April 13, 2020

Dear Craig School Parents,

Tomorrow morning, we resume our academic program. I enjoyed speaking to some of you by telephone last week. Your support of our wonderful teachers was a consistent theme and uplifting as we all navigate the challenges. Thank you for sharing your own challenges. Some of you remarked about your appreciation for the people working on the front line of this crisis. I am reminded about the importance of the health care community each day, and other first line professionals who are doing their best to keep us safe, and for them, I am grateful.

In my March 24 letter, I wrote that today I would update our community concerning reopening our school buildings. You may recall that my letter was sent just before Governor Murphy announced that New Jersey schools would be closed for the indefinite future, and then added that there would be an update on Friday, April 17th. I eagerly await our Governor’s message this Friday.

As we move forward, there are several dates on the calendar that are important to our school year. We will, in the coming weeks, announce our plans concerning our “milestone” events that mean so much to our students, faculty, and families.

Welcome back from Spring Break.  I am confident we will continue to work together to do our very best and support each other.

Be safe,

Sincerely,

Tad

 

Your teacher btw, are doing a phenomenal job. Hats off to you all... we are all learning on the go and I commend them all for their patience, their flexibility and their concern for Thomas. We are so grateful!

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I wanted to reach out and tell you that you and the teachers are doing a really great job! Utilizing the technology to do live teaching has been key. Other schools are just posting work and teachers are available to answer questions via video - but don’t live teach.
The quick pivot of your teachers to keep teaching the students live has allowed the kids to not skip a beat. I have to say that we do not feel overwhelmed or stressed at all with Sivert’s school days (my daughter’s school is a different story).

Also, I can tell you that we would be completely supportive of 5 days of academic learning. Sivert said he preferred the academic learning and missed it Friday. 🙂 Just wanted to share from a student’s perspective.

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I do want to add our voice to the many that you have already received, the work that you and the teachers have done at this crazy time is almost miraculous.

All I can say is that Rebecca has taken it incredibly seriously with a few bumps in the road not helped by the fact that her parents are not natural teachers! Your team have managed to keep her engaged which I can't thank you enough, particularly as I have been distracted with the work that we are doing at JnJ to fight the virus.

Thank you for all that you do for our children and from us a heartfelt thank you for what you do for Rebecca

I hope all members of the Craig family are healthy and safe in these uncertain times.  I have heard from many folks and the overwhelming theme has been we would rather be together at school!

On March 13, I notified you about  The Craig School closing because of the  COVID-19 virus. Immediately following my letter,  Janet Cozine and Eric Caparulo outlined the online learning environment we are now experiencing. As promised, here is our update:

The Craig School campuses will remain closed for an extended period of time. We are following the NJ guidelines for the Coronavirus, and no timetable has been determined by the state.

We will follow our Spring Break schedule as planned, beginning at the end of school on Friday April 3rd through Monday April 13th. We are planning for online classes to resume on​ Tuesday April 14th.

On Monday April 13th, I will send another update.

The diligence, patience, and flexibility with our online learning among all members of the community has been amazing, and speaks to the efforts of our Craig family. This level of online teaching has never occurred at Craig before.  Janet Cozine and Eric Caparulo have worked extremely hard with their faculty to deliver an educational program. I thank al  who have made contributions to helping us as well.

In the coming weeks, we will need to make new decisions about scheduled on and off campus events. All event notices will be made through the weekly emailed newsletters from the Lower and Middle School and Craig High School. Copies of our newsletters are in the Parents Section of the Craig website.

As we reach the midpoint of our second week of our online learning experience, I wish to make a few observations. First, you should be proud of your youngster moving to this new way of learning. It is not easy for anyone. Second, I am proud of how the students and teachers have embraced all we are trying to do for each other right now. We were not “built” for online learning as the primary way to educate. Many of us are trying new things daily. We will continue to make modifications.

We are a remarkable community. We will get through this together.

Sincerely,

Tad Jacks

Head of School

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 13, 2020

 

Dear Craig Family,

Today has been a tipping point for our region regarding public health concerns and school closures.

Beginning Monday March 16, 2020 through March 27, 2020, The Craig School will be closed.  This includes both of our campuses.  We will reassess no later than Wednesday March 25, if we will extend our time away from our buildings.

No decision at this time can be made regarding return to school. The two school systems in the towns in which we operate also are closed. This decision we made is under the spirit of "an abundance of caution".

Earlier today, all of our parents received specific information about virtual learning and instruction in emails from the School.

Craig Lower and Middle School- Virtual learning and instruction will begin on Tuesday, as there are also paper packets that some of the students have not received for their classes. We are mailing them today.

