VAES Family Update:
Share The Love Campaign: Thank you to everyone who was able to participate in the Share The Love campaign at Voyager Academy. This was Mr. Manning's first opportunity to meet the students and families. It was also the first time that many students saw their teacher in person! We collected a great amount of canned food for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle!
March 01 Start Date Details: Let us remind you of the March schedule once more….
March 01: Cohort A returns to school. Cohort B begins remote learning and Remote Cohort begins remote learning. Grades 1-3 will begin school at 7:45 and will end school at 2:45. IF YOUR STUDENT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED A NEW HOMEROOM TEACHER, THE NEW TEACHER ASSIGNMENT BEGINS TODAY. Kindergarten students will begin school at 8:30 and will conclude school at 12:30. We will not have after school care available for kindergarten students during this first shortened week. All kindergarten students will need to be picked up at 12:30 the week of March 01-March 05.
March 03: All students learn from home. This is our Weekly Wednesday Deep Cleaning Day. Staff members will not be on campus on Wednesday.
March 04: Cohort B returns to school. Cohort A begins remote learning and Remote Cohort continues to learn from home. Kindergarten Cohort B will arrive at 8:30 am and will be picked up at 12:30 pm. We will not have after school care available for kindergarten students during this first shortened week. All kindergarten students will need to be picked up at 12:30 on the week of March 01-05.
Hybrid Reopening Plans for VAES: Please, please, please take the time to read the entire Policies and Procedures Manual. This document will answer the majority of your questions as we prepare to return to our campus on March 01. This document is also helpful for our remote learners.
Hybrid Policies and Procedures
Car Line Here We Come! Voyager Academy car line will begin promptly at 7:15 am. As we prepare to receive students as safely and as quickly as possible, please help our staff by completing the following:
Make sure the Greenlight App is complete and you are ready to show the PASS to the Voyager staff member. If the App is not ready to be shown, we will need for that car to pull to the side until we can get the student checked in. Directions and a step by step video of how to install Greenlight App is listed below.
Voyager Greenlight Directions Video
Greenlight Directions Video #2
As you are waiting in the carline, please turn down the car heat and make sure your student is not totally bundled up or when we complete the temperature check, it will read HIGH.
Staff members will NOT be able to unbuckle students from their seatbelt. Parents will need to have students ready to exit the car when they pull up to their drop-off zone.
Please make sure every person inside the car is wearing a mask as you complete morning and afternoon carline. This will help keep everyone safe.
Each family will receive a CAR LINE NUMBER in their Friday Folder Pick Up Packet. The card is bright red to make it easy for you to find. This card must be displayed on the sun visor of your car. This is the only way we have of calling your student down to the carline (each afternoon). If for some reason, you do not have your RED CAR LINE SIGN , please contact the school office. These car line signs will be available on February 19th pick up.
Ordering Lunch at Voyager Academy: Voyager Academy does not have a cafeteria on campus. Elementary and Middle school students eat lunch in their classrooms. Students may pack their own lunch or order lunch through Charter Pay. Students that pack their own lunch will not have access to microwaves this year. We do have two food vendors to provide hot lunch for our A & B Cohorts.
Parents, you can order your child's lunch online, pay at the time of order, and we will deliver your students lunch to their classroom. Lunch orders must be placed at least one week in advance. You also have the option to purchase for the entire month. Payment options are by debit/credit card or ACH bank draft. Order Lunch online at CharterPay.org.
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE: We are excited to open our before and after school care (BASC) programs. BASC will open on Monday March 1st for elementary students and March 16th for Middle/High school students. Voyager Academy BASC knows what it takes to keep children safe, so you can feel sound in registering your child. We pay attention to every detail both big and small in training staff for COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.
BASC Programs will be available only on days that your child is scheduled to be at Voyager Academy:
· Early Care: 6:45am – 7:45am for Elementary and Middle School
After Care: 2:45pm – 6:00pm for Elementary and Middle School.
