March 2023 Newsletter
Check out everything we have going on at our school this month!
Happy birthday this month to: Aliyah Model, Kyla Stone, Michael Kates, Shriyan Vemulapalli, Praneel Vemulapalli, Aditi Busa, Sarah Katriel Somarsapali, Anwitha Putta, Janathan Salazar, Greyson Orgusaar, Christopher Chung, and Maria Barrera!
March Calendar
Check out everything that’s happening this month here!
2023 Belt Testing Schedule
To help our students plan for the year, below is our tentative schedule for belt testings in 2023:
February 10th & 11th
April 15th & 17th
June 10th & 12th
August 12th & 14th
October 7th & 9th
December 9th & 11th
New Ranks & Striping System
Studies by various health and educational organizations show that many children today suffer from at least some delays due to decreased consistent access to educational, social, and recreational activities during the peak of the COVID pandemic. This is particularly prevalent among younger children because of the rate at which their cognitive abilities and motor skills develop. In addition to developmental delays, many younger students are also displaying increased anxiety, less confidence, and lower levels of resiliency, especially with any sort of performance evaluation like stripe or belt testing.
While we’ve seen significant improvement among students overall, we are continuously trying to find effective ways to adapt our program to continue addressing the needs of our students while maintaining our standard of martial arts excellence. As a result, after the April testing we will be adding Junior Belts for ALL students in the Junior Program in our Intermediate and Advanced Classes and adding Senior Ranks in our Beginner Classes. Students in the Teen Program, but who struggle to meet the benchmark assessment level of earning Black stripes during stripe testing may also be candidates for Junior Ranks.
As for our striping system, we will begin utilizing two different colors to symbolize a student’s proficiency level of the subject they were tested on based on several school systems feedback levels. By not earning a stripe, it signifies that a student needs improvement on the particular subject matter before progressing to the next stripe. Earning a white stripe means that a student demonstrates satisfactory knowledge of the material. Earning a black stripe signifies the student has clearly demonstrated the material at a level that exceeds expectations for their current rank.
The rank system for these students will be as follows:
White Belt ➡️ Senior White Belt ➡️ Yellow Belt ➡️Senior Yellow Belt ➡️ Junior Orange Belt ➡️ Orange Belt ➡️ Senior Orange Belt ➡️ Junior Green Belt ➡️ Green Belt ➡️ Senior Green Belt ➡️ Junior Purple Belt ➡️ Purple Belt ➡️ Senior Purple Belt ➡️ Junior Blue Belt ➡️ Blue Belt ➡️ Senior Blue Belt ➡️ Junior Brown Belt ➡️ Brown Belt ➡️ Senior Brown Belt ➡️ Junior Red Belt ➡️ Red Belt ➡️ Senior Red Belt ➡️ Probationary Black Belt ➡️ Recommended Black Belt ➡️ 1st Degree Decided Black Belt ➡️ 1st Degree Senior Black Belt
We’re delighted with the improvements the Junior Rank system will bring. Essentially students have the opportunity to learn the material across 16 weeks instead of 8 at Yellow Belt and 24 weeks instead of 16 at all other ranks. This means:
- Less pressure to cram material
- Increased opportunity for positive reinforcement by requiring students to perform less new material for stripes
- More time to address areas where students are under performing
- Alleviating stress and worry that students are “falling behind” their classmates
After months of brainstorming different options with several peer groups, we are confident that this addition to our program will remedy low physical benchmark scores while providing positive reinforcement in a way that will decrease anxiety and improve confidence levels all while allowing students to become better martial artists.
Teen Game Night!
On Saturday, July 16th we will be hosting a Game Night for our Teens and Adults. We’ll have several video game systems set up as well as card
games and board games. There will also be pizza, drinks, and snacks, so all you need to bring are any games you want to play and a willingness to
get beat down in Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros.
Game Night is open to students and family members ages 10 and older. Special permission may be given for younger students that wish to attend
with parents and/or older siblings. Registration can be done through the Spark Member app or by clicking the button below! Get $5 off on our Early Bird special if you register by March 10th.
Class in the Grass!
Our annual outdoor class will take place on Saturday, April 1st at Lakewood Park starting at 10:00 AM.
Practicing Taekwondo is always fun, but practicing it OUTSIDE is even better! We’re inviting any friends and family to join us for some fun exercises and drills outside in the sun. Afterwards, we’ll socialize with a picnic and WATER GUN FIGHT!
For our Class in the Grass, make sure to wear regular clothes and bring a water bottle, sun screen, gear if you have it, AND water guns for afterwards! This is a free event, but we do ask that any non-member buddies or family members attending fill out a waiver form to participate in the fun. Click the button below for our online waiver form!
Buddy Week!
Have a friend who you think would love classes with us? Then this is the perfect opportunity to get them onto the mats WITH you! Taekwondo is always better with a friend, so make sure you take advantage of the entire week of classes and kick it with your buddies. If you’re buddy loves their class with and wants to sign up with us that day, then you’ll both get a $100 LTA Credit that can be used for events and retail items!
To have your buddy join, send them the link below to register for their buddy pass. It doesn’t cost anything and will give them access to join you
for classes whenever you want throughout the week.
Class Reservations & Attendance Tracking
We’ve been experimenting with several different attendance protocols and have finally landed on one that works best for students and staff. Here is a breakdown of how to register for classes prior to attending. Once you are at the school, simply scan your card at the scanner by the front desk in order to get your class credit!
Join Us on Social Media!
We’ve recently added a new Facebook group for all of our LTA Families to connect, communicate, sell used items, etc. Make sure you join the group as well as follow our other social media handles to see updates, fun photos, and more!
Want to Join Our Email List?
There’s always lots of things going on around LTA which is why we make it a point to send out a weekly update email every Monday to our students. These emails are sent to all of our students and guardians that we on file in our system. If you are no longer on or would like to join our email list, please send us an email with your name, phone number, email, and student that you are associated with and we will get you in our system!