Hello Middle School Parents,
It has been a great week at Voyager Middle School. Over the past couple of weeks I received several emails from many of our students asking if we could have some fun activities integrated into our school day. The students shared that they would like to be more connected to school. What smart students we have!
I agree with the students that academics are extremely important but the social emotional component of school is also very important. We began our “fun activities” on Thursday with PJ Day. Along with an assembly on Friday, we also had Costume Day. We will continue to include fun activities mixed with our academic requirements. Part of our assembly time on Friday was spent reminding our students that it is extremely important for each student to complete their work AND submit their completed work. After viewing ALL of the report cards, we needed to celebrate the students who put forth much effort during the first quarter and encourage students who did not put forth as much effort and remind all students that it is not too late to work hard on their academic component. We also had some fun as Mrs. Liller and Mr. Blackston led us in the Cupid Shuffle! Fun times!
Shout Outs to Staff from a parent:
“Hi there Mrs. Johnson,
I hope you are doing well. We wanted to thank you for Miss Vurnakes. She is amazing and outstanding as a teacher and as a person. She is always able to notice when a student is struggling. Miss Vurnakes will come into the reading rooms and make them feel good about themselves since she knows how to best help the students find the correct information. She is so encouraging to everyone and knows how to keep each child engaged and focused. I am sure you already know all of this, however, we just had to let you know how impressed we are with her. Our older daughters even say WOW - she is awesome. We just wanted to tell you that we have also been astonished by all the specials/elective teachers and their abilities to teach online. It has to be so challenging. PE has especially been great! It gets the kiddos moving. Thanks for all of the support and for all you do to make VAMS rock!”
Stay Up-to-the-Minute on Your Child’s Progress: Become a “Parent Observer” on His/Her PowerSchool Account
It’s very important for you as parents to know what is going on regarding their child’s grades and class assignments. An easy way to check both grades and completion of assignments is to check your child’s PowerSchool account. If it were me, I would at least check the account weekly. If you do not have access to your child’s PowerSchool account, please let me know by sending me an email.
Science Olympiad Competition Team – Signup OPEN until Oct 30th!
Voyager’s Science Olympiad teams compete in science related events against other schools. We begin preparing in the fall and compete in the spring. Our 4th and 5th graders are part of our elementary team (click HERE for more information about that team). Our 6th, 7th and 8th graders are part of our middle school team (click HERE for more information about that team). If you’d like to join the team, please fill out the signup form by Oct 30th (elementary team SIGNUP FORM, middle school team SIGNUP FORM). For questions, please email Kristin Jantz at scienceolympiadteam@voyageracademy.net
Athletics Fundraiser Kick Off
Quick reminder to please support the current fundraiser. We need to raise funds for our Athletic Department and the goal is $10,000.00. You don’t need to do any shopping, but simply register and share the fundraiser online at, www.ShopFund.com.
Also, help your Teacher earn a $50 Catalog Shopping Spree from the fundraiser. All you need to do is REGISTER & SHARE the fundraiser online and share with at least 5 people via email, text or social media like Facebook. If ½ of the students share the fundraiser online your Teacher/classroom will automatically earn the $50 shopping spree!
Remember, the fundraiser will help the school and your Teacher with the education of your student.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL:
FREE TUTORING: National Honor Society Tutors/Viking Buddies Back In Business
The National Honor Society at the High School is excited to be "virtually" back in full swing this year (although we miss seeing each other in person) and going strong! We are starting to plan some events for the upcoming school year. The NHS is most excited to have the tutoring/buddy program back up and running. We have sent out links to your child's teachers for them to request tutors. But in addition, this year we are also providing a link for parents to request tutors for their children!
We all know that these are trying times and we are glad to be able to help with anything from homework to studying for a test. Maybe your student could just benefit from talking to a peer and would like to sign up for a Viking Buddy to talk to through the day, who can give some tips on time management or test taking strategies.
Please click here to request tutoring from NHS!
National Junior Honor Society
At the end of the 4th quarter in 2019-2020, we determined students who were candidates for the National Junior Honor Society. In order to be considered for NJHS, students need an average of 95 or higher in quarters one, two, and three. This is determined in 7th grade and based on core subject grades. Students not only demonstrate excellence in the area of scholarship but also service, leadership, character, and citizenship.
Although we have selected the inductees, we have not had the opportunity to have our 2019-2020 induction ceremony. Our Virtual Induction Ceremony will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 5:00. We will send parents of our inductees a zoom link prior to the ceremony. If you have questions, feel free to email me at gjohnson@voyageracademy.net.
REMIND Text: Thanks to those of you who signed up!
4th Grade-In the“To” section of the text type 81010 and in the message type @6agbha.
5th Grade-In the“To” section of the text type 81010 and in the message type @eh9f6kb.
6th Grade -In the“To” section of the text type 81010 and in the message type @beeh8h.
7th Grade - In the“To” section of the text type 81010 and in the message type @cak43k.
8th Grade -In the”To” section of the text type 81010 and in the message type @8cg9ch
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR:
As always, please email me at gjohnson@voyageracademy.net or call if you have questions, comments or concerns about anything.
Thanks,
Gwen
Gwen Johnson, MS Principal