The Pointe’s Friday FYI – 10/21/22

Happy Friday, PSD Families! This Friday FYI is our primary method of communication to studio families – please save it for a time when you can read through it thoroughly and bookmark it for reference!

New & Urgent this week:
– Costume Week starts Monday! (see more information below)
– Nutcracker Excerpts (Ballet 4+) Registration DUE SUNDAY! (link below with Holiday Showcase information)
– Trunk or Treat information (October 29, 12:00-1:30 PM, at the studio)
– Recital 2022 DVD’s are in and ready for pick up!
– Costume Measuring Ongoing (ends 10/29!)
– Holiday Showcase information is online now, and registration is open!

Find all of the important dates for the year here: www.thepointeschool.com/policies – we list upcoming dates within the next few weeks in every Friday FYI as well for your convenience!

  • October 3 – 22 – Costume Measurements (see below!)
  • October 22 – Cedar Rapids Halloween Parade (performance opportunity for ages 5+ – registration closed 10/9)
  • October 23 – Nutcracker Excerpts (Ballet 4+) Registrations Due (see below!)
  • October 24-30 – Costume Week (more information coming soon!)
  • October 25 – November auto-pay processed
  • October 29 – Trunk or Treat at the studio (more information below!)
  • October 31 – No PM Classes, front desk, or boutique hours (have fun trick-or-treating!)
  • November 1 – Deadline for recital costume order
  • November 7-12 – Parent Appreciation Week (more information coming soon!)
  • November 12 – Holiday Showcase Registrations Due (see below!)

There are NO LIMITS to these incentives (add two classes, get $20 to the boutique, etc!) – the only limit is our class capacity.  Several classes have only a couple spots open, so you’ll want to secure your spot quickly!

  • Costume Week is NEXT WEEK!  (starting Monday!)  We invite dancers to wear their Halloween costumes (non-scary, must be able to dance in them) or an old dance costume to class this week!  Parents are invited to join us for the last 5 minutes of class this week to see the costume and music for our June recital!  
    • Also – be sure you’re following us on Facebook and Instagram to see the costumes first thing in the morning, guess which costume belongs to which class, and see all of the costumes for the day revealed at the end of the night! This is SO FUN – you don’t want to miss it!
    • One note – with over 80 classes per week and fewer reliable costume companies than ever, we may have costumes that multiple classes use in the same year.  We have made sure costumes won’t be shared by the same dancer(s) or costume repeats in the same show. 🙂 While it’s certainly more stable than last year, the shipping and supply chain issues we’re all experiencing are an issue with dance costume companies, too – and we’re working hard to ensure that our students aren’t affected by these issues.  Having a few costumes shared between different shows is a small price to pay for the confidence we have for using the few manufacturers we can count on 🙂

If you ordered DVD’s from Recital 2022, they are in the boutique ready for pick up! Stop by any time during boutique hours (M-Th 4:30-7, Sat AM 9-12) to pick yours up!

It is time to start preparing for our annual Holiday Showcase! Though fall has just begun, we are ready to share with you our plans to dance into the Holiday Season with joy and cheer! Everything you need to know about this special performance is on the Holiday Showcase website. Please read the handbook thoroughly and keep it for your reference as we get planning the showcase! Dancers in select classes ages 3 and up are invited to perform in this optional, festive, informal showcase! This is a great way for dancers to gain some performance experience and celebrate the holidays before we start in-class preparations for our formal June Recital.

All Holiday Showcase Information will be posted and continuously updated on our Showcase webpage – thepointeschool.com/holiday-2022

Join us at the studio on Saturday, October 29, from 12:00-1:30 PM in the parking lot for a fun Trunk or Treat event! Our staff will set up their trunks with candy to pass out to dancers. Come and see your dance teachers in costume, and get some treats!

We are already starting to plan for our June recital! If you’re new to dance or new to our studio, planning our annual recitals is a lot like planning a wedding – there are TONS of components involved! To be sure our classes have incredible costumes on stage, we start costume preparations in October!

