Banks School of Scottish Dancing

Sam won the award at his gym presentation last week. It was for: attendance and dedication to gymanastics!! Clever Boy Sam! ~ I am very proud of you too!!!~

Quite a few of the Banksies did some Highland in their end of year school talent quests! Congratulations to them all. I have a few results (haven't seen them all yet) Ceilidh and Lauren got 2nd with the Marching Song Swords. Connor won the same contest with "funky music", his jazz

We had our Christmas Pary and Awards Afternoon last Saturday. Softplay is the BEST PLACE to have your party! You have the place to yourself and you dont have to clean up and the kids have a balL! And it's air conditioned! We did our Secret Santa presents and I gave our the exam results. A very very lovely afternoon!!

Kirstin competed at Daylesford a fortnight ago. She did very well, especially as she is dancing injured atm! Well done Kirstin! Here is an excerpt from an email she sent me... In my Restricted Premier sections I got 2nd in the Fling, 3rd in the Swords, 3rd in the Strath-Tulloch and 3rd in the Hornpipe. I also got a 6th in the Premiership Lilt. It was a very hot and long day, but i enjoyed myself, and thought i did alot better than i was expecting, so im happy with the results from the weekend.

Last Thursday (22nd) we held our Annual Studio Exams. All of the students (bar our HSC students, another that was on camp and another that has had injuries throughout the year) sat their exams and assessments. There were 17 candidates throughout the day. I am very proud and pleased to report that the students received HONOURS in their exams!!! Well done dancers!!!! Here are some snaps before or after they went into the exam!!

Dear darling Ali has moved to Perth. She has been dancing with me for 7 years and went through her dancing exams to gain her Teachers Certificate with me 2 years ago. It is so sad to see her go, but she is off on a new adventure with her Lovely Paul!! She will be back to visit, and if they return to Sydney to live, then she will definately be back to class!! We had a farewell for her at PJ Gallaghers in Parramatta a few weeks ago. Here are a few pix....

We have had 3 competitions leading up till the end of the year. Just one more to go, which is interstate - Daylesford. Kirstin is going down there. Lithgow was at the end of October and Cailin, Ashley and Greer danced there. The three of them did very well and placed in most of the dances. Castle Hill Gathering was the following weekend, the 3 girls above, plus Sarah, danced there. Sarah got 4th in the NSW Championships, and the other girls all placed in their sections. THis was Ashleigh's last beginners competition. The following weekend was Newcastle. Cailin and Ashley danced here, Ashleigh's first Novice. Again, they both came home with prizes. Here are some shots from Castle Hill (with the horsies!) And Ceilidh and Ashley with their prizes at Newcastle (Ceilidh won the Novice Encouragement award)

Congratulations to AVERIL who won EVERY DANCE in Novice at this competition! WOOOW~ And to Cailin who danced really well and got prizes in lots of dances, and kept going even though she slipped in the jig. To CJ for getting 2nd in Swords and 3rd in ST And Sarah for 7th in the Championship!! A good day (but a Veeeery early start!!)

Congratulations to Sarah, Lauren and Ali for their championship wins at the NSW/ACT Championship s!!

WOW! Well done to all the dancers!!! Here are our results CHAMPIONSHIP 13-15 Years NSW/ACT Championship 2nd Sarah! (actually tied for 1st but 2nd on countback) 3rd Lauren! (now out of restricted!!) 16& Over NSW/ACT Championship 5th Alison 6th in Seann Triubhas Belynda Primary 5 years pdbs - 3rd Keira 4th Connor 6th Lauren J 6 years pdbs - 2nd Brodie Pdbs and hcuts - 3rd Brodie 5th Lauren J6th Keira Beginners 9& U Fling 3rd Lauren M 4th Greer Swords 2nd Lauren M3rd Greer ST 3rd Greer Flora 1st Lauren M 4th Greer Trophy Dance Fling 3rd Lauren M 4th Greer Beginners 10 & O Fling 2nd Catherine 3rd Lynsey 5th Ashley STs 1st Catherine 4th Ashley Swords 1st Ashley 4th Lynsey Lilt 1st Catherine 3rd Lynsey Flora 1st Catherine 2nd Lynsey 3rd Ashley TD Fling 1st Catherine 2nd Lynsey POINTSCORE - Catherine! Novice Lilt - 4th Ceilidh Flora 5th Ceilidh Intermediate Jig 3rd Cailin Swords 2nd Cailin Lilt 2nd Cailin Flora 3rd Cailin Trophy Dance Fling - 1st Cailin Premier 15& O Blue Bon

Lauren found out last week that she has been chosen as a dancer for the Ozscot Tattoo Team that will be travelling to the US next April!! Lauren will be peforming at the Virginia Tattoo! This is such wonderful news! Well done Loz!!! MWAH!!!! xoxoxo

(thanks to dance.net for the this post. I just changed it to suit highland dancing... ) “Oh no! I am having my first highland class. What should I expect?!” Here is a, hopefully, complete and helpful post to answer your question. Oh! and welcome to join the dazzling dance world. Effort & Class conduct All dancers must be willing to push themselves to be the best dancer they can be. At all times dancers must show respect to their instructors and classmates. Be on time and ready to dance. Get Ready Dress Code Have you checked the school dress code? (Some schools have very strict dress code. Please pay attention to that before you purchase your dream leotard.) Leotards/Tights/Flats Thread: www.dance.net . . . Warm Up gears: www.dance.net . . . Hair in bun (preferred) or pony tail. www.dance.net . . . Turn yourself into a dance mode before the class start. It will always help you to get into the atmosphere quicker and get ready to dance. (Whatever you are worrying, stressing

Saturday 22nd was the annual Children's Festival at Bankstown. Wow - what a great day! It was organised by another teacher, who teaches at Yagoona, she asked me if I had any dancers who would be able to attend. Ceilidh and Danielle went to dance. That had a really lovely time!! THANKS GIRLS!

I was just over at the Turtleblue website, looking at the photos from the Championships in Gosford in July. Our girls solo has got its own section! I loved this 1st photo particularily!

Term 3 is almost over! Oh MY! I can’t believe it! It was a long term but it seems to have just flown!!The dancers have been working so hard on their choreographies and they look great! I can’t wait to seem them performed at the competition on the 30 th September. Lessons will cease on Saturday 29 th September and will recommence on Monday 15 th October, for Term 4. There will be two holiday classes during the break, I will let you know the dates of those closer to the time. SATURDAY CLASS - Term 4 will have the Saturday Class from 9.30-10.45. The younger dancers will be from 9.30 - 10.15, with the older dancers staying to complete their beginner dances in the last 30mins. EXAMS THURSDAY 22 nd NOVEMBER. Going home with this newsletter is an envelope with your exam information on it. Please fill it in and return to me asap, definitely before the end of term. I need to fill in all the paperwork and post it off during the holidays. The assessments (PrePrimary and Primary) are

Thankyou to Greer, Ashley, Brodie, Ceilidh and Connor who represented the school at the Gaelic Singers 25th Birthday Ceilidh Night a few weeks ago. (Thanks also to Aidan and Darcy who decided to join in on the march and the pas de basques!) The kids had an absolute ball playing the games they had there, and peformed well too!