Monthly Newsletters - March 2025

Getting the Most Out of Lessons

Dear Students and Parents,

Whether you’re a brand-new beginner just getting settled in your music, dance, or theater classes this year or you’ve been taking lessons for several years now, it’s important to understand how you can make the most out of your weekly classes with your teacher(s) here. Here are six ways you can ensure that your lessons at LAAPA bring a lifetime of joy to your family:

1) Open Communication – Over the years, we have implemented a variety of communication channels between our faculty, staff, and students. We are of the opinion that we can’t really have too much communication. Our faculty and staff want to ensure that you are accomplishing your goals and that your lessons are meeting expectations. Our faculty communicate with parents via Opus for digital lesson planning and lesson notes. If you don’t receive weekly lesson plans digitally from your teacher, ask them about Opus and they’d be happy to work with our front desk to get set that up for you. If digital communication is not your preference, simply bring in a notebook to each class (whether it’s one of our custom notebooks or a regular notebook). Your teacher is happy to provide weekly written lesson plans for goal tracking, ticket rewards, lesson ratings, practice expectations, and more. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to be receiving weekly WRITTEN lesson plans (whether digital on in a notebook). Written goals and plans provide a clear path towards actionable outcomes. Verbal lesson plans (unless this is your preference) can be quickly forgotten and are simply not as effective as written goals. If you are not receiving weekly written lesson plans in one format or another, please discuss this with your teacher or email me at contact@laapa.com! For our newest students, we make every effort to check in with you after you’ve had about two months of classes. If for some reason your classes need to be adjusted before you hear from us with a different day/time, program, or teacher, you can always let us know, and we will do everything possible to accommodate you. Customer service is a top priority for us at LAAPA, and we have a team of 9 customer service professionals (and growing) to answer questions via email, text, or phone. For urgent matters, the quickest way to reach us is via text or phone!

2) Utilize the EXTRAS – At LAAPA, our goal is to provide students access to a complete performing arts curriculum. We offer complimentary enrichment programs for all current music, dance, and drama students! Depending on your primary program, you have the option to attend a weekly vocal lab (ages 7+), songwriting lab (ages +7), theory lab (ages 5+), improv lab (ages 7+), and/or choreography lab (ages 8+). These classes are all optional, of course, should you only be interested in attending your primary program.

3) Miss a Class? Schedule a Makeup Workshop! Our makeup workshops are offered throughout the year for music students in private lessons. Should you miss a lesson, you may book an extra class with any of our faculty members. Workshops may be self-scheduled via Opus. If you are having trouble finding a workshop for your instrument/age, please reach out to us, as we schedule these monthly and some classes are scheduled based on historical demand at different times of the year. We are happy to add classes as needed. Our dance and drama students are welcome to contact us to attend a similar age/level dance class to make up for their absences.

4) Maximize Your Lesson Time – This may sound simple, but 30 minutes or even an hour can go by quickly each week! For young students, please have them use the restroom and get water prior to class starting. If you are an instrumentalist, consider opening up your instrument and tuning before your class begins. If you are a virtual student attending on Zoom, consider rebooting your device before class if it has been on for a while. Be sure your Zoom app is updated with the latest version and your sound and video are started and running correctly (see laapa.com/zoom). For young students attending on Zoom, please have a parent/guardian nearby to assist for possible technical issues until the teacher has confirmed they are properly connected! Even with all these considerations, our students naturally grow in their love for their lessons over time and eventually may feel the need to add time/classes to their existing schedule(s). We are always happy to work these additional classes out for students whenever possible and with the approval of your teacher(s)! Lesson times are limited (especially with our veteran teachers, but they do come up from time to time). For the most up-to-date scheduling possibilities, always check in at the front desk!

5) Sign Up for Events – While never required at LAAPA, concerts and performance opportunities are one of the best ways to foster growth within students. Being able to experience the culmination of many weeks/months of hard work with family and friends is always a wonderful experience! Over the years, I’ve watched a lot of recitals and concerts. In fact, I’ve probably watched more student performers than anyone I know, so I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert! One thing that never gets old for me is witnessing the transformation that takes place from the young, perhaps nervous beginning student performing for the first time on stage to the semi-professional that performs in their final senior recital. Of course, we realize that performing is not everyone’s goal or reason for taking music, dance, and acting classes, and there is never any pressure here to participate in these events. However, it is still a big part of what we do and our mission here, due to the overwhelmingly positive benefits. We’re proud to offer a variety of performance opportunities, both in-person and virtually!

6) Input = Output – Once again, we understand that students and parents choose a performing arts education for a variety of reasons. Some students and parents are happy with simply having students receive a fun and educational weekly class. Others want more, and for those that do, it’s important to remember that what you put into your lessons, you will get out of your lessons! Regular attendance, a consistent practice schedule, and parental involvement will do wonders! As a parent of 4 children enrolled in in music, dance, and theater lessons, I am well aware of all inherent challenges! It’s different in every house, but in our house, sometimes the children just don’t want to practice what they are assigned to practice. Doodling around on the piano for a half hour may be fun, and some creative exploration time is important, but children, especially beginners, need to be monitored to ensure they are working on the correct assignments. In general, it’s unreasonable to expect all young children to naturally want to practice and automatically stay on a set practice schedule on their own no matter how much they love music or dance. Most children need reminders to open the books, to look and see what their teacher has asked them to focus on, and isolate problematic areas instead of simply repeating the entire piece over and over. They are, after all, kids. Again, parental involvement is key!

