Dear Chato Members.

Please read over the material, either for the first time as a Chato Baby or for the second or third time, as a returning member. Knowing the rules and abiding by them will make for a more organized team, and that in return will give us the discipline to be successful both inside and outside the dance room. Please understand that I am always available to talk with you regarding any issue. If you do not know an answer or just need to clarify something, do not hesitate to contact me. The school number I in the dance studio is 281-604-7544.

Looking forward to a fantastic year.

Sincerely,

Sheri L. Hoff

Chato Director

CHATO GOLDEN RULES

  1. Manners, Manners, Manners

A.Always answer “Thank you or Yes "Mam” whenever you are addressed.

  1. This lets the person know that you have heard their comment or command.
  1. Not doing so may result in a round of “sweats”.
  1. DO NOT TALK
  1. No talking allowed during rehearsal time! Your discipline is very important. It is part of your dedication and pride towards the team.
  1. During any rehearsal time or performance NO TALKING!
  2. The only time talking will be permitted is during break time.
  3. If you have a question raise your hand and you will be addressed.
  4. Holding your tongue in rehearsals will result in a concentrated and time constructed rehearsal for the team.
  5. Noncompliance with this ruling may result in team sweats.
  1. APPLY AND LISTEN
  1. No matter what the command – do it immediately.
  2. Be accountable and apply what you are asked to do right away!
  1. Clapping, Cheering and Showing Spirit
  1. If we do not hoot our own horn, no one else will!
  2. We spend a lot of time together. Everyone needs to check their attitudes at the door and come in with a smile on their face.
  3. Be proud of who you are and excited about what you as a team member are about to accomplish.
  1. Smile
  1. Smiling is contagious! 
  2. A smile shows self-confidence, self-esteem and pride.
  3. A friendly peppy smile also makes rehearsal that much easier and more fun. It also is great practice for that perfect performance smile!
  1. Missing Technique/Stamina/Conditioning
  1. If you miss technique/stamina/conditioning due to being late to rehearsal, having to finish a test, taking care of business in the Chato office, you will be responsible for doing this on your own to maintain your strength as a dancer.
  1. State Mandated UIL Grade Ruling
THIS IS VERY SERIOUS!! PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND!
A.For those of you who are not aware of the UIL rules on grades, please read the following:

i.Grades are checked at the end of every 6-week grading period, beginning with the first 6 weeks of school. Anyone who has a failing grade will be placed on grade probation for the next 3 weeks. During this time, the Chato member may not perform.

ii.At the end of the next 3 weeks, the grades are checked again. The student MUST be passing ALL classes. When the failing grade has been brought up to a passing grade, and all other class grades are passing, the member will be removed from probation. If NOT, then the member will remain on probation for 3 more weeks.

iii.Please be aware that a Chato member may not compete, perform or travel with the Chatos while they are on a grade probation status. In addition, all monies are non-refundable if the Chato member becomes ineligible to perform and attend a trip.

iv.A member who is placed on grade probation is REQUIRED to attend tutorials with that teacher until the grade brought up and Chato rehearsal after the tutorial session.

a.The member MUST check in with the Director first and then go to the tutorial class.

b. A member must return (that day) with a note signed by the teacher with the time of IN/OUT for the session and the date. Failure to do so will result in demerits and points may be deducted.

c.A member must stay for rehearsal after the tutorial session.

v.GRADES ARE VERY IMPORTANT – KEEP THEM UP AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE ALWAYS PASSING.

  1. Missing Practice/Rehearsal

{Chato Dance Studio Office #281-604-7544}

The ONLY REASONS for a member to miss rehearsal or leave early are the following:

