Reflections of the PTSA contest

What awesome courage it takes to enter into that world of competition.
Congratulations to all of you who did; who entered the Parent Student Teacher Association Reflections contest that ended in the middle of November. Over 150 of you entered.
Beginning at the local level, This national arts recognition and achievement program provides opportunities for you to express yourselves creatively and receive recognition for original works of art.
This year’s awards go to:
LITERATURE
First Place: Myron Aguilar
Second Place: Adriana Rogriguez
Honorable Mentions:
Jason, Masho, Chris Dall, Christanthe Christodoulou, Carter Crowe

PHOTOGRAPHY
First Place:Taylor Bank
Second Place: Miranda King
Honorable Mentions:
Tao Antrim, Benjamin Samuels

MUSICAL COMPOSITION
First Place: Caroline Teti

All these students will receive awards from the SBHS PTSA. The first and second place winners will receive cash awards from the local PTSA and will continue on to the Council competition. The winner here receives a monetary scholarship, a gallery showing at the PTA National Convention (which gives national exposure) and placement / recognition on the national PTA web site.
At each step, the first two places will move on to the next level.
Catharine Morreale has chaired the Reflections contest here for the past three years and at San Marcos before that. She gave invaluable guidance by explaining how the judges look at the work. “The judges pay close attention to the interpretation of theme...it’s probably weighted 50 /50 against quality / creativity. If (students) don’t follow the instructions, the piece will be disqualified,” she said.
This competition could not function without the wonderful cooperation of volunteer judges Glen Serbin and Marcia Meier.
Serbin is the president of Serbin Communications which produces the BEST OF COLLEGE PHOTOGRAPHY ALBUM, and other contests. He stated that he was impressed with the overall quality of the photo entries.
Ms. Meier is the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. She has also judged the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation’s creative writing contest.
This year’s theme was difficult, a real challenge. I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY...
In writing, or even music, this could by interpreted. But photography? How does a picture represent this?
As Ms. Morreale stated, “A grade school student may show someone picking up trash....” At the high school level, something a little more creative, subtle is needed.
The photography students worked hard to come up with an idea, trying a variety of ideas and shots before settling on their final entries.
Ms. Morreale thanks all students who entered.

Miranda King said, “This topic was very hard. It was especially difficult to come up with an original idea. I was surprised when Ms. Bartz told me I won second place.”
She chose the idea of dominoes being knocked down to show how one person or action can make a difference.

Ben Samuels said, “The topic was hard; to think of a way to make a difference isn’t obvious. It took me a while but I like the topic a lot. When I heard I won fourth place, I was surprised and happy that my photo was chosen.”

Tao Antrim said, “I didn’t really fancy the topic. It was much too vague. It was really difficult to think of something to shoot that was relevant in some way. Winning third place? That was cool. When I shot, I wasn’t aiming to win but it’s always great to find out you do well.”

Myron Aguilar said, “Really, I did not expect to win. But I’m glad that my essay received recognition. Hopefully it will inspire others to make a difference.”