Four young artists from Merrick’s Chatterton School are moving up in the National Parent Teacher Association’s annual Reflections Arts Program, an extracurricular art contest that supports creative and social growth.
After rising through the competition’s school-level qualification round, 16 Chatterton students became county-level finalists. Four found out they would be advancing to to the state-level competition on Feb. 3: fourth-grader Saylor Goldstein, in dance choreography; fourth-grader Marlow Esmay, in film production; first-grader Carson Levine, in film production; and sixth-grader Isabella Zaikowski, in visual arts, all of whom were judged to have captured the competition’s central theme, “I belong.”
“I’m so proud,” said Marlow. “This is my first year as a winner.”
Isabella said she saw the competition as an opportunity to use her special skills. “Participating in this year’s PTA Reflections Program helped me use my love of sewing to create something that shows that there are many different ways and places that I belong and we all belong,” she said. “We are all different but together we make something beautiful.”
For Carson, being a part of the process was its own reward. “My experience with the Reflections contest was fun,” he said. “I liked my video because it made me feel happy. I hoped it would make people smile, too.”
“We’re really excited,” said Kerry Esmay, the PTA Reflections coordinator and vice president of marketing at Chatterton. “It was really nice to see the kids really came through … We saw some really great pieces. The kids really put their heart and soul into a lot of these pieces this year.”
To enter and advance in the contest, students think of a creative way to express the theme provided by the National PTA, which can range from dance choreography and music to literature and visual arts. The contest is elective, and not a part of the school curriculum, giving students a unique opportunity to expand new pathway to expand their boundaries and make new friends.
“Most of these kids do sports and play instruments and are involved in a million other activities,” Esmay said, “I think it’s really notable that these students, and these parents who supported them, opt to engage in a completely optional program in the arts. It just speaks to the dedication of these students.”
Chatterton PTA member Kristen Goldstein, supported her daughter, Saylor, who was taking part in the contest for the second time. Her entry was a dance performance to the song “I Belong,” by MILCK, and it made use of her five years of ballet, complemented by homemade signs and props. Last year, Saylor’s ice-skating routine took her to the state level competition.
“I’m very proud of her for taking this on,” Goldstein said. “This is an optional project, and for her it was not optional. It’s something that was important to her, to send a strong message. It helped her to be a little bit more creative in terms of her dancing and choreography … She’s a determined little girl.”
According to Saylor, the core message of her performance was this: “Everyone belongs no matter what.”
Her mother said that the PTA is a valuable way to supporting her daughter through the school. “It’s a really nice way to engage with the Chatterton community and to be involved and be there for my daughter,” Goldstein said. “She enjoys it when I come up to the school and help out, and volunteer through the PTA.”
