Team Newsletter – December 2019

[vc_row enable_arrows_animation=”no”][vc_column][vc_column_text]We hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your family!   APA has so much to be thankful for. We are blessed with an incredible staff, hard-working students, and their dedicated parents. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for choosing APA for your child’s arts education! 

We have such an exciting month coming up with lots of performances. Please make sure to read all of the information so you and your child are prepared for the upcoming events.  We are looking forward to seeing our students perform this month!  
 
Winter Break:  APA will be closed December 22nd– January 2nd. Classes will resume on Friday, January 3rd.  

Cold Weather Reminder: To aid in injury prevention, it is important that the dancers’ bodies are warm when they come to class. Dancers need to wear layers to and from dance class. Even though they may feel hot after dance class, it is important for their health to put back on pants and a jacket, socks and shoes. ADD: Our students have been so much better at remembering to do this so far this year, thank you!! 

Team Dancers of the Month:  

Congratulations to Kiera Bartsch, our Mini Team Dancer of the Month. Kiera is in 1st grade at Hoover Elementary school where she enjoys Math. Her favorite color is turquoise, her favorite food is spaghetti and her favorite treats are smoothies and milkshakes. Her favorite holiday is Christmas. Kiera wants to be a nurse, like her mom when she grows up. Kiera’s hero is God because he is always watching over us. This is Kiera’s 3rd year on APA Teams. She is on Mini Jazz, Mini Tap, and Production teams. Her favorite style of dance is Acro. She is most looking forward to performing Mickey’s Workout with her Team because it is her favorite dance ever!  Miss Jessie says Kiera always comes to class with a smile on her face and ready to work. She practices her dances and it shows when she comes into the classroom. Kiera is also a little daredevil and never says no when I ask her to try a new dance step or show me an Acro trick 😉 Congratulations Kiera! 

 
Congratulations to Meredith Hacker, our Teen Dancer of the Month. Meredith is in 8th grade at Oak Creek East Middle School where her favorite subjects are Science and Language Arts. Her favorite food is mac and cheese and her favorite dessert is cupcakes. Meredith’s favorite color is purple and her favorite holiday is Christmas. Meredith’s hero is her sister Lauren. Her favorite style of dance is Lyrical. This is Meredith’s 10th year on Teams! She is a member of the Teen Jazz, Teen Tap and Junior Lyrical teams. She is most looking forward to making more friends and improving in dance this season. Miss Jessie nominated Meredith because she is laser-focused in her Gen Tech class and is continually working on her posture. She’s not afraid to ask questions in Tap class so she can practice at home and come back executing her steps correctly. She is kind and super encouraging to other students and it’s contagious in the classroom. Congratulations Meredith! 

Team Christmas Party/Lock-in:    

Our Team Lock-In Event is December 6th – December 7th Details are outlined below. 

  • Minis and Mini Hip Hop:  6:30-8pm ONLY with Miss Jessie, Miss Alyse and Miss Natalie. Bring a WRAPPED Christmas exchange gift, between $8-$10. Everyone who brings one will receive one. APA will be providing juice and pizza. Please make sure they bring their dance shoes with them and wear something they can dance in. They will perform their routines for each other! NEW: You will need a water bottle to serve as a cup for all beverages this year – due to the HUGE waste of cups in previous years, causing pain to Miss Sarah’s heart and the environment, we are not providing cups. 

All other Teams:   

  • Arrival: 8pm 
  • What to bring: Pillow and sleeping bag or blankets, PJ’s, hygiene products, dance shoes (students will perform for each other), water bottles (there will be NO cups), money for vending machine snacks (optional), and dance clothes if they have Production practice in the morning. 
  • Bring a wrapped Christmas exchange gift, between $8-$10. Everyone who brings one will receive one. We will be dividing our groups as follows: 3rd-6th graders and 7th – 11th graders (but generally Teams will be kept together). 
  • APA will be providing soda and pizza when students arrive. We will also provide muffins and fruit for the morning when students wake up. 
  • Activities for the night:  Perform your routines for your fellow dancers, gift exchange, watch a movie, and “sleep.” Younger dancers on our Petite-level Teams, especially those with Production and classes the next morning, will have a set sleep-time. There is an early-sleepers room, so those who want to go to bed with less noise can do so in studio A. 
  • Pick up is 8am if you do not have practice. Production rehearsal is from 8-10am. 

Injury and Doctor’s Notes: Anyone notifying us of an injury that takes them out of classes for more than 1 week will need to provide Miss Sarah with their Doctor’s documentation of the injury and the recommended treatment process.  That also means if someone does get a physical therapy plan, we need to see it.  Miss Sarah wants to make sure that students are properly seeking treatment for injuries that are taking them out of class and that they are also following the treatment plan thereafter so they return to dance safely.  We want students to follow through with a treatment plan and not get re-injured.  It also makes the fate of routines very up in the air for teachers and other dancers while kids come on and off the sidelines repeatedly or without a definitive return plan. 

 

Nationals Poll Results: After receiving the Nationals Poll Results the following Teams, which were not required to attend Nationals, will be attending Nationals upon receiving an invitation at the Regionals competitions. 

Mini Hip Hop 

Mini Jazz & Tap

Petite Green Jazz 

Teen Green Jazz 

Junior Green Jazz.  

