body language, sign language, or a country's language. I showed my voice by presenting the different languages I learned and lived in. Such as Korean, Japanese, English, and Mandarin. I lived in all these places that had these languages and learned the culture they contained. These experiences helped me grow as a person and turned me into the person I am now. It shows the diversity within my background and my voice.
- Take a look at Hayul's artwork titled: My Life's Languages
- Janet Tian
- Arts Category: Visual Arts
- Grade Division: High School
- Award: Award of Excellence (2nd place)
- Artist Statement: Call for Action demonstrates "Show Your Voice" by incorporating the various ways one can achieve social change. The center of the piece is a classic figure of activism, representing the variety of activist figures I am inspired by. In addition though, I connect to my piece through the visualizations of how one can show their voice. Some people fight for change by raising their voices literally, some through visual or social media. I was driven by the general idea that everyone's voice is important, yet different, therefore individuals deserve every opportunity to discover their own way to champion their beliefs.
- Take a look at Janet's artwork titled: Call for Action