  1. Personal illness-
  2. You must call the dance office at least 1 hour before your Chato class begins and leave a message on the recorder if you are not going to be at school.
  3. You must bring a note from home or a dr.s note and give it to the director the day you return.
  4. If you go home during the school day because you became ill, you MUST stop by and tell the director, call the studio office phone, put a note in the director’s box, or slide a note under the Chato office door. DO NOT INFORM ANOTHER STUDENT TO TELL THE DIRECTOR THAT YOU BECAME ILL AND LEFT SCHOOL!
  1. Failure to meet these requirements will result in demerits. You may make up your daily grade by bringing a current event of your choice the day you return.
  1. Dr.’s appointments-
  2. You must bring a note from a parent to be released to go to the doctor. This note MUST be given to the Director BEFORE your dr.’s appointment.
  3. You must bring a doctor’s note upon return.
  4. PLEASE TRY AND MAKE YOUR DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENTS OUTSIDE OF REHEARSAL TIMES!! Failure to meet these requirements will result in demerits. You may make up your daily grade by bringing a current event of your choice the day you return.
  5. Death in the family-
  6. You must bring a note from your parent before leaving and upon return.
  7. You may call the dance office and speak to the Director personally regarding your situation.
  8. You may make up your daily grade in by bringing a current event of your choice the day you return.
  9. Missing two rehearsals or more may pull you from your performance routine.
  10. You are only allowed so many absences:

a.During Football Season – you are only allowed to miss 1 rehearsal. On your 2nd absence, you are pulled from the routine. Moreover, if you miss a Band practice, you may be pulled from the routine and possibly the game.

b.During Contest Season you are only allowed 2 absences per dance routine. Again, after that, you may be pulled from that routine.

  1. Your Responsibility –
  2. If you miss practice, it is up to you to call your officer to see what you missed before returning to rehearsal. There is always a lot of information given at final roll call.
  3. You will be held responsible for finding out what you missed. {For example: If the team was told to bring something the next day and you do not call and find this information out, you will receive demerits for not having that particular item; or maybe, the time for practice changed, (very rarely, but not impossible). You are still responsible for making the time change.} If for some reason you are not able to reach your officer, call someone else on the team to get this information.
  1. Merits/Demerits/Sweats

Merits, demerits, sweats and grades will all play a major role in maintaining your membership on the dance team. They will also count in the preliminary scoring for both line and officer tryouts.

  1. Demerit/Sweat Paper-
  2. Every demerit/sweat will be signed by the offender/officer/Director/parent, returned to the Director by the offender the following day and have all of the proper signatures.
  3. All Demerits/Sweats
  4. Every demerit/sweat will be worked off by the offender but not erased.
  5. A member may NOT WORK OFF any demerit/sweat without the signed paper work.
  6. A member MUST work off demerits with the officer in charge.
  7. All demerits MUST be worked off BEFORE school starts on Wednesday mornings. Work-offs begin at 6:30am and end at 7:00am.
  8. It takes two (2) rounds of stamina walk kicks and one (1) sweat to work off 1 demerit.
  9. You must kick full out and work your sweat full out in order to receive credit for working off your demerit.
  10. It is your responsibility to make sure the officer in charge of demerits is available the morning you choose to work off your demerit.
  11. Your demerit will double if you have not worked it offin one week!
  12. TRY REALLY HARD NOT TO GET A DEMERIT!
  13. Make sure you keep your own records of all demerits/sweats in your merit notebook.

11.REQUIRED LPHS teacher/ student tutorials ON Wednesdays

A.ALL Chato students are REQUIRED to attend tutorial sessions, 2:30pm-3:15pm every Wednesday.

B.ALL Chato students are REQUIRED to bring a note back from tutorials to turn in to the Director upon their return. This note must include the following:

i.name and date

ii.time they came into the tutorial class

iii.time they left the tutorial class

iv.teacher signature

C.If a Chato student chooses not to attend a teacher tutorial session, they are required to do homework or study in the CDS. NO Chato student is allowed off- limits during this tutorial session. Example of off limits would be the dressing room, roaming the hallways, Dairy Queen, etc… Failure to meet these requirements will result in demerits.

D.ALL Chato students MUST tell the Director whose tutorial session they will be attending beforehand. The director must document this for her records.

E.It will be considered a “no show” for rehearsal if a member goes to tutorials without informing the director where they are during this time.

E.Demerits will be given, points may be deducted, and the Chato student may lose their performance/team position if they choose not to follow the above rules regarding LPHS teacher/student tutorial requirements.

