Can you believe it is February? It’s hard to believe that we will soon be in Quarter 4. It’s really important that our students finish strong. As we have a few weeks left in the third quarter, I suggest you check PowerSchool to see if your middle school student(s) have any missing assignments. I met with several parents and students this week and during each conversation we learned the students had missing assignments along with assignments that are submitted but with no completed work. It only takes a few missing assignments to drop a B grade to a D grade or lower. PLEASE talk to your middle schooler regarding completion of work!
Voyager Academy’s First Annual Campaign
Share the Love
It’s time to share our love & appreciation to all our students and families!
Please join us for a time to come together "social distance" style to share some love with our community and our classrooms!
Your Voyager teachers and staff want to see you and share our love and appreciation for all of our students and families. We can’t give hugs but we can show our Viking Pride.
The week of February 8th - 11th your teachers and staff will be in your carline to cheer you on and give you a little token of LOVE!
While we celebrate with you, we also want to support InterFaith Food Shuttle and say THANK YOU for all they have done to support Voyager Families. We will accept canned food donations to benefit the Inter-faith Food Shuttle. We will all be masked and gloved and we ask that you do the same.
Schedule of Carline Events
Elementary School Car Line (Kinder and 1st Grades) Monday, February 8th from 4-5:30pm
Elementary School Car Line (2nd and 3rd Grades) Wednesday, February 10th from 4-5:30pm
Middle School Car Line (4th & 5th Grades) Monday, February 8th from 4-5:30pm
Middle School Car Line (6th, 7th, & 8th Grades) Wednesday, February 10th from 4-5:30pm
High School Car Line Thursday, (9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Grades) Thursday February 11th from 4-5:30pm
We would love to see you! So stop by, drop off a donation, and get a little “LOVE” from Voyager. Let’s see how many baskets we can fill with food to deliver to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.
Have you heard the news about Tonya Farrish, the middle school counselor? Thanks to all of you who recognized Mrs. Farrish with kind words via email. We are very fortunate to have Mrs. Farrish! It’s not too late to let Mrs. Farrish know how much we all appreciate her and the work she does with our students.
Parents of 7th Grade Students
Just a reminder that Ms. Pam needs an updated immunization record for ALL 7th grade students. If you have not provided an updated record to Ms. Pam, please do so ASAP as the deadline for submitting information to the Department of Public Instruction is getting closer. You may email it, fax it, or drop by school and give to us. THANK YOU!
YEARBOOK
Yes, we are going to have a YEARBOOK. Just a reminder that Ms. Pam needs pictures. Please send pictures to Ms. Pam!!!!
To upload pictures you will need this URL plicbooks.com/go/wNRyg.
We would like a portrait picture but also some fun shots to add to the pages. Make sure when you download, pick your student's grade level and add the name of student. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
Ms. Pam
MS AIG Committee AT Work
On behalf of the AIG committee, we would like to share enrichment activities and highlight a few contests your children might like to use in addition to their regular learning. These opportunities are open to all students!
First is a link to some resources that have been compiled by the NCDPI. The websites highlighted in this list offer an opportunity for you to delve into topics that students might be interested in.
K-5 Virtual Enrichment and Extension Resources
6-8 Virtual Enrichment and Extension Resources
In addition, we would like to encourage your child to participate in a contest being offered by the popular educational website, "Flocabulary." In honor of Black History Month, they are sponsoring a rap-writing challenge where students research a black historical figure and create a unique rap about them. The link to the contest is below. It includes a very thorough video to explain the rules and requirements.
Flocabulary Rap Writing Challenge
Another competition that is more local is the Durham Saves Water poster contest. The 8th grade science class is required to participate in this each year so you will definitely be doing this in the future, however the contest is open to any K-8 students and the poster theme changes each year.
Durham Saves Water Poster Contest
Our middle school AIG committee is committed to highlighting contests and activities for enrichment. If your child participates in any of these contests please reach out to Mrs. