November Parent Letter 2023

November Parent Letter Dear Parents and Students,

Can you believe it’s already November? Once again we have a busy month ahead of us so I’ll get right into it.

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Contents:

- Tuition reminder

- costume fee and student info form reminder

- contact info reminder

- Ballet watch party November 4

- Observation Week November 6-11

- Conference Week November 13-17

- No class days this month

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Tuition for November is due today. Remember to enroll in auto-pay if you want your tuition to be paid automatically. It is late after the 10th.

Our costume fee is due December 1. It is $65 for Ballet 4-5 students and $60 for all other students. Costumes are yours to keep after the summer concert. If your child will not be in the summer concert, please indicate that on your student information form which you can fill out here if you haven’t yet.

Contact info. If you want to receive text notifications when a parent letter is sent or regarding urgent information such as last-minute closures, you need to enter your cell phone and mobile carrier information into your parent profile. This is the only way I can send text messages now that we are using GoMotion so you will not receive text messages from us if you don’t have this information in your profile. You can also download the SportsEngineMotion app and sign up for push notifications. I will only send notifications regarding important updates.

Ballet watch party. We will be watching the Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on Saturday, November 4, from 5:00-7:30. Admission is only $5 per person and includes popcorn! This movie night is for dancers who can sit through an entire ballet with no dialogue so we are intending it for students in Ballet 1 and up.

Observation week. Our first observation week is November 6-11! This observation week is for all classes and levels. Family members are invited to come into the studio, watch class, and ask questions of the teacher. It’s a great way to meet other parents, get to know the faculty, and see what your child is learning and how a ballet class is structured.

Conference week. Our first parent-teacher conference week is November 13-17. You can go to this link [https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A9A82AAAFDC52-45736046-fall] to sign up for a 20-minute conference with your child’s teacher(s). Due to our overlapping schedules, Sara and Lesley’s availability is minimal so if your child does not have a class with one of them, please sign up for a slot where they are not listed as available. If you would like a conference but none of the time slots listed work for you, email me and we will find a time to meet. You can schedule a conference any time of year, but we set aside some extra time during conference weeks to encourage parents to come in and discuss their child’s progress.

There will be class on Friday, November 10, and Saturday, November 11, despite the holiday. Therewill be no class Wednesday-Friday, November 22-24, in honor of Thanksgiving. Saturday classes will meet on the 25th as a make-up for the day we canceled at the end of September when everyone was sick. Please let us know if you will be able to attend.

That’s all for this month! I hope to see many of you at observation week!

~Naomi

October 2023 Parent Letter

Dear Parents and Students,

October is set to be a busy month at the Academy! Please read and save this parent letter for your records.

Contents:

- tuition and billing clarification

- attendance, make-up, and sick policy

- movie night October 7

- Master class opportunity October 9 (Ballet 4-5)

- fundraiser night October 14

- Gonzaga performance October 26

- Costume week October 25-31

Tuition and billing clarification. September tuition is now past due. October tuition is due but is not late until after the 10th. We have had a lot of questions about billing since we switched platforms. The billing manager is set to post tuition on the 20th of each month. If you are enrolled in auto-pay, your card will be charged 10 days later, either the 1st of the month or the day before depending on how many days are in the month. This is how the old system was set up as well. However, I wasn’t able to do the same thing for September since we started in the middle of the month, so tuition was posted on the 11th (or whatever your first day of class was) and auto-pay processed 10 days after that. If you didn’t pay September tuition before the 20th, this meant your account showed two months of tuition at the same time. If you are enrolled in auto-pay, however, you were only charged for September. I apologize for the confusion this caused! It should be more straightforward from here on out. Please note that you have to opt in to auto-pay, not opt out. If you are not in auto-pay and have not paid September tuition, you can pay by cash, check, or card at the office or make a payment online by logging into your account.

Attendance, make-up, and sick policy. With school starting and the weather turning colder, we already have had several kids (and two teachers!) out sick. If your child is sick, please keep them home until they are better. Your child will recover more quickly if they have time to rest, and we don’t want to spread anything to the other students or teachers. If your child has recovered from an illness but still has a lingering cough, we recommend having them wear a mask for class (we have child-sized surgical masks available). If your child is going to miss class for any reason, please notify the office by calling or emailing. We also encourage everyone to make up their absences. Elementary 1 and 2 can attend their same level on a different day of the week; Ballet 1-5 can attend a class one level below their own. Unfortunately there is no second Creative Movement class at this time, but we’re hoping to add another one soon.

Movie night October 7. Our first movie night is approaching! We will be watching Barbie in the Pink Shoes on October 7 from 5-7 pm. This movie night is intended for children ages 8 and younger and will include a craft, coloring pages, and plenty of popcorn. Academy students, siblings, and friends are all welcome to join; admission is $10 per person. You can sign up at the studio or on the SportsEngine Motion app by going to “Events and Jobs” in the left-hand sidebar.

