Entry Forms:

Student Entry Form - English

Student Entry Form - Spanish

Reflections Packet - English

Reflections Packet - Spanish

Rules for Accessible Art

Express Your Culture Through Art

• Cultural Storytelling in Dance Choreography: Choose a song or create movement inspired by sounds that reflects your culture or the traditions that are meaningful to you. Your choreography can celebrate family customs, cultural celebrations, values, or the emotions you experience when connecting with your heritage or community. Dance is a powerful way to tell stories that words cannot.
  
  
• Personal Narratives in Film Production: Create a short film or documentary that shares what your culture means to you. You might interview family members, capture cultural traditions, document a celebration, or tell a story about an experience that shaped your identity. Your film can highlight the people, places, and moments that make your culture unique.
  
  
• Write Your Story in Literature: Use poetry, short stories, essays, or other forms of writing to express what your culture means to you. Describe traditions, memories, family experiences, languages, celebrations, or values that have influenced who you are. Your writing can be fictional or based on your own life.
  
  
• Creative Expression in Visual Arts: Create a painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, or mixed-media artwork that represents your culture. Consider using colors, symbols, patterns, clothing, foods, landmarks, traditions, or meaningful objects that tell the story of your identity and the people or communities who have shaped you.
  
  
• Musical Heritage in Music Composition: Compose an original piece of music inspired by your culture or the traditions that are meaningful to you. You may incorporate rhythms, melodies, instruments, or musical styles that reflect your family's heritage, your community, or the experiences that define your identity. Whether instrumental or vocal, let your music tell your story.
  
  
• Cultural Stories in Photography: Capture photographs that represent what your culture means to you. You might photograph family traditions, celebrations, meaningful objects, favorite foods, places of worship, community events, or everyday moments that reflect your heritage. Use composition, lighting, and perspective to create a visual story about your culture.

Create Conversation and Connection with "What My Culture Means to Me"

The theme for each PTA Reflections program is designed not only to inspire student artwork, but also to encourage meaningful conversations, creative expression, and learning among students, families, and communities.

"What My Culture Means to Me" invites students to reflect on the traditions, experiences, values, and people who shape their identities. Culture is unique to every person and family. It can include heritage, language, customs, beliefs, celebrations, food, music, art, community, or the traditions we create together. Every student's story is valuable, and every interpretation of culture is welcome.

Here are some discussion questions for families to explore the theme together:

• What Is Culture? When you hear the word culture, what comes to mind? What traditions, values, languages, foods, music, or celebrations are important in your family?
  
  
• Family Traditions: What traditions do you celebrate each year? Are there special holidays, recipes, songs, stories, or activities that have been passed down through generations?
  
  
• Culture and Identity: How has your culture helped shape who you are? What makes you proud of your family, community, or heritage?
  
  
• Sharing Our Stories: What is something unique about your culture that you would like others to understand or appreciate? How can sharing our traditions help us learn from one another?
  
  
• Culture Every Day: How do you experience your culture in your daily life? Think about the languages you speak, the foods you eat, the music you enjoy, the clothes you wear, or the values your family teaches.
  
  
• Honoring Differences: How can learning about different cultures help build kindness, understanding, and respect in our school and community? What can we do to celebrate the diversity around us?

"What My Culture Means to Me" encourages students to celebrate the experiences, traditions, and communities that make them who they are. Through art, students can honor their own stories while building understanding and appreciation for the many cultures that enrich our schools and communities.