Things To Know For the First Week

Monday, August 13th, we kick off our fall classes! I’m super excited to welcome back all of our returning families and to meet all of our new families!  We have been growing rapidly and currently stand at approximately 205 enrollments. We are the same business that we always have been – God first, loving staff, and providing a quality arts education! Yet, there are a few changes:

 ·       We changed the teacher on a few of our dance classes. One of our staff got a great opportunity and won’t be able to be with us as much. (I’ll share it as soon as I can.) Miss Kaitlin will be taking on our elite recreational and working with our minis and juniors on their choreography. Mrs. Amanda will be taking on hip hop 2. We just added another dance teacher, Lindsey Hooge, who at first will be assisting us on Mondays and Tuesdays. That’s her in the picture. 😊 She is a junior elementary education major at SELU. She grew up in the world of competition dance and danced at the collegiate level too. Make her feel welcome!

 ·       I’m sure our returning families can tell you that my husband has been a part of this from the start. He has run all technical aspects of our music recitals, built numerous props, ran errands, and supported me with every piece of this. Soar has grown to a point where I needed him full time in this. So, he is finally getting an official title -C.O.O. (Chief Operations Officer). Basically, he will help keep our building going and help me manage all of the events we put on. It’s kind of a jack of all trades position. You will be seeing him a good bit more.

 ·       Miss Jessee is still our lead art teacher. This summer, we brought on Marley Bessee to assist the art classes. They worked great together as a team, so Marley will be remaining with us. This puts us with 15 on staff and 3 dance assistants!

Here are things I would like you to know as we approach our first week:

 ·       Transitions are always busy. With six rooms in operation, we have worked to stager when classes begin and end. However, when dropping off your children expect for the parking lot and lobby to be crowded. We even have two staff members working in the lobby to ensure students get to the correct classes and leave with their parents. We ask the parents to please come inside when dropping your child off and when picking them up. Parents are welcome to stay or leave while their child is in class.

 ·       When the student arrives, they will wait in the lobby. The teachers will then come get them. Teachers take roll in the class, so there is no need to check them in in the lobby area.

 ·       All music curriculum will be distributed on the first week. Please have your child bring this to class weekly. Art sketch books will be distributed on the first week too.

 ·       For students taking tap, please make sure to “scratch up” the metal taps on the bottom of the shoe by moving it against concrete. This helps the shoe not be so slippery.

 ·       Label everything – dance bags, shoes, music books.

 ·       We will have a merchandise sheet going out on the first week. This gives you the opportunity to purchase Soar decals, bags, extra shirts, and leotards. The last day to place your order is August 31st. Please submit all forms to Mrs. Cheryl at the front desk.

 ·       This is the biggest one – We ask that parents do not enter the hallway that leads to our classes. The windows to each class are not tinted. Therefore, the students can see out. Too many people in the hall will lead to students not being able to focus. We know you want to see your children. Therefore, the dance rooms will be broadcast on the TV once per month. Parents will be welcome inside the music studios and art studio for the last ten minutes on the last week of each month too. This is the perfect way for you to see their progress with the teachers being able to maintain the students’ focus. Please respect this.

 ·       Here is our watch weeks for the fall:

Large dance room: Aug. 20-25; Sept. 17-22; Oct. 15-20; Nov. 12-17; Dec. 10-15

Small dance room and invitation into music studios and art studio: Aug. 27-Sept. 1; Sept. 24-29; Oct. 22-27; Nov. 19-24; Dec. 17-22.

We are looking forward to a FABULOUS 3rd year!