Master class opportunity October 9. We have an exciting opportunity for our Ballet 4-5 students coming up soon! One of Lesley’s former students, Katie O'Loughlin, recently graduated from Ohio State University with an MFA in Dance and she will be visiting us on the 9th. We would love our students to have the opportunity to take a contemporary class from her. Class times for the 9th will remain unchanged; however, the Ballet 5 class time will be a contemporary class taught by Katie, which we encourage Ballet 4 students to attend if they want to. Additionally, any Ballet 5 students who want a classical technique class that day should also come to Ballet 4 from 4:00-5:30.

Fundraiser night October 14. As I mentioned in last month’s parent letter, we have partnered with Caruso’s Sandwiches and Artisan Pizza to hold a fundraiser night for Spokane Youth Ballet! However, we pushed the date back by a couple weeks to give us more time to get the word out. We are now holding the fundraiser on October 14. Between 4-8 pm, if you go to Caruso’s or order from them online (delivery or pickup) and mention that you want to participate in our fundraiser, 20% of your bill will be donated to SYB to help fund our summer concert. We’d love to see many of you at the restaurant! They are located on Argonne just south of Montgomery. Originally, we were planning to have a family night the following weekend, on the 21st, but with all the other events in October we decided that would be too much. So the fundraiser night will be a great opportunity to meet other parents in the studio!

Gonzaga performance October 26. Gonzaga University’s Fall Dance Day is Thursday, October 26. There are events for aspiring dance majors throughout the day, but at 7:30 pm they are holding a performance at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center featuring, among other performances, a piece choreographed by our own Phaedra Jarrett on their students. We would love to make this a “ballet field trip” night! It does conflict with Ballet 3, however, so we would have to schedule a time to make that up. Let me know if you would object to pulling a long dance day and coming to a Ballet 4 class (4:00-5:30) in addition to your Ballet 2/3 class on either Monday or Wednesday of that week.

Costume week October 25-31. One of my favorite traditions at the Academy of Dance is our costume weeks! Our first one is October 25-31, which is a Wednesday through Tuesday. During this time, students may dress up during their regular classes in an old dance costume, a Halloween costume, or any other attire as long as it doesn’t impede their movement or ability to participate fully in class. Please keep these rules in mind: 1) No capes, cloaks, scaves, necklaces, or any other costume elements that wrap around the neck (this is for safety). If your costume has an element like this, it will need to be removed for class. 2) Dancers will still need to wear ballet shoes and (girls) have their hair in a bun. 3) Nothing gory, scary, or otherwise inappropriate to be seen by young or sensitive dancers. 4) if your costume is too hot, wear your ballet clothes underneath so you can remove the costume if necessary. Many teachers and some students also hand out candy during this week. Please let me know if your child has any food allergies and I will pass that information along. You can email me or list food allergies under “Medical Notes” in your child’s Member profile on your SportsEngine account.

That’s all the news for October! Have a great fall month!

~Naomi <><

August 2022 Parent Letter

Dear Parents and Students,

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Our summer classes are in full swing and we’re seeing a lot of growth in the dancers already. If you haven’t signed up for any summer classes yet, there is still time! We have three more weeks of classes before we break until September.

Dancers ages 3-8 can sign up for our week-long Fairytale Ballet workshop which will take place next week (August 8-12). This year’s theme is The Snow Queen! Students will take a daily age-appropriate pre-ballet class, listen to the story of The Snow Queen, and do a themed craft, culminating in a showcase for family on Friday. A light snack will be provided each day. Masks are optional but recommended.

Dancers in Ballet 1-2 can sign up for a week-long intensive workshop which is also taking place next week (August 8-12). Each day will consist of body conditioning, ballet technique, and stretching, followed by a class in an alternative discipline such as jazz or character.

All dancers can take drop-in classes which are happening weekly through August 25. See our schedule at spokaneacademyofdance.com/summer-drop-ins and register through your parent portal, or email me the dates you wish to drop in.

In case you missed it, August 27 is a busy day at the studio! We will be holding our auditions for the winter concert, The Snow Queen! As a reminder, all dancers in Ballet 1-5 will be part of this winter concert; however, they can audition for an additional role which will rehearse Saturdays. The Saturday roles are open to all dancers in the Spokane area age 6 and older. Go to https://www.spokaneacademyofdance.com/auditions for audition times, the online audition form, and more information about the show.

August 27 is also the date of our Open House. Drop in any time between 5-7 pm to meet teachers and other students, get fitted for dancewear, sign up for classes, and more.

Make sure to register for fall classes before they fill up! If you’re not sure what level your child should be in, email me and I can let you know.

I hope you’re all managing to stay cool and hydrated in this heat!

~Naomi <><