Woodhull Intermediate School has been filled with intelligent, articulate and creative students since the day it opened in late January 1967. That still holds true today.
Nearly five dozen Woodhull students recently participated in the PTA Reflections national arts recognition program. The creative works developed by the youngsters adhered to the program’s 2017/18 theme: “Within Reach.” A small group of select pieces were chosen to advance to the next level of contest.
Students across the country on every grade level are eligible to participate in six categories: literature, dance choreography, film/video production, musical composition, photography and the visual arts, including such forms as drawing, painting, printmaking and collage.
The Woodhull PTA honored this year’s 58 participants at a bagel breakfast last Friday morning in the school cafeteria. Lily Tierney, Charlotte Gordon, Ariella Katigbak and Benjamin Edgar-McNerney were recognized at the school’s Reflections contest winners. Their respective pieces will now advance to the Suffolk PTA’s regional competition for advanced judging.
Woodhull’s entries joined more than 10 million students who have participated in the national program since it began in 1969.
The Woodhull PTA is led by co-Presidents Meaghan Buffa and Kerry Rinaldi, co-Vice Presidents Rose Carusone and Michele Sabatino, Corresponding Secretary Laura Befumo, Recording Secretary Michelle McKean, Treasurer Tricia Evans and PTA Council delegates Shaki Coulter and Dana Forte.
According to the National PTA, “the Reflections program has encouraged students across the nation and in American schools overseas to explore their artistic talents. PTA believes that all children deserve a quality arts education and encourages students to pursue artistic expression through participation in the annual Reflections program. Students in preschool through grade 12 are invited to create and submit works of art in the areas of dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography and the visual arts.”
While the initiative is technically a contest, the PTA goes to great lengths to de-emphasize winning, preferring instead to encourage participation and creativity. The program allows students to express themselves through art and to receive recognition for their work. The national theme helps focus the creative process and increases public awareness of arts education.
