Dear ILS Families, 

The holidays are quickly approaching and it is so important this time of year to remember all that we have to be thankful for.  Lately, it’s hard not to turn on the news or read a headline without becoming discouraged by communities torn apart by political discord or seeing individuals and groups who are disenfranchised in some way or another.  Maybe it’s all just been highlighted right now with our important mid-term elections on Tuesday.  If you haven’t yet, get your ballots filled out and vote! 

As usual, ILS has some really fun plans for the holidays including our ILS All Student Showcase, Winter Music Recitals, community events and our seasonal giving campaign.

Our All Student Winter Showcases are coming up the second weekend of December.  This is when our students perform for families and friends to showcase what they’ve been learning.  The Winter Showcases are held at our Locks location.  Please refer to the calendar on the left for your studio’s date and time. 
*Please note, this performance is a separate event from the Music Student Recitals for music students put on by our music team.

Spy Camp Escape Room – November 19-21
Mr. Nick, our Voice Instructor and Camp Program Manager, has another really exciting camp planned this month. Whether you need one day or all three, we have a limited number of spaces remaining for our Locks and Greenwood locations. 
Click here to register online.

ILS Holiday Giving Boxes
Starting this month, you will see Holiday Giving boxes at each ILS site with specifics about donations we are collecting for FamilyWorks this holiday season. FamilyWorks’ mission is to connect neighbors and families to nourishing food, essential resources, and a supportive community, so people can build resiliency to meet life’s challenges.

First-time Music Student (introductory rate) registrations are still available in November. 
If have not yet signed up for music lessons, we have  private and group lesson options available for Piano, Guitar, Ukulele, Percussion, Flute and Voice.  Mr. Sam also teaches an Advanced Art class several days a week.  For  information please visit www.ilsmusicstudio.com or email music@ilskids.com.   First time music students will receive 25% their first two months of private lessons this fall.

ILS Closure Reminders
As a reminder, ILS will be closed with no camps on November 12 for Veterans Day and November 22, 23 in observance of Thanksgiving.

As always, we thank you for your support of the arts and children’s education in the arts.  We also want to share our gratitude for your kind referrals to our programs.  We couldn’t do what we do here at ILS without all of our supporting families.

Your friends and teachers at Illumination Learning Studio!

What’s in store for November:

Drama with Ms. Taylor
Performing Arts with Ms. Meowset
Voice with Mr. Nick

In November, our performing arts instructors begin rehearsals for the Winter Showcase! The theme is “ILS Winter Roadtrip.” This is going to be a fun one. 
Students have been learning about the ins and outs of musical theatre auditions and got to experience performing in front of their peers these past few weeks. As they prepare for the upcoming showcase, our performing arts instructors will continue to work on a special song with Mr. Nick, dance with Ms. Meowset, and improvisational exercises and an original skit by Ms. Taylor.

Art with Mr. Sam

Students have been working on original comics with Arts Instructor, Mr. Sam. He has introduced students to artists Yayoi Kusama and Nick Cave. Students had the opportunity to create original sculptures with clay, and silently create art with a single color and this month will continue to work on their original comic books to be displayed at the Spring art show.

Music

Next week Ms. Candice (previously our Ballard Studio Supervisor) will be taking over teaching the Music component of our Cultural Arts programs at ILS as Ms. Jessie steps down from this role. Students have been learning about different instruments and different instrument classes. They have learned about the history and use of a variety of different instruments, and how they are played. With Ms. Candice’s passion in music and musical theater our teams are excited to see this area of our cultural arts curriculum continue to grow.