August 29th, 2018

The Instructors of Pizazz Dance Academy and I are so pleased to welcome you to our family! Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your dancer’s life. 
 
This month, I will hand out copies of this newsletter. Moving forward, newsletters will come out like this one did - via email! I will send out a text when newsletters are sent so you know to check for them. Please be sure to check your "Spam" or "Promotions" folder, as often my newsletters do not find their way into your Inbox. I send a lot of information via email, so please be sure to check often, and add [email protected] to your trusted address list. Newsletters will also be posted to the blog portion of our website at www.pdamorgantown.com
 
You will note that we have a parent center, that has a plethora of information for you. Learn about the ABT Ballet Curriculum, take discount coupons for dancewear, and enjoy a cup of coffee. There's also a payment box for your convenience (see below for more information regarding payments).
 
If you need to leave the studio during your child’s class, please just make sure we have a phone number where you can be reached. 
 
Your dancer’s Instructor or Assistant will call for your child to come into the dance studio when it is time for class to begin. If you have been overlooked, please let Jessica know. It takes us a while to learn who is in each class. Please do not let your dancer enter a classroom until the instructor has called him/her in.
 
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 304-292-9671, email [email protected] or you may come into my office at any time to chat. It’s much easier to reach me via email, I can always answer!
 
Don't forget to join our REMIND group text list. Please text @pizazzdnce to 81010 to join. We will use this to let you know when the next newsletter is out, if dance is cancelled due to teacher illness or weather, reminders of payment week, etc. 
 
BRING A FRIEND - SEPTEMBER 10-13
 
September 10-13 is BRING A FRIEND WEEK here at Pizazz! Every dancer who brings a friend will receive a treat (their friend will too!). If your dancer's friend signs up for this dance year, you will receive a $20 credit on your January, 2018 bill!
 
Your dancer may register for more classes, and their friends may join classes until November. Feel free to pass this newsletter along to anyone you think may be interested!
 
September 24-27 is parent viewing week, so be sure to be there for the last 5 minutes of your dancer's class!

 
 
Thank you in advance for reading the Newsletter prior to asking questions!

I try very hard to inform parents of everything that is going on with the studio via the monthly newsletter, as well as the monitor in the parent center. You may still have questions after you read the newsletter and I welcome your coming into my office to get these questions answered but please, please read your newsletter first.  There are around 100 students taking classes here so you can only imagine how time consuming it is for me to be asked a question that has been answered via newsletter already. Of course, even with proofreading every newsletter, there are times when I miss giving you the information you need. If that’s the case, I’ll post a notice on the monitor, or send a text via REMIND (join by sending @pizazzdnce to 81010). We will always do our best to keep you informed!
 
Important Notes:

OUR SCHEDULE
The schedule is an ever-evolving thing, especially in these first few weeks. Please be patient as we make adjustments where needed.
 
CLASS LEVELS
There may be times when we need to make adjustments to your dancer’s level. We will always discuss this with you first to make sure any schedule changes work for you!
 
PRIVATE LESSONS
Private lessons may be available in every discipline, time allowing. Please note that your dancer(s) MUST be taking a class in that discipline in order to also take private lessons. If you are interested in a solo/duo/trio/quad, please see Jessica or your dancer’s teacher.
 
Recital Kit Fee and FUNDRAISING!

 
Your non-refundable recital kit fee of $175* (additional $10—$20 for XL Adult—XXL Adult) per dancer is due by November 15th. You may choose to make payments, or you may pay it all at once.
 
This fee includes: ONE costume, ONE pair of tights, TWO tickets to the recital, ONE recital t-shirt, and ONE recital program. Each additional costume will be $100 (additional $10—$20 for XL Adult—XXL Adult), which you may also choose to make payments on.
 
You may wonder why it’s necessary to collect these fees so early. Unfortunately, it can take the costume companies several months to complete an order. We must place our order early so we can avoid stressful late arrivals of costumes.
 
We realize this can be expensive, so in order to help alleviate some (or all!) of the costs, we offer fundraising! Fundraising is strictly optional, and what you earn is applied directly to your account.
We will do two fundraisers in the fall. Sarris Candies offers a wonderful fundraiser that is perfect for the holidays, and you earn 20% of your total sales.
 
Oakbrook Farms offers delicious foods like pizza, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, desserts and cookie dough and lots of other items. What you earn depends on what we sell, and more information will be coming. WE HAVE FAMILIES WHO HAVE NEVER PAID FOR A COSTUME USING THESE FUNDRAISERS!
 
