The Road Forward

Sundance IS its teachers - our very own team of frontline superheroes working against all odds  to go the “distance” and bring learning to life FROM a distance for every child.

 

Dear Parents,

 

With approximately six weeks of distance learning remaining, it is important that we take a moment to acknowledge the hard work and perseverance demonstrated by our group leaders, specialists, classroom/anchor teachers, and support staff. These dedicated professionals have made our students’ continued learning their top priority during this extremely challenging time.  In addition to being amazing educators, they are working mothers and fathers with families of their own to manage. They are their own kids’ best moms and dads/homestay teachers and caregivers for their elderly parents.  It is truly remarkable how they have embraced this virtual platform in a time of crisis with such exemplary poise, grace, and creativity! 

 

We are truly grateful to be in partnership with you and your children as we journey on together. Our teachers are extremely appreciative of the homefront parental involvement. Your presence, attention, and patience brings the children a sense of safety and comfort and helps the virtual classes to run smoothly. The teachers are confident that their students will be prepared to advance to the next grade or program successfully upon the spring semester’s end. Please understand that no student will be penalized for any missed/late assignments or absences.  All students will receive a passing grade and/or a certificate of program completion in June.  

 

We realize that each family is faced with unforeseen challenges. Please continue to stay in communication with us and rest assured  we are available to help, assist, ZOOM, call, or send a virtual hug. We continue to trust that you will make the best and necessary decisions for your children regarding their participation in our homestay program. Our mission is to support each student to the very best of our ability while respecting those decisions.  As a community we are committed to the health and well-being of our precious children above all else. 

 

Thank you for standing Sundance Strong with us.

 

Please take care, stay safe, and be well. 

 

The Sundance School Administration

 

 

  “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” 

                                                                                                 Fred Rogers

 

Dear Sundance Community,

 

We hope that our staff and families were able to receive some respite and can return somewhat refreshed emotionally and mentally as we prepare to move forward with our distance learning schedule on Monday. As the landscape continues to shift, we are all faced with many unforeseen challenges.  Our heartfelt prayers go out to those of you for whom the break may have brought more hardship, illness, loss, and sadness. It is so important that we all remain hopeful as we continue to unite as a community for the sake of this world’s most precious commodity, our children. 

 

That said, we have been working hard in anticipation of this upcoming week and those to come.   Teaching teams came together last week to create new lessons, adjust schedules, improve lesson quality, and augment remote learning time and programs. Teachers will contact their families directly with class-specific changes made to meeting platforms, days, and times. Lessons with specialists, small group and one-on-one lessons, and afternoon sessions will be added this week for students in Lower School through Grade 1.  Exciting school wide events are being developed as well. Stay tuned for more information regarding community share-times i.e. book clubs, pajama parties, talent paloozas, dance parties, flash mobs, and even Sundance Top-Chef Junior! 

 

We hope you enjoyed visiting our VIRTUAL SCIENCE CITY Happening this past week! Our Happening Team helped us take the learning  “out of this world!” with a plethora of engaging experiences each day. Our plan is to leave the site up for the duration of homestay so that  everyone can continue to enjoy the lessons, activities, and videos.  

 

Please visit the Sundance COVID-19 Information Hub daily https://www.thesundanceschool.com/covid-19-information-hub . The site has been created to optimize parent/school communication during homestay by providing the Sundance community with the most up to date news and information.  

 

Please continue to contact us at www.thesundancechool.com for prompt and efficient answers to all remote learning questions and suggestions. 

 

Please take care, stay safe, and be well. 

 

Sundance Administration

Dear Sundance, 

 

As our first week of distance learning nears its end, I would like to thank all of you for your patience, support, and positivity as we come together as a community to keep our Sundance light shining.  Please know that a great amount of time and effort is being dedicated to improving the quality of each session, fine-tuning a workable schedule, increasing school-to-parent communication, and creating additional opportunities to bring the Sundance experience into your homes and to the community at large. The kids were thrilled to ZOOM with their classmates and teachers this week! This (virtual) human connection has been extremely uplifting for all of us and will be the best way for us to visit with our Sundance family until we can do so in-person. 