I want to applaud our teachers who have worked so hard this week to prepare for this closure.  Please note that we will all do our best. We are ready to serve all of you, but there will be unexpected circumstances. I have confidence that all of us will be patient and we will work thru this together

As the Head of School, I have the utmost concern for our community. This decision has been driven by our geographic location. We do have students in nearly 60 other zip codes. That said, several transportation companies have called me to say they would not transport your children, some of you have written me about your specific town plans, and all of that has gone into this decision.

Thank you again for your support. All of this information and other resources for you and your family will reside on the Craig website. Please note there is a banner at the top of the website to click for that information.

I live by the phrase (now popular)- we are all in this together, and I wish all of you the best as we are in "uncharted waters"

Sincerely,

Tad Jacks

Head of School

 

 

In developing travel-related advice, we are aligning with the coronavirus-related travel health notices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the coronavirus-related travel advisories of the U.S. Department of State (USDOS). We recommend that members of the Craig School community review the country-specific CDC and USDOS links above, as guidance evolves rapidly.

About Coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause respiratory illnesses such as the common cold or more severe illnesses such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China had not been previously detected in humans or animals and much is still unknown about it. It is thought that initial patients in Wuhan City may have come into contact with the virus from an animal at a seafood and animal market. Subsequently, it appears that person-to-person spread is occurring. On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization named the virus COVID-19. For people who think they may have been exposed to the new coronavirus please be on the lookout for the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

If you suspect an infection please call ahead so that your primary care provider or emergency room can be prepared for your arrival. Up-to-date information about the coronavirus can be found on the CDC website.

Care and Prevention

One of the most successful parts of the Auction is our annual Teacher Feature and you should have already received information about how to sign up!  Filling out the Teacher Feature form is easier than solving the Rubik’s Cube (which debuted in toy stores in 1980.)

Teacher Feature is when our amazingly dedicated, creative and talented faculty offer fun and engaging activities for the students outside of the academic day.  You are able to register your son or daughter to participate in any number of fun offerings with their favorite teachers.  The teachers are always so creative and the students love hanging out with their teachers in a non-school setting.  Please check out the Teacher Feature offerings and get your responses in by March 22^nd!

All returning players need only to sign and return this form.

 

All new players need equipment and a uniform.

Players that have their own equipment need only to buy the team uniform. $95.00 (Uniform cost)

 

If you need equipment we can measure your child and order it through the school and get the team price of $195.00

(Helmet, Gloves, Shoulder Pads, Arm Pads and stick)

 

If you need both uniform and equipment the total is $290.00

 

Players must also wear a mouth guard provided by the parents.

Cleats are highly recommended (Soccer cleats are fine)

 

LACROSSE IS A CONTACT SPORT

 

First Practice is Tuesday, March 24^th  

The practice and game schedule

DEAR CRAIG COMMUNITY:

Our 2019-20 school year has been full of announcements about things to come.

First, we opened the school year announcing that this school year and all of 2020, we will be celebrating our 40th year. We are continuing to send notifications on several events during 2020 that are part of our celebration. Please join us at as many of these community building events as possible. As a reminder, our annual Auction is on May 2nd at The Mansion at Mountain Lakes. We hope you can all join us at what is always our largest and most important event and to also bid a fond farewell to Tad Jacks.

Last May, Tad announced that this year, his seventh year at Craig, would be his last at Head of School. Tad has been working to make sure that Craig is in the best place possible when he departs in June and Kara Loftin becomes our next Head of School on July 1, 2020. Tad and Kara have been working together since the start of 2020 to talk about key elements of the school and to help Kara prepare for Head of School role. Kara will be joining us at The Chili Cookoff on Saturday, February 22nd and also throughout the week of March 16th for various events and is looking forward to meeting our community. Kara has wonderful enthusiam and will have new ideas for Craig but understands the great culture and tradition we have as a school. We are all excited to have Kara join us and are certain you will be too once you meet her. Periodically, in our roles as Trustees, Tad Jacks and others remind us about the Mission of the School I also find that our Statement of Core Values is helpful in guiding our work:

• All students can and will learn if the right environment and opportunities are provided .
• Learning disabilities and learning styles should be acknowledged, understood and provided for .
• In addition to supporting a student's academic development, a school should nurture his/her social,emotional and moral growth.

The Mission of the School is paramount in all we do and remains our focus. Each day at Craig, we remember why we exist and for whom we exist. There is an unwavering commitment to our Mission by our Board of Trustees and our Faculty. The Mission is what makes Craig so special and will never change.

In the Fall, we announced the relocation of Craig High School to 24 Changebridge Road in Montville. Our students and faculty are excited about this move. The students literally gave Dr. Cap a standing ovation after his announcement. We were all ready to have our own space and to be able to make an entire campus our home. Our CHS Basketball team has been practicing there regularly in 2020. We will hold our Summer Academy for the academic morning there. Tad and Dr. Cap are leading a team to make this new home our own. Look for more information this spring about the move.

FRANK VELOCCI Chairman, Board of Trustees

Frank.Velocci@dbr.com