12.FYI Bulletin Board

  1. The FYI Bulletin Board located in the dance studio is your source of information. You should check it at the beginning of practice, and at the end of practice. There are a lot of very important items posted on this window at all times. You are responsible for all that is posted on it. Just a few of examples:
  1. Daily Announcements
  2. Important Performances
  3. Merit Opportunities
  4. Deadline Dates
  5. Fun Things
  6. Surprises
  7. Lots More…
  1. MAKE SURE YOU READ IT EVERY DAY!

13.Money Drop Off

  1. Turning in money:
  2. TURN IN ALL CASH MONEIS IN AN ENVELOPE. (Checks do not require an envelope.)
  3. On the outside of the envelope include the following:

a. Your name

b. Amount being turned in

c. Date

d. What the money is for

1.For example:

Sheri Hoff

$1,000,000,000.00

March 2, 2085

Supply payment

2. If the above protocol is not followed- YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE CREDIT FOR IT

  1. The Director does not take ANY payment due to Booster Club.
  2. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO DUE DATES!
  3. IN ORDER TO RECEIVE CREDIT TO YOUR ACCOUNT FOR FUNDRAISERS YOUR MONEY MUST BE TURNED IN BY THE DEADLINE SPECIFIED. IF NOT, YOU WILL STILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE AMOUNT OWED; HOWEVER, YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE THE PROFIT CREDIT ON YOUR ACCOUNT FOR MERITS!!
  4. Please Note the following:
  5. All Monies go toward the yearly designated Chato profit amount first.
  6. Once profit has been satisfied, the remainder monies turned in will be able to go toward your funding goal.

14.Chato Profit and Fundraising

  1. Being a part of a competitive dance team requires a considerable amount of money in order to fund all the activities, trips, costumes, entry fees, etc. We are very fortunate to have a school district that generously supports this organization; however, the money allocated does not fund all of our activities. In fact, it barely covers the cost of entry fees for all contests end costumes. Therefore, the each team member is required to meet an annual yearly profit. This profit may be met through fundraising or paying the money out right.
  1. Profit-
  2. Profit will help offset the cost of such things as playoff games, contest, props, equipment, costuming, re-pairing field uniforms, t-shirts, etc…
  3. Profit amount is set by the Director each year.
  4. Members may pay it at Vendor’s Night.
  5. All monies go toward a member’s profit total owed first. Once the total profit amount is met, then monies turned in or fundraised are applied to meet each member’s individual goal.
  6. Profit deadline is toward the end of November.
  7. Fundraising –
  8. Some fundraising activities will be required; however, there are times when a member will be given a choice
  9. Deadlines will be set for orders and payments will be due at the time the orders are turned in.
  10. A merit per dollar amount sold is given.
  11. Once the order comes in, member will be responsible for checking their order and signing for it.
  12. The following is VERY IMPORTANT:
  13. At the time of signing, a member must state what they are missing, broken, wrong, etc…
  14. Once a member signs for their order and takes it, it will be too late to fix any problems with the order that might come up.
  15. The Director WILL NOT BE ABLE to fix any orders once a member signs for it. So please pay careful attention to checking each order!
  1. Please be advised- there are quota fundraisers (held by the booster club) and team fundraisers (held by the director) - the team fundraisers ARE MANDATORY and 100% participation is expected and required.

15.FOOTBALL SEASON

A.CHATO PERFORMANCE MAKE-UP
  1. Chatos are known for their trademark dancing and their beautiful smiles. Having, and wearing the PROPER make-up is very important in presenting a first rate dance team. The makeup is to be worn so that the features of your face will be seen on the football field, the contest floor and stage. If not worn as directed, your facial features will fade away.
  2. We have all witnessed teams that perform wearing little or light make up and the impact of their routine diminishes, no matter how outstanding they perform.
  3. You are always to wear performance make up when performing unless specified by your Director. A helpful hint, wear it DARK or else your dance officer will come and get you with her make-up brush!!!
  1. Good rule of thumb: if you look like a clown you are good to go! 
  1. Directions for applying make-up:

i.Apply base. Everyone needs it so that the rest of the makeup will go on evenly and to protect your skin! Make sure your base color matches your skin tone!

ii.Apply black on crease and pull it out for a dramatic “Egyptian” look. Apply blue/green or teal over the black and above the lid. Apply peach eye shadow under brow. Blending is the key to a beautiful and finished look. If in doubt ask the Director or a Dance officer.

iii.Line eyes, top and bottom with a black liner very thick.

iv.False eyelashes are MANDATORY!

v.Your blush should be very dark. Apply it all the way from your temple two fingers away from your nose along the cheekbone.

vi.Dust entire face with loose powder to seal your makeup.

vii.Then apply, lip liner and finish with lipstick.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER APPLY YOUR MAKEUP WITH YOUR FIELD UNIFORM OR COSTUME ON UNLESS YOU HAVE A COVER UP ZIPPED CLOSED!

