WINTER LETTER - 2008
Dear Parents and Students,
We hope you all had a good holiday and happy New Year. These letters come out every few months. Please read and keep them, as there is information you will need to refer to later. Some of our families do not read the information we send out and that causes unnecessary stress for them and us. When we have information to hand out we post it on the front door, all studio doors and on our new website at www.raskindancestudio.com.
Parents are welcome and encouraged to observe classes on the first week of every other month. This gives teachers the opportunity to explain how and why they teach certain things and what they are looking for. Parents who come to observation week tend to understand our levels and the way we train the kids.
Please do not come late, do not leave your cell phone on and do not talk to others. Small children must also be quiet. It is distracting enough for teachers to have observers in the room. Please consider this to be a privilege and respect our rules.
Costume fees have been collected and no more orders will be made. Please read your letters and use the forms we send home for various things. We ask you to respect our deadlines and policies. We always have to collect for costumes at Christmas time, so perhaps you will want to put that money away earlier in the year.
Try to train yourself to look at the board in the front lobby every time you come in. We post information concerning new or cancelled classes, shows, conventions, deadlines, guest teachers, etc. We don’t want you to miss out on something important. We CAN NOT call about every little thing. Our school has many classes, students, and teachers. We apologize if we cannot always get right back to you. If you must wait in the lobby for your student, we ask that you and your children remain as quiet as possible. This is a business and with noisy children, it is hard to hear the phone calls and we cannot conduct business in a professional manner. We also ask that you ensure for your children’s safety, that they do not run in the front lobby or down the halls. If they have an abundance of energy or can’t be quiet, we ask that you wait outside.
Our hours at this time are 12pm – 9pm Monday thru Friday and 9am – 1:30pm on Saturdays. I am usually available from when I get done teaching until about 9:00 pm. If your have a problem with anything please let us know! We try to keep things running up to standard.
Please be courteous to our hard-working Moms up there. Always get the name of who on the front desk that you dealt with, so if a mistake was made we know who to discuss the problem with. Always get a receipt for anything you pay for, especially if you pay cash. Please supply your children with pencils, band-aids, hair supplies, correct change for the drink machines, etc. Our desk moms are way too busy to have to handle these things for you. Please provide your child with snacks and utensils when needed.
Many of our teachers still dance professionally. Teaching is what they enjoy doing on the side. Several of our teachers have been on the convention circuits and several have been professional choreographers. If a teacher is absent he or she is usually working. If a teacher becomes absent too much we usually move him or her to a “sub status”. Free-lance people are fine with this. We feel lucky to have them. Orlando is a strong area for dance training. For our younger and more beginning students we have stable teachers who are retired, have families or are just starting out. Our advanced students have been exposed to many wonderful teachers from many different areas and backgrounds. Because of the inspiration and connections made we have had quite a few students grow up to dance professionally. Good training opens many opportunities for college scholarships, traveling, adventure and good paying jobs. Many dancers change to related fields such as acting, physical therapy, massage therapy, teaching and choreographing, etc.
Students are not permitted to wait outside. Please pick up children promptly . . . especially the last class of the day! We are having issues on Saturdays, especially. Our staff works hard all week and sometimes has plans to leave right away. We ask that you do not pull your child out of class early, as it is very disruptive and disrespectful to the teacher.
Reminder… our Competition Team hosts a Pizza Sale every Wednesday to help raise money for the team. The money raised helps pay for costumes, choreographers, and convention expenses. Our Company will be hosting fundraisers such as a dance party in February. Money raised will help to fund our spring concert, April 12th & 13th at Osceola Center for the Arts.
The name of our show this year is “Kid Stuff.” We have scheduled picture day and MANDATORY DRESS REHEARSAL for June 7th at the studio. The third weekend is the Dress/Tech Rehearsal and Show at Cypress Creek High School. Our rehearsal at the school will be on Friday, June 20th all day and our shows will be Saturday, June 21st at 2:00pm and Sunday, June 22nd at 2:00pm. Tickets will go on sale in May, which helps to pay for the cost of the theatre. Make up classes must be used and all tuition must be paid by recital. We cannot carry over to next year. Please remember that if too many absences occur in class, your child may be removed from the recital, and all fees are non-refundable. It is important that your child attends all classes from here on out, or they may fall behind in the class. In addition, if your child is late for class, they will not be permitted to go in. This is for the safety of your child. The first portion of the class is used to warm up and our teachers will not permit a child to take class without being warmed up, thus meaning an absence. After the recital, classes will continue for the remainder of June and close for month of July. We are looking to offer a Musical Theatre and Dance Camp in July. Be on the lookout for further information.
We will need people to help with props, costumes and backstage for the recital. There will be sign-up lists posted on the wall in the front lobby. Meetings will be scheduled and jobs assigned. Thank you for any help you can give. This takes a lot of people to pull it off.
This space is for students who “live” at the studio. It must be quiet and well-kept at all times. We are NOT a day care or babysitting service. Students should be doing homework, eating, or reading a book. Our studio is not a place to “hang out” but it is a great place to learn and to train. This is not a supervised situation. Some children may not be equipped to handle free time back there for long periods of time. All students on special should be in class whenever possible. We ask that parents do not hang out in the back lobby due to the students changing and doing homework.
♦ We will be open Friday, January 18th for the Teacher Work Day
♦ We will be closed Monday, January 21st for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
♦ We will be open on Friday, February 15th (Rodeo Day)
♦ We will be closed on Friday, March 21st (Good Friday)
♦ We will be open Friday, March 28th for the Teacher Work Day
♦ We will be closed Monday, March 31st – Saturday April 5th (Spring Break)
♦ We will be closed Monday, May 26th (Memorial Day)
Remember that we close with Osceola County Schools when it is a national holiday… not for teacher workdays!!
If you are interested in hosting a party or renting the ballroom or studios out for an event, please contact the studio for more information. We rent the studios for events as well as rehearsal space.
Please check out the lost and found that is located in the back lobby by the microwave to see if your child has lost any items. All items not “found” are taken away each month.
Website
If you weren’t aware that we had a website, we do. It’s updated daily as needed to keep you up to date with information such as cancelled classes, new classes, workshops, events, deadlines, recital information, as well as studio hours and dates we are closed. Please check us out at www.raskindancestudio.com.
Thanks for being such a great group to work with. If you have any problems or need to talk to me about anything just call or make an appointment. Please do not trap me or other teachers between classes with questions or important discussions. We are all watching the time and doing our best to stay on schedule. I try to stay available to talk with you after my classes are done each evening. Just remember we are a school…not a service. We ask that you observe all rules and dress codes provided in the brochure. Communication is very important here. We hope your experiences with our studio will be memorable and worth the time and money you sacrifice! Thank you for your support and patronage!
Sincerely,