If you have a natural “practicer” who loves to practice, awesome! You are lucky, although this too comes with other personal challenges! Let’s say the practicing is sounding wonderful, but you adore quiet time in your home (especially at night) and your house is instead loud most of the time from constant playing and singing. In these cases, it’s important to be grateful for the desire the students are showing to practice, but since I have 4 children, I have found my noise cancelling headphones to be an indispensable tool when I’m ready for quiet time. They are industrial strength from Home Depot and are also great for cutting the grass, too! I highly recommend them when you need quiet in your house but don’t want to discourage the practice mojo.

See you at our next lesson!

~ Ryan Cullen, Executive Director

Student News - Got something to share? Send it to us!

We love getting your news, success stories, and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and now on Twitter at @laapatweets.

Recording Studio

Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or book your session today!

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Happy March Birthdays!

We'd like to wish the following students a very Happy Birthday this month!

Aariya P. [6], Abigail K. [16], Alex F., Alexander S. [11], Alvin D., Amelia P. [8], Anaya P. [9], Anderson B. [12], Andrew T., Angela D., Anna Grace D. [11], Anna S. [10], Anthony H., Aubry B., Audrey D. [2], Ava C. [10], Ava V. [3], Aynala J. [11], Brady M., Brennan G. [8], Brody F. [5], Caitlynn C. [10], Caleesi Y. [12], Carolina R. [16], Cassidy B. [3], Celia S. [13], Charleigh R. [12], Charles B. [15], Chloe K. [11], Corine N. [11], Corry M. [11], Damion M. [10], Daniela L., Declan M. [13], Demiana W. [16], Denise D., Derek G., Devika B. [6], Drew G. [16], Eleanor C. [9], Eli B. [15], Elijah C. [9], Elizabeth P. [7], Ella B. [9], Emelia W. [3], Emi F., Ethan V. [7], Flynn E. [7], Frank S. [10], Gianna M. [11], Gus M. [10], Hazel H. [8], Heitor C. [15], Henry C. [4], Henry R. [10], Hush H. [10], Isabella P. [11], Isabella R. [11], Ivan L. [10], Jade M. [4], Janine T., Jaxsen L. [14], Jemma Z. [15], Jennifer G., Jennifer T., Jerrold D. [6], Jessica M., Joel B. [11], John G. [16], John M., John Y. [12], Jolene L. [5], Jordan B. [8], Kasey P. [16], Kat J., Kaylannie R. [4], Kelly P., Kylie M. [12], Landon C. [12], Laura M. [11], Leena R. [7], Leila B. [3], Leilany M. [10], Liam W. [10], Lilith B. [3], Lillian Y. [10], Lyla S. [14], Lylian R. [14], Mario L. [8], Mason L. [4], Matthew C. [15], Matthew M., Maya A. [13], Maya G. [4], Michael C., Mikayla H. [5], Mila Taloyr T. [2], Momoka M. [14], Natalie M. [16], Natalie P., Nehemie P. [8], Nick D. [15], Nivaan K. [9], Nixon L. [7], Olive J. [9], Olivia D. [7], Patrick R., Penelope B. [9], Rose P. [6], Ryan T. [11], Ryder P. [7], Rylie H. [9], Sawyer B. [9], Stella C. [12], Sutton B. [6], Tobi D., Victoria V. [10], Vincent R. [13], Zain A. [11], Zara R. [8], Zoey M. [4]

Camp spots are filling quickly!

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Important Dates

Take a moment to review the following upcoming dates:

New Artwork by Michaela Howell

We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!

Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850.

Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!

With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!

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Student Spotlight - Alannah Bauer

This month’s Student Spotlight features River Ridge School of Music & Dance student Alannah Bauer! Alannah has been with us here at LAAPA for over seven years - she started out in preschool music, and is currently taking ballet, piano, and voice lessons!

Outside of LAAPA, Alannah enjoys a multitude of hobbies. She enjoys drawing, lego building, and writing stories. Alannah also enjoys singing and writing her own songs. She enjoys pop music the most, and her favorite type of dance is ballet/contemporary. Alannah doesn’t have a single favorite performing artist; rather, she enjoys a variety of singers, dancers, and actors! She hopes to one day grace the Broadway stage!

Alannah’s favorite things about her instructors - Ms. Olivia, Ms. Karissa, and Ms. Adrienne - is how they keep lessons challenging, yet fun at the same time. Seeing her teachers and learning new pieces for recital are Alannah’s favorite things about her lessons. She is especially thankful for how welcoming LAAPA is, as she considers it a second home. Lessons have given Alannah a greater depth of understanding of both music and dance, and she has gained so much confidence along the way. Alannah especially enjoys having been part of recent LAAPA musicals Annie JR. and Mary Poppins JR., and she looks forward to more theatre opportunities. We are all so very proud of how far you’ve come in your performing arts journey, and we cannot wait to see what the future brings you!

A HUGE welcome to our newest students who began lessons or added programs in February!

We are so happy that you’ve chosen to study at LAAPA. We know you will do great things this year!