The Sundance Staff
At The Sundance School, our loving, inspired teachers exemplify qualities of warmth, patience and creativity. Happy teachers make for happy children!
Tracy Conforti
Tracy Conforti- Upper School Coordinator and 1st-3rd Grade Teacher
Ms. Tracy has been a part of our Sundance family for 25+ years. She received a BBA from James Madison University and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Monmouth University. She has studied the Lucy Calkins Method at Columbia University where she received her certification in both Readers & Writers Workshops. She has trained in the Fundations program. She began her career in the Primary, teaching math in the Rainbow Room. She has since shared her passion for early childhood and elementary education as well as her tremendous versatility by serving the school in various capacities. Currently she can be found in the Grades 1-3 classroom as a Lead Teacher.
Sundance shines because Tracy is committed to our mission – To ignite within the hearts and minds of our students a passion to make the world a better (and brighter!) place while inspiring them to become successful lifelong learners.
Wendy Graham
Wendy Graham- Sun Room Group Leader:
Our dear Ms. Wendy Graham is excited to be returning to the Sun Room where she began her 35-year Sundance career in 1990. Wendy graduated from Villanova University, where she received her PA certification for Nursery through 8th grade and NJ certification for Elementary Education. Ms. Wendy is also a member of the administrative team and serves the school in various capacities as a director.
While we are so very grateful to Wendy for her countless contributions and steadfast commitment to the continued success of Sundance, we are beyond thrilled to have her share her talent, skill, and creativity as a true (Sundance-grown!) master teacher with our pre-school students! The proud mother of two, Ms. Wendy loves spending time with her son, Dylan (Sundance Class of 2013) and her daughter McKenna (Sundance Class of 2016) – both of whom enjoyed a full 10 year Sundance experience from Stars to the Galaxies!
Bobbi Heteji
Ms. Bobbi has been a “sun”sational Sundance teacher for 29 years. She graduated from Caldwell College with a Bachelor’s in Spanish and Elementary Education K-8. Ms. Bobbi has taught school in Germany! Before becoming Director of Education, Ms. Bobbi lead The Lower School as a Team Coordinator Pre- K/ Kindergarten Teacher. She helps Sundance shine by creating joyful moments and amazing memories that bring bright smiles to her students’ faces! She enjoys gardening, reading and playing with her grandchildren.
Eileen Idleman
Mrs. Idleman holds a BA in English from Montclair State College. After a successful fifteen year Human Resources career at AT&T, she went on to pursue her true passion and received her NJ Teacher’s Certification K-6 from Rider University. In 2011, when Sundance was making the decision to grow through fifth grade, Mrs. Idleman joined the Upper School team and contributed her expertise in project based, experiential learning to create the educational model for the Galaxies classroom. Her personal philosophy to embrace each of her students’ unique gifts by expertly tailoring instruction to challenge and inspire lifelong learning aligns perfectly with our Sundance mission. Mrs. Idleman makes Sundance shine by planning and executing dynamic, innovative, hands-on Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies lessons for her Galaxies students. In her free time, she can be found relaxing with a good book, playing with her dog, and enjoying time with her children – Leigh and William.
Lynn Luo
Additional profile information is not available from the original directory.
Sylvie Macdonald
Senora Sylvie is our World Language specialist. With a BA in Art History and Foreign Languages from Ecole des Cadres Superieurs in France, she definitely is an extraordinaire! Senora Sylvie loves to put a smile on her student’s faces and watch them laugh while they are enjoying her classes! When she is not teaching, she loves to illustrate children’s books, paint, read, ride her bike and practice yoga.
Emmy-Lu Maloney
Ms. Emmy has been a valued member of the Sundance family for 13 years! She received her degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Trenton State College. She helps Sundance Shine by fostering a caring and compassionate educational environment that encourages children to believe in themselves, embrace their unique talents and recognize that the gifts they have to share are what makes each and every one of them special in his/her own right. Ms. Emmy encourages children through meaningful explorations and investigations that broaden their understanding of the world and she is right there beside them to root them on as they make these discoveries. In her free time, Ms. Emmy loves taking walks, crafting and spending time with her family.
Lyndsey Mann
Additional profile information is not available from the original directory.
Janet McNally
Ms. Janet has filled Sundance with her contagious smile for 25 years! She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in Music and Liberal Arts. Ms. Janet started out teaching in the Moon Room and was also one of Sundance’s Directors. She makes Sundance shine by inspiring children to make friends, have fun, and sing with glee! She loves yoga and spending time with her granddaughters.