16.Hair for Performance

  1. No Whispies:
  2. Whispies are the “fly away hair” that is not secured. For every performance your hair must be slick, with no whispies, unless the Director chooses something different.
  3. Don’t be caught with whispies - YOUR DANCE OFFICER AND DIRECTOR will get you!
  4. Bobby Pins:
  5. You need to use bobby pins, (all around your head), to be sure it stays in place. Demerits will be given if your hair falls down in anyway.
  6. All hair accessories, (hats, headbands, rhinestone barrettes, etc…), MUST be secured with several bobby pins. Demerits are given and you may be pulled from the routine if any part of your uniform comes off.
  7. Hairspray:
  8. Always remember to use lots of hairspray.
  9. NEVER spray your hair when you have your costume/uniform on.
  10. Hair spray will dull the sequence on your costume/uniform.
  11. You could be responsible for replacing the cost of your costume/uniform due to non-compliance of this ruling.
  12. Pony Tail Holder:
  13. Make sure you use ONLY the color of your hair pony tail holders. NO pinks, purples, whites, etc…
  14. Make sure your holder stays secured by wrapping it around your hair until it is tight.
16. ATTENDANCE DURING FOOTBALL SEASON
  1. Attendance is always important, but especially during football season we only have one week to perfect a routine. Each day of the week has an activity designed to prepare the team for the performance game. The following is an outline of a typical rehearsal week.
  1. Mondays – (If the routine has not already been auditioned), all team members must participate in an audition in front of the Director for the current week’s performance. Remember every team member is REQUIRED to have both right and left splits with proper technique and a double turn with proper technique before they audition for the routine.
  2. Each dance has set formations which require a limited number of performers per routine.
  3. Each dancer is expected to perform without mistakes.
  4. Some auditions are conducted during summer rehearsal time.
  5. If you are absent on the day of the audition for any reason and did not call the dance studio or a dance officer one hour before Chatos, you may not audition for that particular dance routine missed; in addition, if the auditions have already taken place - your position in the performance routine will be automatically closed. The Director has the right to choose whether to hold another formal audition for your absence or not.
  6. Just because you pass the auditioned routine(s) – you must still have the motivation and heart to maintain your performance position.
  1. The director has the right to replace any performer at ANY TIME for AMU REASON. The Director is a coach AND WILL ONLY PUT THE BEST PLAYERS ON THE FIELD OR PERFORMANCE FLOOR!
  1. Tuesdays/Wednesday – After school practice may take place outside on these days.
  1. A majority of the cleaning of the dance is done along with the placing of formations.
  2. Have your water jug, sun screen and bug spray available. These are not provided for you.
  1. Wednesday/Thursdays – Practice with the band occurs on this day. This is the only time to prepare for our performance with the band. If you miss band practice for ANY REASON, you may be automatically removed from the performance routine.
  2. Fridays – Last minute corrections and perfecting are made before the halftime show. If you miss the final practice before a performance, you may be automatically removed or replaced.
  3. ALL REMOVALS AND/OR REPLACEMENTS FROM A DANCE ROUTINE ARE MADE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE DIRECTOR. Once you have qualified for a performance routine, there is a possibility you may be removed from your position if certain rules are not followed.
  4. The best suggestion is to BE A TEAM PLAYER AND FOLLOW THE RULES WITH HEART AND DEDICATION TOWARDS THIS TEAM.
  5. As you can tell, no day is a good day to miss.
17.Squad Practices
  1. The DANCE officers’ conduct squad practices when the Director decides they are needed.
  1. Times and places for the squad practices are posted or told to the dance officer in charge and the team.

a.The Director will always try to give you a week prior to the practice; however, sometimes last minute rehearsals are called.