 

Parents, we truly appreciate your efforts at home in helping our teachers to provide our students with a continuity of education during this closure period. We realize that as we navigate this unchartered adventure, the sailing may not be as smooth as we would like it to be. It is so important, for the sake of the children, that we all remain calm and demonstrate a steadfast commitment to their physical health and emotional well-being.  As we move forward together and shift from the in-school experiences our children know and love to virtual learning, we must partner together, now more than ever, to keep the needs of the whole child at the forefront.  At the end of all this, our children will be strengthened from the experiences they were given, from the extended quality time at home with their families, and from the outpouring of Sundance love our teachers are sending them from a distance.  

We continue to partner with the Governor’s Office, the NJ Department of Education, and the Somerset County Department of Health to ensure that our future plans meet the needs of our greater community.  In compliance with Governor Murphy’s executive order, Sundance has now extended its distance learning date through Friday, April 17.  

Please note: As we continue distance learning into April, we will move into our normally scheduled Spring Break from April 6^th – 10^th.  During this break we will provide a weeklong calendar of supplemental all-school activities and enrichment opportunities for our students and families to engage in if they wish.  

 

As I mentioned in my March 22 letter, our COVID-19 Information Hub https://www.thesundanceschool.com/covid-19-information-hub  is up and running.  This is the best way for our families to view the most up to date Sundance news. Please visit the site daily for class schedules, news articles and videos, communication from our owner, Mr. Luo, and as a means of fast and efficient communication.   

Please take some time this weekend to unplug, splash in the puddles, and of course, smell the flowers! 

 

Speaking of flowers, don’t forget to participate in Ms. Cynthia’s Sunshine Challenge this weekend! Make a Sundance sun out of something from nature, take a picture of it, and send it to us as a message on our Sundance Facebook page or to sundance@thesundanceschool.com.   Please visit our information hub for more details.  

 

See you bright and early on Monday! 

A Message from Head of School Janet McNally - The Sundance School

 

“At many times throughout their lives, children will feel the world has turned topsy-turvy. It’s not the ever-present smile that will help them feel secure. It’s knowing that love can hold many feelings, including sadness, and that they can count on the people they love to be with them until the world turns right side up again.” - Fred Rogers

 

Hello Sundance!

 

On behalf of the entire Sundance faculty and staff, I must start by saying, “We miss you already.” As we prepare to begin distance learning with our Homestay packets, tomorrow, Monday, March 23, we want to provide additional information, resources, and guidelines to aid families in the process. Before doing so, I must take a moment to thank Callie Shafto, Erica Cracolici, and Joann Merrigan for teaming-up to work tirelessly over last week’s March break to develop and design a continuum of communication for the Sundance community so that we can all stay connected. Additionally, our teachers, through their creative and collaborative efforts, have truly demonstrated a singular commitment to offering our students authentic distance learning opportunities. Sundance is a community like no other! With our love for the children as the driving force, I have every confidence that together, we will continue to create, explore, learn, and shine!

 

We, of course, understand that these are unprecedented times and that each family faces its own set of challenges. Please know that we plan to be a supportive presence and provide as much guidance as possible throughout the distance learning process. To that end, we have created a COVID-19 Information Hub accessible through the Sundance School website. https://www.thesundanceschool.com/covid-19-information-hub  This site will become the central clearinghouse through which we share essential all-school information, distance learning instructions and guidelines, and updates for the duration of the Homestay period. We ask that each family take some time each day to visit the site. There will be a form on the website where parents can send inquiries, feedback, and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to utilize it! We want to hear from you! Expect a prompt and informative response, as we will be monitoring the site 24/7.

 

Please note that plans to augment our Homestay curriculum with both live and recorded video conferencing per class using ZOOM are currently in the works. Parents will receive an email with an invitation designating the date, time, and duration of the conference on the evening preceding the ZOOM call. More class-specific details regarding ZOOM will be provided by your child’s teacher. This, and all other important Homestay information is outlined for you on the Sundance COVID-19 Information Hub microsite. As always, our teachers will be available and reachable through the usual channels: email, text, telephone, and ClassDojo.

