DECEMBER 2018 NEWSLETTER
Core Value
IN THIS ISSUE
03 Concert
04 Maiden Gully carols
07 Important Dates
2018 Wrap!
Enjoyable & Fun
We finished our year with a fabulous performance at Ulumabarra Theatre. This is a copy of the Prologue in our program. We have had a beautiful year at SSD! We have a supportive team of Teachers who care so much for their students and are invested in Their own ongoing learning to ensure they can constantly evolve their classes and grow their knowledge. We started the year with A TOD training and then our Team Training, as we do every Term. We s tart with our values which are at the heart of every decision we make in our school. Professional, Friendly & Caring, Enjoyable & Fun, Ongoing learning. These Core values guide our business and are used every day, whether it is to speak to recruit a new teacher, run an event or plan our classes. We commenced our Assistant Teacher & Leadership Training Program in Term 1. Each Term we come together and work through modules of the Dance Teacher Mastery program and our own SSD Values and planning. Senior students volunteer their time to assist with classes each week and are an invaluable help to teachers, especially as they grow in confidence throughout the year. We proudly announced that we are the Official location for Ready Set Dance in Bendigo. A program which runs in over 150 dance studios across Australia and New Zealand. Hannah, Caitlin, Julia & I attended training in Melbourne to bring this one hour combo class to Bendigo preschoolers! Hannah, Alyce & I attended Victorian Dance Festival Teachers Day in Melbourne in February. VDF is a constant inspiration to us all and bring together like minded teachers who are committed to professional development and support for each other. International guests Stacey Tookey & Misty Lown were keynote speakers and I was very surprised and honoured to be asked to speak about the dance industry with them on a panel!
PAGE 2 A large group of SSD Students then danced the weekend away while we watched and learnt in the student workshops.We were so proud of them putting themselves out of their comfort zone and challenging themselves. ! ISadly, my dad passed away in April. I had wonderful support and love from my Team and our SSD Community during the week our family spent with dad in ICU. I would like to dedicate this performance to dad, Barry McDonald. We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for my parents supporting me through a lifetime of dance! That decision has changed my life and brought me into your lives and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity n Term 2 Alyce moved to Barham for a Preschool teaching position, she keeps an eye on us from afar and is helping backstage tonight as she has done all of her life! While speaking about family I have to mention Damien, without his support I could not continue to run SSD. I am blessed that he allows me the time to continue my passion for educating students, creating opportunities, ongoing professional development and building confidence in students that they can take with them throughout their lives. Thanks to Jackson who is a constant support and sitting in the audience for the first time with my mum who has never missed a concert! We continue to bring Industry leaders to our school. Our first workshop for 2018 was with Karen Malek who was the President of Australian Teachers of Dancing for 10 years, ATOD Examiner, Patron of Victorian Dance Festival and Director of Transit Dance. Amongst many other roles, she is most importantly a kind and wonderful person who passed on her knowledge students of all ages. Adam Wheeler returned to SSD with a fun contemporary workshop for all ages. Adam is now the Artistic Director of Tasdance. We had guest teacher David Williams (former principal Artist of Expressions Dance Company) teach our ballet classes for a few weeks and he will return in 2019. Vocal Coach Ash Rokesky has instilled confidence in our Musical Theatre class with her classes. Throughout the year we also attended VDF in Warrnambool with Travis Wall from the USA. Ready Set Dance Conference with Nickelodeon & 2 masterclass weekends in Sydney & Melbourne to continue to improve and evolve our business. Emma attended Come Together Dance Convention on the Gold Coast and we all continued to share and learn from each other as a Team. Finally, I attended the Dance Architect Education Summit at Transit Dance’s new facility in Melbourne in October. Once again we had 100% pass rate with our ATOD Exams. The weekend was a beautiful time for our students to come together and was enjoyed by all who participated. We are proud members of the ATOD who are leaders in dance education and training internationally and very kind and supportive. Finally, I would like to thank my staff. Thankyou for sharing my vision and values. Special mention to Steph & Hannah who have both been at SSD since they were preschoolers! This year we have been blessed with the talents of Emma Brown, Peta Hungerford and Julia Wellard plus guest teachers David Williams & Ash Rokesky. Welcome back to Flick (who also danced at SSD most of her life), she will be assisting me with administration and enrolments. We hope you thoroughly enjoy our performance! I know I have been very excited watching so much new work evolve throughout the year with our talented teachers and dancers. Sincerely, Sharon Saunders
@sharonsaundersdancers
sharon saunders dancers
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EVENTS
Sharon Saunders
Backstage & Rehearsals at Ulumbarra Theatre
@sharonsaundersdancers
sharon saunders dancers
NEWSLETTER
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Coordination, Creativity, Confidence Ready Set Dance was recently awarded the Best National Activity for Preschoolers at The What’s On for Kids Awards! The program focuses on teaching children the 3 C’s. Coordination, Confidence & Creativity. Our 2-5 year olds performed on stage at Ulumbarrra Theatre and Maiden Gully Carols recently. They have certainly built their confidence this year! Keep an eye on social media for Ready Set Dance on TV! In 2019 we will run classes on Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday mornings. Enrolments are now open.
NEWSLETTER
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Proud teachers, Felicity, Julia, Steph, Sharon, Emma, Hannah before our concert at the beautiful Ulumbarra Theatre.
Congrats to Ingrid for completing 1 year in the Origins Extension Program at Transit Dance. Huge thanks to our Backstage helpers who ensure our concert runs smoothly and our dancers are well cared for. We couldn't do it without these kind and generous people's assistance.
Ingrid travelled to Melbourne on Fridays throughout the year to study contemporary dance. She is pictured here with Paul Malek.
Important Dates 2019 January
Monday 14 - Office re-opens 9am Friday 18- Ready Set Dance Training Sunday 20 - ATOD Training
February
Sunday 3 - Team Training/Assistant Training Monday 4 - Term 1 commences
March
Monday 11- Labour Day holiday (no classes)
April
Monday 1- Saturday 6 - Viewing Week Friday 12- VDF Teachers Vitality Day Saturday 13- Victorian Dance Festival Sunday 14- Saturday 6 - Viewing Week Friday 12- VDF Teachers Vitality Day Saturday 13- Victorian Dance Festival Monday 29 - Term 2 commences (after 3 weeks holidays)
Note: we will have 3 weeks holidays between Term 1 & 2 due to Easter Monday and Anzac Day.
2019 - Save the Date!! SSD CONCERT SATURDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2019
2018 Photos available at Andy Banks Photography Phone 0418 590 591