Dear Voyager Community,
What an incredible week we’ve had at school. We had the opportunity to celebrate and honor our Middle School National Junior Honor Society students at a virtual assembly on Wednesday evening. These young Viking scholars exemplified the National Honor Society pillars of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. We're so proud of all of our students and teachers across the school as they continue to deepen their learning and grow together. Our school counselors each held student social events this week to further develop relationships and support them socially and emotionally. And we capped off Friday with an inspirational career talk to our 8th graders from parent, Larry Long. The career talks started with a student idea, was developed further by Ms. Farrish, the school counselor and the middle school team, and supported by our parent volunteers. What an incredible display of teamwork and community!
Our country has also had an incredible week with the 2020 election process. We are all anxiously awaiting the final outcome of our presidential election. Our students have been engaged in discussions in class about democracy and the election process as part of their grade level curriculum. As I walked through the middle school, a student project in the hall from last year on democracy grabbed my attention and I wanted to share this with all of you. The project below is a beautiful symbol of hope, unity, and inclusion. Thank you to all of the Voyager educators and families teaching these critical life lessons that shine through in this creation.
Voyager is committed to creating a welcoming diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning community. All staff participated in crucial conversations and team breakout discussions on the topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion during our Wednesday staff meeting. Further professional development on these important topics will continue in December and throughout the year as well.
The Voyager team continues to prepare for our return to in-person instruction. Cohorts, schedules, and operations plans for our safe return to in-person instruction in January is under development. Parent, student, and staff input is an important part of our process as we strive to meet the needs and concerns of our entire community. We are interested in getting feedback on our current remote learning plan and the community input on your readiness to return to in-person instruction under the hybrid plan. Please complete the survey below by November 12 to share your feedback with our team. We will be presenting results at Town Hall meetings scheduled in early December.
Hybrid Return to Learning Parent Survey Linked here – Complete by 11/12/20
Hybrid Return to Learning Student Survey Linked here- Complete by 11/12/20
I also am pleased to introduce Patrice Johnson, our new Operations Manager. Patrice will oversee the before and after care program, enrichments, summer camp, school lunch program, and many other administrative support functions. Enrollment for the before and after care program will be coming soon.
Please know that we are all here to support your child grow and learn. Feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher, building administrator, or student support if we can assist your family in any way. Please review the upcoming dates and information below for additional resources. Enjoy the beautiful weekend ahead!
All the best,
Upcoming Calendar Events:
- Nov. 5 – Student Support Mindfulness Activities for Students
- Nov. 6 - Parent/Student/Staff Surveys sent out
- Nov. 6 - 8th Grade Career Day Presentation
- Nov. 9 - K-3 Report cards sent home
- Nov. 12 – Parent Night – Incorporating Mindfulness in our Daily Lives
- Nov. 13 - MS Second Quarter Progress Reports
- Nov. 20 - Kindness Day Virtual Assembly
- Dec 14- 18 - Final Exams
Parent Enrichment Night on Mindfulness - November 12th @ 6 p.m.
Zoom Link:
https://zoom.us/j/92731172692?
Meeting ID: 927 3117 2692
Passcode: DQ6ThR
Incorporating Mindfulness into Daily Life
Lisa Wickham is a Registered Nurse, Mindfulness Instructor, and Certified Hypnotherapist, who specializes in the practices of mindful awareness, self-compassion, and authentic kindness. Her programs and unique style of teaching invites others to explore and benefit from these life-altering skills. Lisa has had extensive formal training in mindfulness through Duke Integrative Medicine. She brings this training forth – combined with her nursing background and skills – to educate others on how to invite happiness, joy, ease, health, and well-being into their lives. As a mother of two adult children, Lisa is particularly fond of teaching mindfulness to parents. She believes that teaching our children emotional literacy and solid coping skills is essential and among the greatest gifts we can provide as parents. Lisa’s expertise, and engaging, experiential teaching style, allows participants to gain practical, ready-to- use techniques to calm the nervous system, settle the mind, and ease emotional reactivity – life skills for the 21st century!
Stay healthy and safe – Practice the 3 W’s
Staying current on all of the health metrics and data is also part of our ongoing process. As we work together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, please remind your children about the importance of the 3 W’s (Wear, Wait, & Wash). Wear a mask, practice social distancing by waiting and maintaining a 6-foot space between others, and wash hands frequently to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Outlined below are some helpful links and resources if you are interested in learning more about the latest data and recommendations.
K-12 Public Health Guidance Updates
Durham Public Health COVID Dashboard
Food and Nutrition Support for Families
Important Update: Food and nutrition support for families in need has been extended through June. From now until June 30, 2021, Durham County Public Schools will provide free meals to all children aged 18 and under. Drive-through pick up of meals is available weekly from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Pick-up sites are listed here and below. No ID is required to pick up the meals. If you are unable to pick up at the designated time, click here to obtain information on how to have meals delivered to your home.
The students services team has compiled an additional list of resources which can be found here.
Community Partnership with Kate’s Korner for K-5
Kate’s Korner will provide a supervised remote learning space for Voyager Academy Elementary (Kindergarten-3rd grades) and Middle School (4th & 5th grade) students to complete their school work while Voyager is operating in a remote learning environment and parents are working. Additional information regarding Kate’s Korner can be found on their website https://www.kateskornerdurham.
Community Partnership with Student U for Grades 6-12
Student U will provide a supervised remote learning space for families of Voyager Academy Middle School and High School students to complete their Voyager school work in a safe supervised learning center while Voyager is operating in a remote learning environment and parents are working. This community partnership will support struggling Voyager families in need of free child care while they are working during the remote learning environment. Applications for the learning center will be prioritized by Student U for families that qualify for free or reduced lunch, have parents that are essential workers, or have become recently unemployed, are experiencing homelessness, are part of the foster care system, or live in public housing.
Link for Remote Access to the Voyager Library for Elementary Students