We will begin these fundraisers soon, and more information will be coming in the next few weeks.
 
We will also provide fundraising opportunities in the Spring, which can be used to pay for your photos and program ads.
 
* To accommodate for the 2nd costume (either convertible or studio made) in our Combo 4/5 class, there will be an additional $50.00 fee.
 
Fundraising money can not be used to pay for tuition.
  
The Waiting Room

Please consider our waiting room your home away from home. Some of you spend a great deal of time at our studio and we want you to be comfortable. We would like to ask that you help us keep it neat by picking up the toys that your children have played with at the end of your stay.
 
Eating in the waiting room is allowed. Very Important: Please empty your drink cups into the bathroom sink BEFORE throwing the cup into the trash and please be sure to wrap dirty diapers in a bag. It is very important that all food be picked up off of the floor if spilled as the ants will be marching in the minute that french fry hits the floor! 
 
If there is a food accident, please let Jessica know as soon as possible so that she can help you clean it up if necessary.
 
Please make sure your waiting dancer and/or sibling(s) remain quiet and calm while they are here. It is very distracting to those in class when children are running and screaming in the waiting room.
 
We offer free WI-FI and cable. Please feel free to watch tv or a DVD while your child is in class. If there is anything we can do to make your stay in the waiting room more pleasant, please let us know.  
 
Speaking of making your stay in the waiting room more pleasant: We keep the temperature of the dance studios at approximately 70 degrees. The temperature controls located inside of the studios are what controls the temperature of the waiting room. Unfortunately, the waiting room will be much cooler than the studios in the winter time because of the constant opening and closing of the outside doors. I do have a couple of space heaters out there, so please make sure your dancer doesn’t touch them when they’re in use! Unfortunately, we can’t turn the heat up in the studios, as the dancers are usually too warm in the studios as they are exerting a great deal of energy. If you are really, really cold, we’ll let you exert some energy by running the vacuum cleaner!

Important: Talking with Your Child's Instructor

We do have an open door policy here at Pizazz, and want you to be able to discuss any questions, comments, compliments or concerns with your child’s instructor. However, we are on a very tight schedule (no time between classes), and one five-minute conversation with an instructor will cause delays for the rest of the evening. This makes every other class begin and end late, inconveniencing all other parents. VERY IMPORTANT: if you would like to discuss something with your child’s teacher, please see Jessica in the office to make an appointment. We will set up a time for a phone call or face to face meeting, either that evening if possible, or the next day. Your feedback is very important to us! 

Arriving at Dance Class On Time

It is very important that students arrive for class at least 5 minutes before classes begin. Stretching muscles is a very important part of every dance class to help avoid injury during class. Students who arrive late are not able to participate in this important part of class. 
 
Students who arrive 15 minutes late or more will be asked to observe in order to prevent injury. This rule has been created for your dancer’s safety and good health.

Payment Schedule and Fees

For your convenience, your tuition for the year has been divided into 10 payments. Your first payment is due the week we start. Each subsequent payment will be due near the second week of each month. A full payment is due each time regardless of the number of classes attended by a student. Monthly installments are the same regardless of how many weeks may occur during any given month.
 
2018-2019 Payment Dates
Payment 1: August 27-30
Payment 2: September 17-20
Payment 3: October 15-18 
Payment 4: November 12-15
Payment 5: December 10-13
Payment 6: January 14-17
Payment 7: February 11-14
Payment 8: March 11-14
Payment 9: April 8-11
Payment 10: May 13-16  
 
Please add these payment dates to your calendar today! Any account not paid in full by the close of business on the Thursday of payment week will be billed to the credit card on file (with a 5% convenience fee added). If that payment fails to go through, a $15 late fee will be posted to your account and your dancer will not be able to attend class until the payment is made. A reminder will be posted on the monitor in the parent center, and texted via REMIND (@pizazzdnce to 81010 to join) during payment week.
 
Please write your child’s name on your check and drop it into the payment box located in the waiting room. There’s no need to put your check in an envelope. You will receive a receipt via email. PLEASE DO NOT PUT CASH IN THE PAYMENT BOX. See Jessica to make cash payments. You may choose to use a credit card for your payments. There is a 5% service charge for all credit card payments. 
 
A $35.00 returned check fee will be charged for checks returned by the bank for any reason. Returned checks will need to be picked up and paid for before your child attends his or her next class. 
 
REHEARSAL and RECITAL WEEKEND:
MAY 18-19, 2019