 

Have a peaceful evening, enjoy Ms. Erica’s newest video with your children, and please rest assured that an abundance of Sundance Love is flying through the airways straight from our hearts to yours.

 

Please take care, stay safe, and be well.

 

Sincerely yours,

Janet McNally

Head of School

 

https://www.thesundanceschool.com/covid-19-information-hub 

Dear Sundance Family,

 

I hope you are all doing well. I am checking in today to see if you need anything in the way of support, supplies or just to talk. 

 

Our Sundance Homestay curriculum is being developed so that we can do what we do best, connect with our students in meaningful ways. 

 

In the meantime, enjoy family time, cook together, clean together, PLAY together, and get out in nature every day! And Read! Read! Read!

 

We must embrace the opportunity we have before us. We have a chance to help others, to learn more about ourselves and most importantly, we have the gift of time with our children. We'll get through this.

 

Be well & stay safe,

 

The Sundance Administration

 

Dear Sundance Family,

 

We are writing to share an update on behalf of the Sundance team as we manage COVID-19.

As we all know, the events of the past days and weeks have been unprecedented, and we continue to monitor and navigate this rapidly changing situation with the rest of the world.

We care deeply about what we can do to keep our Sundance community safe and well - we are grounded in this intention, which makes difficult choices a little easier to make.

That said, Sundance will remain closed for an indefinite period. We will miss our students dearly during our time away from each other and we will continue to work diligently to ensure that joyful learning continues, albeit remotely, during the homestay period. Our teachers will be available to communicate daily with students via Class DoJo, email, and telephone, during school hours beginning March 23. Additional ideas, suggestions, and information regarding our homestay model will be forthcoming. Please call Sundance today or tomorrow (during school hours) if you need your child's packet sent to your home.

 

We ask that everyone take the guidance of health officials and the CDC seriously and adhere to social distancing practices. We will continue to send updates as additional guidance and information is received.

 

This is unchartered territory for all of us. Let's continue to stand Sundance Strong and look out for each other as we take the necessary precautions. As always, please cherish the shining moments with your loved ones, remain hopeful and positive for the sake of the children, and know that your Sundance family is holding you close in our hearts and minds.

 

Please take care, be safe, and stay well.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

The Sundance School Administration

Dear Sundance Families, 

 

Thank you for your cooperation and diligence in following the guidelines outlined for us by the NJ Department of Education/NJ Department of Health. Today, the NJDOH published additional guidance for childcare agencies and K-12 schools for the development of a school closing preparedness plan that will support instruction and ongoing learning for students at home in the event that a school closing is mandated due to a COVID-19 outbreak. 

 

Teachers have collaborated with their respective teams and anchors to prepare 10 days of independent lessons for students to engage in from home.  In the event of a school closure, teachers will use ClassDojo or their Sundance School emails to communicate with parents. 

 

Homestay packets, complete with grade level instructions for each lesson will be distributed to students this Friday. Keep in mind these packets have been developed in the event of a mandated school closure.  Please be sure to check your child's cubby or backpack. 

 

During next week's March break ,Sundance will be closed and Vacation Child Care has been canceled. JAN-PRO Cleaning Systems will perform an advanced level, school-safe commercial cleaning throughout the entire building.  For the health and safety of all, we will continue to abide by the guidance and instruction provided to us by the CDC, NJDOH, and the SCDOH.  

 

Thank you, in advance for your cooperation as we take these preventative and proactive measures. Of course, our hope is to return to school after the March break and resume IN-SCHOOL instruction as planned.  We do, however, need to be prepared for homestay instruction should the COVID-19 virus impact our community. If a school closure is mandated, teachers will contact families and advise students to begin homestay  instruction. 

 

 Please take care, be safe,  and stay well! , 

The Sundance Administration