The Pointe’s Friday FYI – 10/7/22

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:
– Halloween Parade Registrations DUE SUNDAY!
– Costume Measuring Ongoing
– Holiday Showcase information online 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 8 – Discover Dance Days Bonus deadline
  • October 9 – Halloween Parade Registrations Due (see below!)
  • October 18-21 – Fall Intersessional Break (no classes, front desk, or boutique hours)
  • October 22 – Cedar Rapids Halloween Parade (performance opportunity for ages 5+ – more information below – REGISTER BY SUNDAY, 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 coming soon!)
  • 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!

The NewBo/Czech Village Halloween Parade is BACK and The Pointe School of Dance invites your dancer(s) to participate with us in the spooky, scary fun!
We will be walking and dancing in the parade this year, and would love your dancers (ages 5+) to perform with us! REGISTRATION IS DUE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9! Register here.

When: Saturday, October 22nd at 6:30 PM
In order to participate, you must:
– Be registered for Dance & Discover 3 or higher (ages 5 and up)
– Participate in our Parade Choreography Camp (details below)

Parade Choreography Camp – Saturday, October 22nd from 12:00-2:00 PM 
Camp Registration – $40
To prepare for the parade, we have created a festive Choreography Camp so dancers can learn the parade routines and participate in other spooky and fun activities!

This Camp includes:
– Learning the Halloween-themed routines to be performed at the parade later that evening
– A Halloween-themed craft
– Spooky snacks, activities, and games
– A T-Shirt to be worn at the parade later that evening (you can dress up the T-Shirt any way you would like!)

More specific parade details will be sent out to you at a later date (i.e. when and where to arrive, what to bring with you, where to pick up your dancer, etc)

If you are interested in participating with us in the Parade, please fill out this form by Sunday, October 9th. If you are registering more than one dancer, please fill out a separate form for each child.

Special Notes:
* If you are in Community Team, you do not need to fill out this form because this counts as one of your performances. You will learn these routines in your rehearsals, your T-Shirt is included, and you do not need to participate in the Camp.
** If you are in Company and want to participate, you do need to fill out this form so we can order you a T-Shirt ($20). You do not need to participate in the Camp – we will teach these routines on 10/16 during your technique time.

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!

From Monday, October 3 through Saturday, October 22, we will 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.

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

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