Joann Merrigan
Joann Merrigan has been inspiring Sundance students discover their gifts, believe in their dreams, realize their limitless potential, and shine bright since 1988! She received her BA in Speech and Theatre/Dance Concentration from Montclair State College. A true believer in the transformative power of the arts, Joann found her home away from home on the Sundance stage after touring the tri-state area with The Other Dance Company where she created the Dance As A Second Language Series - a program that trains elementary school teachers to integrate the fine and performing arts into the academic subjects. Joann went on to develop the Create-A-Dance and Create-A-Play curricula for the Sundance Stage Program. CAD and CAP are both presently being implemented in both the Morris and Essex County school systems for which Joann acts as an arts-integration consultant. When Joann is not researching new plays, and learning new ways to bring the best fine and performing arts practices to Sundance and beyond, she enjoys taking dance class, going to the New City Ballet, cooking, and attending her three children's (all Sundance alumni) soccer, baseball and lacrosse games. She also enjoys seeing them and so many of her former Sundance students truly shine in their school plays, regional theater, and On and Off-Broadway productions. Ms. Joann's hope is to continue working to create a Bright Future for Sundance by maintaining an environment that illuminates for children the beauty, joy, and wonder of the arts. Her dream is for every Sundance child to have the opportunity to imagine, learn, and grow in an atmosphere where love and acceptance light their way.
James Morgan
James has been a member of the Sundance family since 2010. After six years of teaching second and third grade full-time, he now acts as Sundance’s “go-to” substitute for our upper school classes.
Additionally, you can always find James musically directing a number of our upper school productions during the year, as well as being an integral part of our Sundance theater camp staff every summer.
James holds a B.A. in both English and music from Bucknell University. He is a NJ literacy volunteer, a member of Actors’ Equity, and a five-time Jeopardy!winner.
Kathleen Patanella
Ms. Kate has been a part of our Sundance School family for 16 years. She is a Certified Reading Specialist, holds a BA in Education and Sociology from The College of Staten Island, and a Masters in Education from Fordham University. She is also licensed in NJ & NY to teach PreK- 5th grade. Ms. Kate makes Sundance shine by constantly sharing her knowledge and experiences with her students and fellow teachers. When not in school she enjoys watching her daughter’s run track and play soccer and basketball. Ms. Kate also loves to garden, ride her bike, and attend football games!
Stephanie Pfeiffer
Ms. Stephanie has been lending her wisdom, expertise and friendly smile to our Lower School Program for
23 years. All three of her daughters attended Sundance for preschool! As Ms. Stephanie's students blossom and thrive, she continues to find exciting and innovative ways to help them learn. When Ms. Stephanie is not in school, she is very involved in the Watchung Hills Pop Warner Cheerleading Program!
Callie Shafto
Ms. Callie is back on the Sundance STEAM team, ramping up the Science and Technology programs. She is enthusiastic about bringing her passion for incorporating student led inquiry, project-based learning, and authentic exploration to our K-8th grade students. Ms. Callie has been an educator and administrator at schools in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California before landing here at Sundance. Her undergraduate work was in Linguistics and Music, and her Master’s degree from NYU is in Education and the Arts. She also holds a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Caldwell University. While her main work at Sundance is in the Workshop, giving children the joyful and positive experience of our interconnected Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math curriculum, her happy place is playing her guitar and singing all over the school.
Ryan Sullivan
Ryan Sullivan joined the Sundance staff in 2024. He came to us through a connection with his mom, who worked at Sundance many years ago. A college football player, Mr. Ryan was named Offensive Player of the year! Mr. Ryan loves working with all the children in the school and helping out with the productions and concerts. In his spare time, Mr. Ryan is a talented singer, dancer, and artist, as well as an athlete.
Krista Szark
My name is Krista Szark and I am thrilled to be back at Sundance! I have felt strongly connected to Sundance since the first day I brought my children to attend school here in 2003. The integration of the arts into academic curriculum provided the absolute perfect foundation for my girls, and I enjoy providing that unique experience for my students.
I have taught many ages here at Sundance as well as the Edison and Metuchen public schools. I feel lucky to be back at Sundance, teaching Art to all ages, sharing my love for all media with my students. I believe that all students are capable of creating beautiful art and my job is to inspire and empower them to think and create like artists.
In my free time, you can find me at the beach, traveling with my family, reading, or practicing yoga. My perfect day combines all of these!
Donna Turlik
her grandchildren! Although Ms. Donna has a full and busy schedule, she still finds time to take ZUMBA class three times a week AND she can still twirl a mean baton!