All students must be pre-registered in order to attend The BASC program. Parents use the Charter Pay online billing system for program registration. If you need help with your username or password, please visit https://charterpay.org/login/recovery. Once you register for the program you will receive our complete Parent Handbook. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me directly at pjohnson@voyageracademy.net.
Teacher Changes Begin March 01: If your student was assigned a new homeroom teacher, because of our hybrid plan (this is only true for 1st and 3rd grade) the new teacher assignment does not begin until March 01.
Elementary Yearbook: We have partnered with Strawbridge Studios and we need YOUR help to make it successful! Below we have included links for each grade level to submit a PORTRAIT PHOTO of your student as well as another link for CANDID PHOTOS. Photos should be submitted by February 25.
The attached PDF "Virtual Portrait Uploads" is a guide for parents.
ELEMENTARY (K-3) STUDENT PORTRAITS UPLOAD HERE:
CANDID PHOTOS
KINDERGARTEN CANDID PHOTOS:
FIRST GRADE CANDID PHOTOS:
SECOND GRADE CANDID PHOTOS:
THIRD GRADE CANDID PHOTOS:
Voyager Spirit Wear: We’ve Got Spirit Yes We Do! We are excited to launch our Athletics Apparel sale for 2021. It has a bunch of new items, including t-shirts that support every sport we have at Voyager. They come in a range of sizes for all our athletic supporters. Great for the times when we can all be back on the fields, gyms, courts, pools or stands to cheer on our teams! All orders are directly shipped to your home once placed! Orders open TODAY and close at midnight on February 15th. Apparel flyer is attached. Link to order is here: https://www.bsnteamsports.com/shop/hTMyMw7Npg
Thanks for supporting us during a very strange time in our worlds! We appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts and the money we earn from this apparel sale will continue to support our teams as they move forward.
Stay VIKING STRONG!
Viking Booster Club and Voyager Athletics
Lottery Application: The new year brings the opening of our application process for admission for the 2021 -2022 school year. The application period opens on January 1 and closes on February 28, 2021. We are scheduling a virtual information session for prospective families on February 9, 2021. Thank you for assisting us as we spread the word about our amazing school.
Report Cards: The second VAES Report Card will be issued to families on February 22, 2021. The grading period will end on February 17, 2021.
February Virtual Assembly: The elementary school staff is at it again. We will be hosting “You’ve Got Talent” Virtual Assembly on Thursday, February 25. Our staff members will be showcasing some of their various skills and talents and we will be challenging students to share their skills and talents with us. I guarantee this event will make you smile! The zoom link for this event is:
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.com, and registration can be completed using this Registration Form
Substitute Teachers Needed: As we prepare for our return to school, we need to increase our substitute teacher list. If you are a Voyager parent and you would be willing to discuss subbing for the elementary school, please email Mr. Manning at tmanning@voyageracademy.net. We need YOU to make our reopening plan a reality.
Greenlight App: It is imperative that all Voyager families set up the Greenlight App. Please set up your Greenlight account today and complete the survey daily for each child even while your children are learning remotely. We will use this data and input to ensure we are ready for reopening safely. The links to set up your account are below.
ACTION NEEDED: Directions and links to set up your Greenlight Account
Setting up your account is simple. Select the link below and enter the email address you use to receive Voyager newsletters. Families with multiple children can select any school their children attend. Once your account is set up you will see all of your children associated with your account and be able to complete the daily health screening for each of them. After you complete your first survey you will see the Greenlight pass cleared indication. We will have students select that option to show the larger pass during car line for screening along with their temperature check. Each student will be able to show their Greenlight pass to ensure they are healthy and can attend school. The app also provides support for families that need access to health care, testing, or additional community resources. Please select the link below to set up your family account now.
Elementary School - activate account here: https://glit.me/go/voyager-elementary
Greenlight Directions Video #2
Questions regarding setting up your account should be directed to help@greenlightready.com. Once your account is set up you can also use their chat feature.