Groovin' into 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope you had a wonderful holiday and are getting through the cold weather by staying warm and practising your dance moves! 2014 is off to a great start for us! So far this month, we have successfully completed dance workshops/units at Laggan Public School, Farley Mowat Public School, Williamstown Public School, Devonshire Public School and Bishop Hamilton Montessori. This week we'll be at Roxmore Public School, Queen Elizabeth Public School and Arch St. Public School! We are currently accepting bookings for April, May and June! Dates are limited, so book as soon as possible! Testimonial: "The hip hop workshop for my Grade 6's was outstanding! Julia hooked the students in the first few minutes and engaged them throughout the session. The kids entirely bought in, even those who claim to hate dance or who usually feel inhibited! I was impressed by their final performances at the end of a single 40-minute session! Loved it!"                  Carol Montgomery, Gr. 6 teacher from Roland Michener PS Luv2Groove in Vancouver Schools! We are very excited to be on the roster for this year's Artstarts Showcase and Conference 2014 in Vancouver, BC. Luv2Groove was chosen from hundreds of companies to deliver their educational dance programs to school boards across BC in 2014/2015 for 4 weeks. For more information on Arts Starts visit their website at: http://artstarts.com/blog/register-artstarts-showcase-and-conference-2014 Upcoming Teacher Workshops! Feb. 20th from 5:00-9:00pm @ North Grenville High School Cost: TBA Workshop Description: Our teacher workshops support the dissemination of dance to schools, broadening student exposure and enabling dance enrichment. Express Dance is an inclusive, simple approach, which helps unleash the potential for physical expression latent within each and every individual. Facilitated by Allen Kaeja, Express Dance workshops provide educators with the hands-on tools and strategies they need to build curriculum-connected dance units for their students, regardless of their cultural background, dance exposure, experience, age or physical ability. See more at: http://www.kaeja.org/education/workshop/item/express-dance-teacher Registration: If you are interested in taking this workshop, please email Julia at: julia.gutsik@code.on.ca to be put on the list. Details will be finalized in the next couple days and will be sent out to those who are interested in attending! ____________________________________________________________________________________ May 3rd, 2014- Drama/Dance workshop with Luv2Groove & Drama Educator (TBA).  Details TBA _____________________________________________________________________________________ Save the date! CODE Conference 2014 in Ottawa, ON! Oct. 17th-19th, 2014, the Council for Ontario Drama and Dance Educators will be holding their annual conference in Ottawa, ON for the first time!  As Eastern Representative for CODE, Julia from Luv2Groove is very excited to be apart of the conference committee for 2014.   CODE | Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators Be inspired. Stay Connected. Are you a member yet?  Visit: http://www.code.on.ca Food for thought... A quote from Dr. Rena Upitis from Queen's University who has completed a comprehensive Arts literature review for ETFO, identifying ways of supporting and advancing an education for the development of the whole child. This literature review highlights ways to support and advance Arts education to make it a central part of the education of the whole child. RECOMMENDED ELEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES AND TIME ALLOCATION GUIDELINES: Dance The following instructional considerations take into account ARTSECO’s position that: • In order to teach the subject-specific knowledge and skills inherent in each of the four Arts disciplines, adequate dedicated instructional time must be allocated for each art form on a regular recurring basis. (learning in and about the arts) • In addition to this subject-specific instruction, integration of the arts with a variety of subjects is strongly encouraged. (learning through the arts) It is important to note that even though the Phys Ed teacher might also teach Dance, the Dance curriculum is not directly connected to the Physical Education curriculum other than as it relates to physical literacy, fundamental movement skills, and health and wellness. The specific Dance curriculum expectations must be intentionally taught and assessed. • Further, it is rarely appropriate to assume that DPA meets the Dance curriculum expectations. Within educational dance, students are involved in creative and critical processes which do not necessarily or typically relate to aerobic work.Therefore, DPA time cannot qualify as Dance instructional time unless specific Dance expectations from the Arts Curriculum document are directly addressed in the lesson. • On the other hand, Dance instructional time (i.e., time spent engaging in activities intended to help students meet Dance curriculum expectations) may be use to meet the DPA requirement as long as students are engaged in physical activity for at least 20 minutes of their Dance period. • While an open space clear of obstacles is recommended, Dance instruction can occur in a variety of spaces, including a classroom, stage/pit, protected exterior location, etc. • Where possible, a dedicated Dance room with a clean floor, a sound system appropriate for the room, and adequate shelving/storage space for props and equipment is optimal. • We recommend a minimum of 40 minutes of instructional time per lesson to allow students time to engage in the creative process, through guided and independent experimentation with the elements of dance, exploration of source material and opportunities to revise and refine work based on peer and teacher feedback. Vote for us! We our pround to annouce that Luv2Groove has been nominated for the 2014 Macaroni Kid Family Favourite Awards for favourite dance classes and summer day camp. Businesses with the most nominations make it into the final voting round for a chance to win free advertising in a online family-friendly newsletter and website business directory! Help us by voting for us! http://ottawacapitalregion.macaronikid.com/article/636983/introducing-the-2014-macaroni-kid-family-favourite-awards Summer Camps with Luv2Groove! Stay tuned for details regarding our summer camps 2014! We'll be releasing all the details on our website in the next month or so. Keep checking our website for information on how to get the early bird rate!  Camps will be starting July 7th-August 8th, 2014! We're already looking forward to another fun-filled summer!  Until next time, stay warm and keep groovin! The Luv2Groove Team