Combined Schools Concert / 30Th Birthday Celebration

2ndMay 2017

Dear SFD Member,

It’s hard to believe we are already inTerm 2.

COMBINED SCHOOLS CONCERT / 30TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

What an amazing afternoon! We were entertained by a diverse display of dances andthank the many schools who nominated such wonderful troupes to help make our afternoon a great success.A special thank you to Sunraysia Dance Academy who travelled from Mildura andLiberty Academy of Dance who travelled from the Northern Territory!It was lovely to be able to honour those students who successfully got through their Level 10 exams in 2016 and early 2017 with a special Level 10 presentation medal. Following on from the concert, a wonderful time was had by all who attended the SFD 30th Birthday celebration cocktail party. We were honoured to have founding members in attendance, with speeches, cake cutting and lots of laughs enjoyed by all.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

A special part of the Combined Schools Concert was the announcement of the Outstanding Achievement Award recipient for 2016 – congratulations toAbbey Thomas.

Abbey has been dancing at Croydon School of Dance for 15 years, studying SFD Jazz and Tap syllabus and RAD Ballet. She has received exceptional results in all her SFD Jazz and Tap exams. In 2015 she broke her ankle mid-way through her level 10 Tap exam but returned in 2016 to re-sit the exam, receiving Honours with Distinction, which is a most admirable achievement. In the same year Abbey completed her Tap teaching exam and since then has been teaching SFD Jazz, Tap and Dance Fusion at Croydon School of Dance. Her students have received excellent results in their exams due to her dedication and passion towards teaching. She has received scholarships in Classical, Jazz, Tap and Contemporary within her school and for all these reasons we believe that Abbey is a very worthy recipient of this prestigious award.

COMPETITIONS

A reminder that the dates for the Southern Federation of Dance Competitions this year will be Sunday 2nd July to Friday7thJuly, inclusive. Once again, the venue is The Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre, 397 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading (Melways Ref: 48 G9). Please note that Scholarship entrants, will be required to attend technical classes held on Saturday 1st July, the day prior to the Competitions, at a venue close to the theatre. The adjudicators for this year’s comps will be Brooke McDowell, Carrie Green and Claire Haywood.

For student’s burning their own music, please advise them that CD’s should be burnt at a low speed.

x8 or x16 writing speed is the preference, and ensure they are burnt as an Audio CD (Not MP3). It is also advisable that a 2nd CD copy is available as backup or an iPod with each dance track placed in their own individual playlists and Security Passcodes must be disabled. Use of iPod or other similar devices are at the owners' risk and SFD will not be held responsible for loss or damage to these items.

Timetables will be ready to distribute to all entrants shortly.

Annual General Meeting:

SFD will be holding their AGM as follows:

DATE:Monday 22nd May

TIME:11.30 am

VENUE:The Tower Hotel, 686 Burwood Road, Hawthorn East

RSVP:Friday 5th May

We welcome all members to attend this important event.

SPONSORSHIP

It’s not too late to become a sponsor for our competitions! If you would like to help contribute to the sponsoring of our competitions, your donation goes directly towards the cost of trophies for 1st place and medals for 2nd and 3rd. It only costs$80 for a½ page advertisement or $130 for a full-page advertisement in the program. Alternatively, any nominated cash donations will be gratefully accepted. Please call HeadOffice for a sponsorship form.

VICTORIAN MEMBERS

Exam bookings are flooding into the office. If you require a particular date (especially from July to September), you are advised to book now so every effort can be made to accommodate your request. Examination request forms are enclosed in your manual.

INTERSTATE MEMBERS – EXAM BOOKINGS

All interstate exam bookings MUST be received at head office by the closing date in order to arrange Examiners.

Please note that early interstate exam bookings closed March 28th and late interstate exam bookings close May 30th.Any requests received after these dates cannot be guaranteed to be accommodated.

EXAMS – TEACHER PARTICIPATION

Just a reminderto members that only one teacher should be present in the exam room for levels 1 + 2 as per specifications in the manual highlighted below:

(1)Level 1 Classical, Jazz & Tap

•The teacher may name and demonstrate the steps, place the candidates into lines, circles etc

•The teacher may not give technical corrections to candidates in the examination room

•Tap shoes may not be worn by the teacher during Tap examinations.

(2)Level 2 Classical, Jazz & Tap

•The teacher may give the names of the steps and help place candidates but may not demonstrate steps or give corrections.

•Tap shoes may not be worn by the teacher during Tap examinations

USE OF IPADS/IPODS/LAPTOPS IN THE EXAM ROOM

Teachers are asked to ensure that if using iPads, iPods or Laptops as music devices in the exam room that the following steps must be taken:

• Make sure that there is a separate playlist (clearly labeled) for each level and style with the exam dance music added to the end of the playlist

• Ensure that the device is fully charged before the exam session or plugged into a charger throughout the exams. If it is a long exam day, then 2 devices must be made available to swap or an external battery charger pack must be available (purchase from Apple store, JB Hi Fi or Harvey Norman)
  
• Ensure the Passcode has been removed and screen saver turned off.
  
• An exam supervisor must be available to go through the device with the examiner before the exam session commences and also throughout the day, in case of difficulties.

Studio Owners or Teachers managing exam days are reminded that there are strict guidelines for heating, desk size (large enough to allow for 2 examiners if needed) and set food requirements for breaksthat need to be adhered to. One of the biggest complaints we receive from Examiners during exam time is that they are always too cold. As we head into the exam season, we ask you to kindly review the guideline documents that are distributed with exam booking information.

We look forward to catching up with you at the Masterclasses and Competitions.

Jane Thomas

Office Administrator