When the results came in this week from the Georgia PTA Reflections competition, Murdock had reason to celebrate.

Three of our students earned state recognition this year at the ceremony January 26, and two of them are now advancing to the National PTA Reflections competition in May.

This year's program theme was "I Belong," and our students took it seriously. Across all grade levels, 20 Murdock participants submitted original work in visual art, photography, literature, music and accessible arts. Three of those entries rose all the way to the state level.

Sam Phillips, 5th Grade — Accessible Arts Sam's entry, My Eye in Art, competed in the Accessible Arts category and earned first place at the state level. Sam is now advancing to Nationals.

Luke Suthar, 2nd Grade — Visual Arts Luke's piece, Colorful Creatures Crawling Together, took first place in Visual Arts at the state level. Luke is also heading to the National competition.

Julia Suthar, 4th Grade — Literature Julia's story, The Overlooked Book, earned second place in Literature at the state level. Julia and Luke are from the same Murdock family, both recognized for their creative work this year. 

The National PTA Reflections competition draws entries from across the country. Sam and Luke will find out how they place at that level later this year, and we will share that news when it comes.

In the meantime, congratulations to Sam, Luke and Julia and to every Murdock student who participated in Reflections this year. Your work makes this community richer.