I have returned!!!…..but you already knew that because lessons resumed at the start of September after I returned from vacation….And guess what?? It also means that everybody’s favourite monthly newsletter has also returned!!! I know, you missed it dearly and are currently jumping up and down with joy after seeing it in your email inbox….LOL. As I’ve told everyone, my vacation was fantastic! Spending almost a month with Raina’s family was perfect, except for the chest infection I was fighting the final week. Thankfully all of the major activities that we had planned were done during the first two weeks, but it still was too bad I was dealing with a chest infection the final week. Returning after a vacation of seeing family can be hard sometimes. I was already feeling yucky on the plane from the infection, and having the standard ‘end of vacation blues’ but the pilots helped make the day a little brighter for me. After learning I’m a flight sim geek and that the plane I was on was my favourite plane, they invited me to sit in the pilot’s seat for a picture after landing in Buffalo.
Here’s what we have in the newsletter this month:
- Thanksgiving Day
- Sick Days
- Upcoming Events
- Student Of The Month
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day is upon us in a couple of weeks and this year Turkey Day is on Monday the 14th. I will still be teaching on Thanksgiving Day. With parents and students being home, if you have lessons with me on Mondays and would like to move them to earlier in the day, please let me know. I teach Monday mornings from 10am-11am and will be available anytime after that for any of my afternoon/evening students that would like to move their lesson to an earlier time that day. If you would like to move your lesson to a different day to not interfere with any family obligations, let me know as soon as you can so we can schedule a make up time. We usually don’t do much for Thanksgiving, but I know some do, so I try to accommodate the best I can even though I still consider it a work day for me if need be.
Sick Days
With the school year now active, I always like to send out a friendly reminder regarding sick days. If you/your child(ren)/household are sick this season, please contact me to reschedule your lessons. In addition to not wanting to get sick myself, I also don’t want to be passing on an illness to each home I go to. I still have room to schedule make up lessons if we need to so please don’t hesitate to reschedule if you need to.
Upcoming Events
There are a couple of upcoming events that I’ve mentioned in past newsletters that I’m going to be starting to plan for soon. The first being Santa Claus parades. I did this every year when I had the school in South Simcoe and it was so much fun. October/Early November is usually when information starts being released regarding how to enter the parades. I won’t be doing all of them, but my plan is to be in one of them and decorate my car in a Christmas Theme. I would also like to have some of our students come along and help out. Once I have more information to share I will, but that’s the plan for the upcoming holiday season.
The second event is a student recital. At the moment, I’m undecided as to when I am aiming for. I was originally thinking of a Christmas/Holiday time recital, but I know it might be difficult to get a venue booked, plus everyone is busy with gift shopping, seeing relatives, etc. My next thought was after Christmas in January. The danger with that is weather, and with it being Ontario, who knows what will be or won’t be happening with weather, but January may still be an option. My thought is the Spring might be best for the first student recital. If you have any thoughts regarding when you think might be an all around good time, I’m always open to suggestions. I’m also open to suggestions regarding a location, such as a church, small hall, etc, so if you know of something, please let me know! Ideally I would like to have a location that is central for everyone, if possible. With having students from Niagara, St. Catharines, Welland, Fonthill, Thorold and Niagara-on-The-Lake, I’m thinking maybe St. Catharines would be a good central area for everyone? As I mentioned, if you have any thoughts, let me know!
Student Of The Month
Our Student of The Month for September, 2024 is, Elora!!
Elora has been studying piano with me and is currently working through the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures Level 1 book. She is so eager to start her lesson each week that I hardly have enough time to unpack my bag and ask her how her week has been before she starts playing her assigned songs. Elora is also a huge Star Wars fan!! The 10 minute break we would take during her one hour lessons in the summer consisted of searching the internet for Star Wars jokes while enjoying a carrot and celery snack provided by her Dad. Being a Star Wars fan makes choosing stickers very easy every week, as Elora doesn’t hesitate opening the sticker binder and going straight to the Star Wars sticker pages!
Elora received her framed Student Of The Month certificate, and is featured in this month’s newsletter as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and on the school website when the newsletter is posted there.
Congrats, Elora!!
Coda
And there we go! The first newsletter to kick off the new school year and also the start of the second year of the music school. Don’t forget to let me know about Thanksgiving Day if you want to move your lesson to an earlier time and I hope you all have a great upcoming Thanksgiving Day! Make sure to eat lots of stuffing…it’s the best part!!
Socials & Where To Find Us!
- Web: https://www.doansom.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ADOANSOM
- Twitter (now ‘X’): https://twitter.com/alexander_doan
- Google Reviews if you would like to leave a review: https://g.page/r/CbNrxK_Veae6EB0/review
Alexander Doan School of Music 