4/1/2020

Hello all families

We hope this email finds everyone in good health and for those of you with children, still finding enjoyment in having your children home with you during this time. 

As everyone should be well aware by this point, there are nationwide social distancing guidelines still in place for the next 30 days. This means we will NOT be reopening on April 5th like we had optimistically hoped we would be able to. We will continue to follow the guidance set from our state and federal governments and when it is safe, and we are permitted to reopen we will. 

An optimistic goal will be for the May Session – to start on Sunday, May 3rd 2020.  Any families that had enrolled themselves in the April Session WILL BE DROPPED. NO PAYMENTS have been processed for the April Session at this time and NO PAYMENTS for the 3,6 and 12 month packages will be processed on 4/10/2020. This payment process date will be skipped for all families at this time.

If you had missed the email explaining the process for April – it will be the same for the May Session and please see instructions below:Everyone will receive credits in their customer account for the cancelled classes for March. This will be reflected in your account by April 1st, if not sooner. We will still be honoring all makeups for classes missed in March, and once we do open you will have 2 weeks from that date to complete them.  Again – we want to reinforce that we will be accommodating everyone’s missed classes.  For those in private lesson packages, we are also providing credits instead of extending packages. We are trying to be sensitive to families individual schedules and are aware there may be vacations planned, etc. Lastly – we have discontinued auto-enrollment for ALL SESSIONS. NO ONE is enrolled into the May Session at this time. We are not going to be enrolling anyone into the May Session, but will allow families to enroll for themselves. This will give you the flexibility to decide when you feel comfortable returning to lessons, whether that is May or a future month.  As of this evening, all semiprivate, adult group and parent child classes are posted for May and if you choose to enroll – simply enroll like you would have the first time you enrolled. This will HOLD your place for the next month and no payments will be processed until we get the green light to resume lessons. Again, we will not be processing payments until at least April 1st, and will inform you before any cards are charged. We are supportive and fully understanding that we are all facing the same issues in our country/world right now and we want to make this as painless as possible for all families.

Lastly due to having to furlough our staff until we reopen, the office is CLOSED and we sadly will not be answering calls or emails until we do reopen. We hope you can understand our position similar to many other companies across the country and world during this difficult period.

3/19/2020

Hello Families

Again, thank you for being patient and understanding as all of the small businesses out there are trying to do their best to work with the clients as well as the crisis we are facing. We hope that you are all safe, that your kids are home with you and that you are doing your best to not get cabin fever! For those of you who are still working outside of your homes and providing for our country right now in immeasurable ways, we THANK YOU!

We received notice from LA Fitness within the last few days that all clubs around the world will be closed through at least April 1st. We will NOT be reopening on March 22nd at this point.

We do plan to still reopen by April 5th if all goes well – but this again is an optimistic goal. 

Everyone will receive credits in their customer account for the cancelled classes for March. This will be reflected in your account by April 1st, if not sooner. We will still be honoring all makeups for classes missed in March, and once we do open you will have 2 weeks from that date to complete them. We do not want to say you have 2 weeks from April 5th since we are still uncertain if that is a realistic date. Again – we want to reinforce that we will be accommodating everyone’s missed classes. 

For those in private lesson packages, we are also providing credits instead of extending packages. We are trying to be sensitive to families individual schedules and are aware there may be vacations planned, etc.

Lastly – we have discontinued auto-enrollment into the April Session at this time. We are not going to be enrolling anyone into the April Session, but will allow families to enroll for themselves. This will give you the flexibility to decide when you feel comfortable returning to lessons. 

As of this evening, all semiprivate, adult group and parent child classes are posted for April and if you choose to enroll – simply enroll like you would have the first time you enrolled. This will HOLD your place for the next month and no payments will be processed until we get the green light to resume lessons. Again, we will not be processing payments until at least April 1st, and will inform you before any cards are charged.

We are supportive and fully understanding that we are all facing the same issues in our country/world right now and we want to make this as painless as possible for all families.

Please stay safe, healthy and enjoy the time with your children!