Through Saturday, October 22, we have a costume measuring station in the lobby! Stop by from 5-7 PM Monday through Thursday or 9 AM – 11 AM on Saturday morning. Parents, we recommend that you come with your dancer and have them wear dance clothes. We use a sizing kit from the manufacturers we order costumes from – dancers will try on a leotard or pants/shirt over their dance clothes to gauge the best size to order. Our sizing helpers will work with you to order the best size for your dancer. Parents, if you would like to give input for your dancer, please come with them to be sized! We do our best to order the size that will best fit your dancer for June performances, accounting for growth between now and then.

Our sizing helpers do everything they can to make sizing a positive experience for our dancers! Dance costumes may be a different size than their normal clothes – and that’s OK! They may also need different sizes from different manufacturers (I’ve personally ranged from an adult small to an adult large for costumes in the same year!) If a dancer is in between sizes, we always order the larger size. We can help with minor alterations for a slightly-too-big costume, but can’t do much with a too-small costume. Exchanges are not often possible – many dance costumes ship several months after we order them. We order in November, and will receive some costumes within a few weeks, and others won’t arrive until April. I know it seems wild to be ordering costumes for a June show in November – but this is what we need to do to ensure costumes arrive in plenty of time (especially with some ongoing supply chain and shipping delays). November 1 is the deadline for parents to adjust the sizing for costume orders and for any class changes before costumes are ordered.

Now that our classes are off to a great start, we are ready to offer trial classes for new-to-The-Pointe families – and we have a sweet deal for you if you refer a friend to our program! Families can schedule a trial class easily using this link!

When a family you’ve referred signs up, please have them list your name in the “Where did you hear about us?” form in online registration. We will send them a $20 gift card to our boutique to help them get the gear their dancer needs for class – and as a thank you, we’ll send one to you, too! Trial classes are easy to schedule online, and are FREE for a limited time!

  • Click the links on your phone to download the BAND app and join these groups 🙂 
  • Please join the Studio-wide BAND here: https://band.us/n/aba6607526O3B 
  • If your dancer is in COMPANY, please join the Company BAND here: https://band.us/n/a4ac627b2aNdR (dancers can and should join, too!)
  • If your dancer is in COMMUNITY TEAM, please join the CT BAND here: https://band.us/n/a7a9687a26O1J (dancers can and should join, too!) 
  • Families have received an email with a unique link to join the BAND group for each class – if you’ve joined us after that message went out, please find your dancer’s instructor after class to get access or shoot us an email ([email protected]) and we’ll get you added!

We’ve added another easy method of communication to get relevant information directly to families – right on your phone!

Studio Lobby & Lounge
We ask that families limit lobby visitors to one parent per child if you’ll be waiting in the lobby during class.  We also ask that families ONLY have food in the lounge, and to pick up after eating. We have wipes, paper towels, and a small broom/dustpan in the lounge so the space can stay nice and neat for the next group to use the space.

How to get connected at The Pointe!
We love our studio community and truly work with the best families in Cedar Rapids.  We know that it takes a village to raise up awesome kids, and our studio community can be a part of your village.  We have a private Facebook group just for studio families – click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1921735994748769 Please also join our studio-wide BAND app: https://band.us/n/aba6607526O3B (dancers, too!) 

Absences
Attendance in class is crucial for dancers to learn and grow.  We can only teach students who are in class 🙂  However, we know that things happen and kids may need to miss occasionally.  To report an absence so your instructor knows what’s going on with your dancer, follow the steps in this 40-second video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nstwEOf7e58&list=PLZkeFgMt7mR63GMRqwjdoIM8-U1mxAx-3&index=2 

Boutique & Front Desk Hours
We’re happy to help ! We catch up on studio voicemails, emails, and are available at the front desk from 4:30-7:00 Monday through Thursday, and 9:00 AM – Noon on Saturday mornings.

Dress Code
Students who are dressed for dance perform and progress better in class!  Find out what your dancer needs for their classes and easily order online here: www.theturningpointeboutique.com 

Studio Policies & Full Calendar
Our Policies & Calendar for the 2022-2023 School year is online! Here you will find all the dates needed to plan a successful season, as well as all policies that help keep our studio running smoothly. You can find the Policies and Calendar on our website here: www.thepointeschool.com/policies

Have a wonderful weekend!
– Miss Vanessa & your PSD Staff