How to Submit Local Finalist Entries to LWPTSA Council

Accepting Imperfection — National PTA Reflections 2024-25

For 2024-2025, LWPTSA Council is accepting:

  • 10 entries per PTA/PTSA (not per category)
  • PLUS up to 6 Accessible Arts division entries per PTA/PTSA

All entries advancing to Council must demonstrate the theme and must be of good enough quality to compete against the best entries from the other PTAs in LWPTSA Council. Please do not advance entries that have not been judged, and please do not advance all your entries just because you have fewer than 10 total entries.

Visit our main Reflections page for program rules for each category, entry forms, resources for local PTA Reflections chairs, and a complete list of key dates for LWPTSA Council’s ’24-’25 Reflections program,

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Uploading Your Advancing Entries
Unique File-Naming Instructions for Uploading Entries


Deadlines for Advancing Entries to LWPTSA

Local Reflections chairs must upload entries to our LWPTSA Council OneDrive according to the deadlines:

  • Monday, November 18, 2024: We will only accept entries from local PTAs that are in good standing (as defined by WSPTA) by this date. Only PTAs in good standing may participate in Reflections (SOA requirement). You may want to double-check with your president right away to confirm your PTA is in good standing.
  • Monday, November 18, 2024 (BEFORE 10 pm): Local PTAs/PTSAs that are in good standing must finish submitting all advancing entries to LWPTSA Council by 10 pm at the latest on Monday, Nov. 18. This is a hard deadline!​ Please do not wait till the evening of the 18th. Please log in a few days before the deadline.

Council accepts only digital entries (digital image files, PDFs, etc.) submitted virtually. See each category’s rules for acceptable file formats. Only entries that qualify to move on from Council to WSPTA-level judging will be entered into the National PTA portal.​ (Council’s Reflections Committee will take care of that for you!)


Uploading Entries Advancing From Local PTAs to the Council-Level Round

We appreciate your commitment to serve as a chair to one of PTA’s most popular programs, the Reflections art competition, this year.  Here are the instructions for how to upload your advancing entries to LWPTSA Council’s round of competition:

  1. Please make sure you confirm that all advancing entries meet the following points:

     
  2. You must use the unique file-naming convention detailed in the below instructions before you upload.
     
  3. Sign up here for a 10-minute online meeting slot on Nov. 19 so we can walk through and confirm your advancing entries and answer any questions that you may have. Please join your online meeting a few minutes early, using the corresponding link listed below.
     
  4. Upload your advancing entries to LWPTSA Council’s OneDrive. You will need to select your respective PTA/PTSA folder, fill out the Excel spreadsheet, and then upload your entries to the corresponding category folders that have already been created.

    Reminder: We need two files* for each entry. One is the entry form, AND second is the entry for each submission. You will be required to upload a digital image of each Photography or Visual Arts entry or the digital file for Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature and Music Composition. Accepted file formats are listed in each category’s rules. (Note: Music Composition, at Middle and High School level will need a PDF comprising of a score as well — so, THREE files will be uploaded for MC in those two age divisions)

    *Update: Include PDF entry forms only if easily available. If you have properly entered the complete info into the spreadsheet, but the entry form is in a different file format such as a screenshot, you do not need to upload it separately.

    Entries that are not completely uploaded to Council’s OneDrive by 10 pm on November 18 will not be accepted by Council.


Note: Collect physical copies of all advancing artworks (except for Music Composition, Dance Choreography & Film Production); mount them on a rigid backing; print out name, category, division and the artist statement; and slide them into a transparent sleeve to display on grids for our open house without damaging them. (More details to follow.) Keep monitoring your emails.

Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Council’s Reflections co-chairs, Kristy Lu & Emily Sparks, at Reflections [at] LWPTSA.net.


Unique File-Naming System for Uploaded Entries

We will be using a unique file name to connect the entry form information and the file name for each entry advancing to Council. Local chairs must use the following system to create a unique file name for each entry:

  • The last set of numbers in your PTA’s local ID: 2.8.xxx (three digits; place 0s in front if your number is fewer) — Find your PTA’s local ID
  • Two letters to represent the art category: DC, FP, LT, MC, PH, VA
  • One letter to represent the age division: P, I, M, H, or S (for Special Artist division)
  • The student’s first and last initial
  • The number of the entry from your local PTA: Use two digits between 01-10 (16-21 for Accessible Arts entries)

This will give each entry a unique 10-character file name.

Example 1: Lake Washington High School PTSA’s local PTA ID is 2.8.95. A Photography entry from Supriya Singh is the 4th entry from LWHS PTSA that is advancing to Council. The identification for this entry is 095PHHSS04, and the file name is 095PHHSS04.jpg.

Example 2: Audubon PTSA’s local PTA ID is 2.8.5. Heesun Park’s Literature entry is the 1st of Audubon PTSA’s Accessible Arts entries that is advancing to Council. The identification for this entry is 005LTSHP16, and the file name is 005LTSHP16.pdf.


Online Meeting Links

Join your 10-minute online meeting slot on the day and time you signed up for, using the below links:

  • Meeting slots on Tuesday, Nov. 19, between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm: Zoom link
  • Meeting slots on Tuesday, Nov. 19, between 1 and 3:30 pm: Zoom link
  • Meeting slots on Tuesday, Nov. 19, between 5 and 7:20 pm: Zoom link

< Back to Reflections Main Page


Connect With Us

2024-2025 LWPTSA Reflections Chair: Kristy Lu & Emily Sparks (she/her)
Questions? Contact Council’s Reflections team at Reflections {at} LWPTSA.net. Local PTAs’ Reflections Chairs are also welcome to join our LWPTSA Council Reflections Chairs Facebook Group, where members can share ideas and ask questions.