Production Team will depend on results from Regional Competition 

Reminder: All Blue Level Dancers are required to attend Nationals. All Pink Level Dancers are required to attend, unless you have given notice to Miss Sarah and received an approval to be absent. Only 2 dancers have given notice. If you have not given notice, you will be expected to be at the Nationals competition in Myrtle Beach.  

  

Important Upcoming events…  

  • In-House FULL Dance Dress Rehearsal Starting Saturday, December 7th – Friday, December 13th we will have our students come to their last regular class AT APA before our Showcase in complete costume. Competitive rehearsals do NOT need full makeup, but you should have your hair done in the style required for the Team (competition-ready perfection not required for this). If your Team is listed above for double buns, you will need those in to make sure all hairpieces are positioned the same. This will help our teachers see if there are any costume or shoe issues before our performance. 
  • Winter Showcase 12/14. This is mandatory for all our Teams. Make sure to check the lineups carefully as some Teams perform in two or more shows. Full hair and makeup IS required; Miss Sarah will be checking both at the Showcase to make sure it is correct for the Competitive season. 
  • Solo, Duet entry fees are due 12/4
  • Competitive Fees are due 1/2/19.  (Please contact [email protected] if you would like your total due)  

  

 TEAM CALENDAR  Click Here for the event calendar: Team Calendar 

Make Sure to check this calendar on a regular basis. The remaining dates for the Extra Team Rehearsals have all been added to the calendar. (January – March) 

All events on this event calendar are required, unless otherwise stated. If you are unable to attend an event you need to complete the Team absence form located on the Team website. Miss Trisha will communicate with Miss Sarah to see if it could be excused. Each will be considered on an individual basis.  

 

Winter DANCE Showcase Information  

Tickets:  Tickets are going fast for our December performances!   Please visit the South Milwaukee PAC online to purchase your tickets – Click here. 

Volunteers:  We are looking for parent volunteers to sit backstage with each 1st grade and under class.   Please sign up at the front desk – you WILL be able to watch your child dance.  

Arrival Time:   Students are to arrive 30 minutes early dance ready. Their teachers and APA staff will make sure their costume/hair are correct – but this can only happen if you pack everything you need!  

Music: Team music is available on our Team App, there is also a video on our private Instagram (@apadanceteams) to show you how to find it. You can download it right from there, or request to have music emailed so they can practice at home. Please email us at [email protected] and we will send you a link to a digital file if you need. 

Complete Winter Show details including UPDATED show times, line ups, ticket sale information, hair and make-up click here.   

 

Give the Gift of Dance:   We’re excited to bring you a new way to give the gift of dance lessons to someone you know!  Beginning December 2nd we will have FREE gift cards handed out inside of the classroom, or for you to grab at the front desk, and GIFT to someone who is not currently attending APA.   This gift card gives them a full month of dance classes (group classes with openings only, up to $64 value) at no cost to them.   All you need to do is write your name and theirs on the back of the gift card and give it to them.   They can call us, stop by either location or go online to register for the dance class of their choice.   *Please make sure to have them mention they have a gift card promotion.* If they choose to register after their free month and are enrolled for 2 months, you both will be eligible for the APA referral program credit!  They must be enrolled by January 15th, 2020. This offer is for NEW students only.    

APA Community Christmas Party:  Join APA on Sunday, December 8th for some Holiday fun!   We’re proud to bring this fun FREE event back for its 6th year!  This is open to the community, so please invite friends and family.  Santa will be here for pictures with the kids! We’ll have a fun dance party, Team Bake Sale!!  Elsa will be making an appearance as well!  If you would like to donate a new, unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots, we will have a donation box available at our event.  For every toy you donate, you will receive a raffle ticket.  We have some great raffle prizes up for grabs. Click here to learn more and register today!  

Snow Days: APA will decide if we will remain open during a snow/ice storm.  We use the Oak Creek School District’s verdict as a guideline.  An email will be sent to all families by 3pm if we decide to close Monday-Friday or by 8am on Saturdays.  To receive updates, weather closures and delays please opt in by texting ACADEMY to 77948. Even if you agreed to texts at registration, you still need to opt in using the instructions above. We will post on Fox 6, as well as on our Facebook page. Because this is completely out of our control, we cannot provide make up lessons for each class, however, we will allow you to attend any group class the following week as a make-up. Please stop by the front desk to schedule.   

Logo Wear for Sale:  You can place orders from our online store from the 1st-10th of each month.  We do not have these items available at the studio. All orders will take 3-4 weeks after the store closing date and will be shipped for free to APA.  We will notify you when your items are available for pick-up.  Click here to order! 

Referral Program:  Share us with a friend!  When a new family registers and mentions your name, you EACH will receive a $50 tuition voucher. The voucher will be mailed out after 2 months of paid enrollment and there is no limit to the number of families referred! 

License Plate Winner:Congrats to license plate 365-LGT. One of our staff members spotted your APA window sticker while driving! Please contact the front desk so we know who you are and you will receive a $50 tuition credit. To participate, grab a FREE window sticker at the desk!   

Facebook & Instagram:   Interact with APA on social media!   We have fun contests, photos from classes and more on both our Facebook and Instagram pages.  Click here to join us on Facebook and here to follow us on Instagram!   

  

Happy Holidays!!! 

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