Congratulations to 7th Grader, Noah Lee! This year’s Reflections theme was I MATTER BECAUSE and we offered multiple art categories including dance, film production, literature, music, photography, and visual arts, as well as a newer category: Special Artist.

Not only did Noah place first in the Literature category here at Vista Verde, and Irvine Unified Council PTA, but he just placed first at county level with The Fourth District PTA! NOAH LEE IS MOVING ON TO STATE! The Vista Verde community is extremely proud and grateful to Noah for sharing the importance of words and how it can inspire so many. The following is his artist statement, which is always submitted with entries:

“Literature is a way of communicating to people. In this poem, I used symbolism and metaphors to help the reader more visualize what I was trying to say, and to relate it to other things. The purpose of writing this poem was to communicate to others why they matter. When people are depressed or sad, they can see all the reasons why they matter in the world. Showing the reasons why me, one person in a multi-billion population, matters in the world.”

You can read his winning entry, REASONS, here. Congratulations, Noah! We’re rooting for you!

Vista Verde Vikings are AWESOME! Out of the 72 students that participated in the Irvine Unified Council PTA Reflections Art program, 4 of our very own placed!

Congratulations to:

Noah Lee, 1st Place, Literature: Middle School

Noah will be moving on to the next level at the Fourth District PTA. Let’s Go, Noah! Let’s Go! You can read his winning poem, “Reasons,” here.

Aron Mostafavi, 2nd Place in Music, Primary (K-2nd). Listen to his original musical composition here.

Haeun Yoo, 2nd Place in Visual Arts, Intermediate (3rd-5th)

Sarah Ida, 2nd Place in Visual Arts, Middle School (6th-8th)

We are extremely proud of our students, and proud to be a part of such an amazing community at Vista Verde. Whether learning through IVA or on campus, we are all Vikings!

Thank you to our amazing Reflections team, Lilli LaBuen, Roxi Carter, and Anny Choe and to all of our wonderful teachers and staff who created a video that inspired so many to participate. And most of all, THANK YOU PTA members, for making this a possibility! Without your memberships and your support, we wouldn’t be able to do this!

May the Arts Be With You!