Sincerely

Starfish Aquatic Club

3/13/2020

Hello all families

We thank you being patient with our program and understanding that we as well as countless number of small businesses are all struggling in this difficult time together. We strive to keep all of our families safe and healthy, so effective Saturday, March 14^th and until for at least the next week we will be POSTPONING all of our lessons and Supervised Open Swim. We continue to stay in contact with public health authorities and follow their guidance. Please be advised of the following:

1. We will be closed for all lessons until at least March 22nd. At that time we will be continually reviewing all guidance from the state as well as the CDC guidelines and make a decision based on information at that time whether we will reopen. We WILL be sending information via email and our website regarding the time frame we will reopen so we ask that you refrain from contacting our office with questions regarding that or questions regarding any rescheduling of classes until we have sent notification that we are reopening.

2. All families will be receiving a credit for the cancelled lessons for next week into their account which will be reflected as a negative balance to use towards the next session that is scheduled, or to use for a makeup in the upcoming months. 

3. All makeups that have been already scheduled will be POSTPONED and a credit for that class will be added to your account as well. All families will have to reschedule this makeup or use the credit towards another session of lessons once we reopen.

4. Please note that our staff has been inundated with emails and phone calls from concerned families of whether or not we will be closing, or to inform us of individually cancelling lessons. This email will serve as formal notification of our postponement of lessons since we cannot respond to each and every phone call and email received at this time. 

We completely understand the fear, concern, and anxiety that this crisis has caused every person in our country during this difficult period. We want to reassure you that we have had NO known cases of the COVID-19 virus at any of our facilities from either our staff or our students. Our reasoning for closing is to follow the guidance of social distancing and trying to do our part to stop the spread of this virus. 

As you start spending the weeks coming with your little ones, and school aged children – we encourage you to think about our staff. Many of our staff members have plenty of babysitting experience. Your family might need a break, or just some extra hands to help around the house. This may be the best way to support your instructors during the time they are unable to work while the swim school is not operating.

We are grateful to have amazing clients like you, and to have you support our small company. We hope everyone continues to stay safe and healthy as we all team in together to navigate through this crisis. We enthusiastically look forward to having everyone back at the pool in the upcoming weeks!

3/12/2020

We hope you are all staying calm through this experience we are living, and know that we are ALL in this together.

We understand certain fears that families must be facing: concern about getting sick, concern about exposing your child to sickness, concern about elderly family members who are at high risk. This is a terrible time for ALL of us. 

Because our risk factor of exposure is still very low, we will be continuing lessons until it is no longer safe and/or certain factors change. What this means is that we will be operating in all of our locations until either there is a risk factor that forces us to close, or until the local schools around us start to close consistently. We have 6 locations, all of which are dealing with the same factors as well as some have schools closing, others do not. We are hearing rumblings that there might be more school closings in our local areas, and that is a strong possibility it will happen very shortly. If that happens, we will close accordingly. If that does not happen, we will continue to operate because our current risk factor is low.

We not only have to take the consideration of our clients, but also of our staff and that they will most likely be out of work – similarly to what you might be experiencing as families. To keep a sense of normalcy for our 30+ staff members that do rely on their jobs, we are remaining open. In the case of our instructors, they cannot work from home due to the nature of their jobs. So we are trying to keep them in mind while considering the need to close as day to day things are changing.

What we WILL be doing at this time is the following – SO PLEASE READ BELOW!!! 

1. We will be pushing the April month to start April 5th instead of the week prior. This will give us a buffer to be completely closed the week of March 29th-April 4th 2020. This will give us some additional time to provide makeups if we need to if things do progress to the point we have to close for longer periods of time.

2. We are offering UNLIMITED makeups due to our policy that started in January 2020. So if you DO miss lessons, we will be allowing you to complete makeups for any reason. 

3. We are extending the deadline to drop from lessons till the END of March. So please do not panic about dropping from April at this time. If you did drop because you were concerned about the virus or your student was sick during this time, and would like to hold your spot – we encourage you to reach out and we can reverse that at this time. We would rather see you schedule makeups and not lose your time and day when you do return back. April-June are our highest enrollment, and we anticipate that once things start to settle down and you are getting antsy with your children in the home with you – that our enrollment will spike immediately when we return. YOU WILL NOT LOSE ANYTHING by staying enrolled, and YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SCHEDULE MAKEUPS if you cancel, or we have to postpone lessons.

4. We will be pushing the billing date from 3/20 to closer to either 3/31 or 4/1 – this date is still TBD to accommodate for any cancellations/closings etc. So you WILL have time to drop as well as time to pay. We know that the economical response to this crisis will be tough for everyone.

5. If we DO close, we will be answering phones/emails during any closures and continue to stay in constant contact with all families. 

