OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Olmsted Falls Council of PTAs annually participates in the Reflections art contest.

“It’s a longstanding initiative created by the National PTA that’s actually in its 56th year being offered to students across the country,” Olmsted Falls Council of PTAs Reflections Chair Lauren Suter said.

“Basically, it’s an art contest for students pre-K through 12th grade.”

This year, more than 90 creative works of art inspired by the theme “Accepting Imperfection” were submitted by Olmsted Falls City School District students across six categories — dance, film, literature, music, photography and visual arts.

“There’s a little bit of rules and regulations per each category, but overall it’s pretty wide open in order to allow students to be creative and use their imagination,” Suter said.

“It’s not necessarily an assignment. Some teachers might build it into the curriculum a little bit or give them time to work on it, but the majority is done outside of the school day for sure.”

Of the 48 entries recognized by Olmsted Falls Council of PTAs judges, 28 advanced to the state-level competition. First-place winners, to be announced in April, have a chance to compete nationally.

“Last year, we had 13 students from Olmsted Falls recognized at our state level and two Olmsted Falls students out of seven from Ohio recognized at nationals,” Suter said.

She noted that Reflections represents the National PTA’s mission to support the arts despite budget cuts.

“This is just a great opportunity to let students explore their own thoughts and feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase their confidence and just help them become more successful in school and in life, which is really the National PTA’s reasoning for having the program as well,” she said.

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