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Age Appropriate Classes

I have three children and I remember how hard it was trying to balance schedules.

When we opened the school, we decided to allow parents to choose what classes in an age group they would like their child(s) to attend. I think this works fine. Parents have flexibility and the only consequence is that the size of a class might change from week to week.

What needs improvement is another, more recent decision I made. Again, in order to make it easier for parents, I have let some younger children participate in an older class. Sometimes this works—if the child is focused, mature; sometimes, unfortunately, the experiment is unsuccessful.

I really appreciate the feedback I get from parents. We are not a perfect school. I make mistakes. As a teacher and owner, I know the karate center can only get better if I listen to what you say and try, as much as possible, to implement change.
Specifically, a mom of a Crane told me some younger students I had allowed in a Crane class were not acting as well as they should.
I accept responsibility.

Here’s what I ask—
Try and bring your child to the age appropriate class.
If this is a hardship, I’ll deal with it by dividing classes: younger students with an instructor, older students with me. Sometimes this might necessitate the younger ones going downstairs into dojo II.
I’ll see if this works. The limitation might be if I don’t have an instructor with which to divide the class, but this usually isn’t the case.
Let me know what you think

Thank you mom of the Crane.

Have a good month!

­­— Alan

P.S.
Since we’re talking about improvements…
Sometimes the sound level on stage is too loud. Again, I made the decision of having an open dojo so parents can see their children and hear what I and the other instructors are saying. But there is a price—conversation, the voices of younger siblings playing, etc.
I ask that you do what you can to keep the stage area as quiet as possible.
Thank you.

Parents Night Out

Games, crafts, snacks, a movie! All so the parents can have a night out for themselves!

On December 8 at the dojo from 6-11, we are having a Parents Night Out! The kids will have fun and the adults can do something great—like—last minute shopping!

A sign up sheet is in the main dojo.

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Speaking of Holiday Shopping—

Trunk Day at the kick-a-thon December 1
and
before Parents Night Out December 8.

Look for new clothes, jackets and hats in our dojo store! They will be on display in the annex and available for holiday gift-giving. Also check out the items in the Century catalogue. If you are interested in purchasing something, please see Mrs. Nichols in the annex and she will personally take care of your order.

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"I Can Give!"

Activity: We don’t usually directly relate an activity to a fund raiser, but this month we are asking our students to earn their STAR pin by participating in our kick-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude.

Whatever you can do will be appreciated.


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Storm Team Update

A few current members of our STORM team participated in advanced training earlier in October at Sensei Durkin’s dojo, learning more details about presenting in class, learning to teach and to understand how students learn. They shared a workout, met STORM members from other Botukukai dojos – and had a great time!

Our next STORM TEAM meetings locally are scheduled for:

Thursday, November 8 at 6:30pm
Monday, November 19 at 5:15pm.

STORM TEAM updates are sent out periodically via email
– stay tuned!

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The dojo is closed
November 12
for Veteran's Day and
November 22, 23 and 24th for
Thanksgiving

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Holiday Festival

Every November the karate school makes a raffle-prize donation to the Holiday Festival. We have donated Christmas Trees, X-Mas dinner plates, designer wrapping paper, special holiday treats and other items, all arranged artistically by Mrs. Kessler for display at the Billerica Library. The money from the raffle supports the Holiday Festival which includes providing lights for the Common during the holiday season.

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Fright Night

I’m sure everyone who came to Fright Night had fun and left, especially if they went upstairs to P.T. Grimripple’s Sideshow and séance, with chilling memories!

We always try to make Halloween special at the dojo. Each year we have done something different. In my opinion, this year was our best! But having said that, we are already thinking about absolutely terrifying ideas for next Halloween! Don’t worry, John Henry and the party will be back downstairs.

Thank you to our Halloween staff: Jenn, George, Lori, AnnaLisa, Sarah, Diana, Tyler, Devan, Lucas, Sarah G, Jonny, Miss Wendy, Miss Vicki, Tami, Molly, Kaitlyn, Debbie, Stephen, David L, Josh, and Miss Vicki’s husband, Joe.

Poster: Maryellen Margossian
Lighting and Sound Steve Brodowski—and Steve!

A lot of people, a lot of time spent doing it, but we hope you had fun

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Promotions

Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, November promotions will be held in December.

Adults: Friday, December 7 PM
Children: Saturday, December 8 starting at 9AM.

heck your name on the bulletin board in the main dojo and see Joann if you have any questions.
We are doing something new at promotions. We are asking all candidates to bring a friend(s) to help celebrate this special event! All friends will receive a raffle ticket for a prize and receive a gift!

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It’s That Time Again—Two More Dojo Holiday Traditions!

Our Annual Kick-a-Thon for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Blood Drive for the American Red Cross. thon to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Our students will receive pledge forms and are asked to kick for ten minutes. St. Jude’s motto is “Helping Children Live” Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital maintains 60 inpatient beds and treats about 230 patients each day. St. Jude was the first institution established for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer. No child is turned away because his or her parents can’t pay. We are hoping to raise more money than last year’s total of $6,200. This year, letters are going out to the Billerica business community to ask for their support. If you know of a business that would like to contribute funds or merchandize for raffling, please let us know. We have matching gift forms. Based on the amount of funds raised, here are the prizes St. Jude offers to our students: 1. $35-- St. Jude T-shirt 2. $75—St. Jude T-shirt and backpack. 3. $125-249—bronze medal 4. $250-499—silver medal 5. $500 or more—gold medal Sponsors can make a pledge per kick or a general donation. (You can bring the donations in before December 1 if not based on the amount of kicks) At the kick-a-thon, one of our moms, Laureen M. Sloman, will be selling lia sophia jewelry. 20% of the proceeds will go to St. Jude. This is an opportunity to do some holiday shopping and support a great cause at the same time! Red Cross Blood Drive There is always a shortage of blood. We always try and help. Last year the Red Cross distributed over 350,000 units of blood in 200 hospitals in our communities. Please mark December 1 on your calendar as a time to come to the dojo and donate blood in the American Red Cross blood mobile.

Our Holiday Show: Dickens’ A Christmas Carol This will be our 5th performance of the play. It is put on by the parents and students at our school and is a wonderful way for your family to begin the holiday season! Performances are 7 PM December 14 (Friday) and 15th (Saturday) in the dojo. (At the writing of this newsletter, it hasn’t yet been decided if there will be a matinee on Saturday—more information on this to follow) If you want to attend a performance, please ask Joann for tickets. The tickets are free. This is our holiday gift to you. (We use the tickets to determine how many seats we need to arrange per performance. We are limited to 100 people per presentation, so get your tickets early). We are adding new music to the play. This will really be an outstanding adaptation of Mr. Dickens’ immortal story about loss and redemption—a theme that resonates in every religion!

 

 

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