We hope that this email reassures many of you – and answers your questions. 

Again we will be remaining open until we deem it is necessary to close based on school closure decisions in the state or any other risk factor that is presented.

To be fair to our office staff who are working extraordinarily hard in these times, please refrain from calling the office with questions about if/when we might close, and we encourage you to make your decisions based on what is right for your families. We will continue to update you frequently, and even potentially daily since things are rapidly changing.

We are reaching out regarding the world wide crisis we are experiencing with the Coronavirus.

We do understand that everyone is worried, concerned, fearful of what might happen and much of it is day by day decisions and unknown outcomes.

We are continually following updates and will make decisions regarding any cancellations if the state/country shuts down local schools and programs. 

A few positive things about swimming lessons during this time: 

1. Swimming is held in an environment that is at a very low risk of transmission of viruses due to the highly chlorinated environment. This means your student is at a very low risk of being exposed to the virus.  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html

2. Staying ACTIVE is a healthy way to prevent your children from getting ill during the flu and cold season. Not participating in activities that promote healthy immune systems and good circulation can lead to decreased immunity. 

In addition to the pools being disinfected with the chlorine daily – we will make decisions if the pool is NOT at a safe level to hold lessons if the chlorine levels are too low. The LA Fitness clubs have been ensuring cleanliness and safety in the clubs and adding extra hand sanitizer to all facilities. The LA Fitness clubs are following all CDC guidelines and guidance in ensuring safety.

If you or your student may have been exposed to the virus, please do not come to lessons and self-quarantine for 14 days at home. This should include not attending school or other activities in addition to swimming lessons. It is still cold and flu season so our usual guidelines should be followed also. Even if you do not believe your family has been exposed to Coronavirus, please reschedule your classes if experiencing cold and flu symptoms. We are asking our staff not to come in to teach lessons if they may have been exposed to the virus or have experienced cold/flu symptoms as well. 

Since January 2020, we have a policy that allows you to reschedule missed lessons within 2 weeks of the missed classes. If you miss a class because your student is sick or exposed to the virus, simply request to makeup the class. 

If we learn that local schools start to close due to exposure and containment of the virus, we will plan accordingly. No lessons will be cancelled unless there is a reason we must close our facilities and students can schedule makeups if classes are either cancelled on our end, or if students do not attend lessons at this time.

We hope this helps with calming any concerns at this time. We cannot control our communities right now, but this will help with the possible spreading of the virus which is in OUR control.

Please DO NOT PANIC. We are all in this together and this impacts all of us.

Bought a package of 6 private lessons?

TO BOOK YOUR CLASSES PLEASE READ BELOW:

1. Once purchased, the management has put in a credit in your account equal to 6 Pay as You Go Private Lessons to book at any time.
2. Book your classes by clicking here and click the “register” link next to any of the available classes.
3. Select “I am already a customer”, put in your password and enroll!

The class fee will be deducted from the credit in your account for the 6 classes, until you reach a ZERO balance.

Fine Print:

Lessons can only be booked from the Pay as You Go Private Lesson schedule that changes week to week, and is only available one week in advance.  Cannot be used towards an 8 week session or a 4-6 month package. Same instructor, time and day are NOT guaranteed and are subject to availability. Lessons can be used at ANY of the Starfish Aquatic Club locations including outdoor seasonal locations. Special is limited to 1 per student, 2 per family. No other discounts, promotions or credits can be used in combination with this special. Lessons can be used until 12/31/20, or becomes a credit for the amount purchased after that date. 

When you think of enrolling your child in swimming lessons, what comes to mind? Do you think about long summer days watching your child splash happily in the pool or cheering them on as they swim in their first race? Maybe you think about spending summers at the lake or beach and watching your child swim with confidence and ease.

What you might not think about, however, is just how important it is to keep your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter. Though the short, cold days may seem like an unlikely time of year for swimming lessons, there are numerous advantages to wintertime swimming lessons.

1. It Helps With Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that appears at the same time each year. For children, winter can be a particularly difficult time as daylight hours become shorter, normal summer-fun routines get cut back, and cold weather prevents them from enjoying time outdoors. All of these can lead children to feel symptoms of depression or unexplained fatigue. However, by keeping your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter months, they can engage in regular exercise that’s been proven to help children get better sleep, keep energy levels and appetites up, and provide other relief to these symptoms.

2. They Create More Opportunities for Socialization

In the winter, your child doesn’t have as many opportunities to play with friends or meet new acquaintances at places like parks, playgrounds, or picnics. However, with weekly swim lessons, your child can have a much-needed break from the confinement of the indoors while also having the chance to socialize with friends both new and old. Not only does this help thwart the loneliness that can often accompany long winter months, but it keeps you child on a reliable schedule that they can look forward to throughout the week.

3. They Can Stay Healthy

Moderate exercise is proven to help boost the immune system and keep your child healthy during a time when sickness tends to run rampant. And while it’s best not to put additional stress on your child’s immune system if they are fighting an illness, keeping them enrolled in swimming lessons when they are healthy will help them build a strong immune system. Additionally, swimming helps your child stay healthy in the following ways:

• It improves cardiovascular health by keeping blood pressure and cholesterol levels (for all ages!) low.
• It’s one of the most effective exercises for kids to strengthen every muscle in their body.
• It helps your child burn off the calories in fat that builds up and clogs arteries.
• It helps prevent diabetes and childhood obesity.

4. Winter Swim Lessons Facilitate Year Round Safety

Perhaps one of the most important reasons to keep your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter is to ensure their safety and security around water. Unfortunately, the statistics on child drownings are very grim: an average of 350 children under the age of five drown in pools each year – a majority of which occur in June, July, and August. And while having a few months of swimming lessons here and there will no doubt help to give your child safe exposure to water, keeping them enrolled throughout the winter will give them the skills and techniques they need to stay safe in the water.

The basics of swim safety teach your child to turn over and float independently in case they accidentally find themselves in deep water. As the foundation of toddler and kids swimming lessons, instructors will help your child build upon these skills so they feel comfortable and confident while swimming in any body of water – from the bathtub to the ocean.

After a winter of swimming lessons, you can have peace of mind come summer when pools open, vacations call, and your child longs to get swimming!

As you can see, there are several key benefits of keeping your child enrolled in swimming lessons throughout the winter. Sign your child up for swimming lessons at Starfish Aquatic Club, today!

Hello!!

There have been a lot of changes for Starfish Aquatic Club over the past year since July 2016!

We have seen 4 new locations added to our company: Randolph – LA Fitness (July 2016); Piscataway – LA Fitness (September 2016); West Orange – LA Fitness (January 2017) and Clark – LA Fitness (April 2017), with two additional locations possibly being added in 2018.

The administrative staff have been working very hard to accommodate the needs of the families, students, instructors, and locations alike, and are making changes that we feel will benefit the company as a whole.

So coming this Fall 2 Session – we are making some BIG changes!!

CHANGES YOU WILL SEE:

1. Length of our sessions – You will see our sessions have now changed from 6 to 8 weeks in length starting the Fall 2 Session, as well continuing our 4 and 6 month packages. Our Summer 1 and Summer 2 Sessions will still remain at 4 weeks to accommodate for vacations for families, but there will be the option to do BOTH sessions.
2. Fee structure changes – You will notice that our fees have changed, although they LOOK like they have increased, they actually have not.  Instead of adding tax to your fees once you have enrolled, the fees are posted with the taxes included and that is the amount you can expect to pay. Nothing more.
3. Payment options – Yes our fees have changed from 6 weeks to 8 weeks, but the breakdown is still the same per lesson. And we have now added MONTHLY payments for the 8 week sessions, meaning you can break down your payments into two payments around the 20th of the month. The 4 and 6 month packages will still have monthly payments for the 10th of the month.
4. MAKEUPS!! – Yes that is correct!!  We will have ONE makeup included in the 8 week sessions for PRIVATE LESSONS ONLY! For the 4 and 6 month packages, we have added an ADDITIONAL makeup for each package: (2) makeups for the 4 month package; and (3) makeups for the 6 month package. There will not be any makeups for the Summer 1 or Summer 2 Sessions unless both sessions are enrolled for.
5. More about makeups – All makeups will have to be completed within 2 weeks from the missed class, so if you miss a class on the last day of the session, you will have two weeks to complete the makeup from that date.
6. Scheduled days off – The 8 week session for the Fall 2 Session will include Halloween, and Wednesday-Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend as holidays (no lessons held), but you will still get 8 lessons total by ending in December.

We really hope that these changes will help to accommodate all of our families more and give our students some more flexibility with payments and scheduling!

Sincerely,

The Starfish Team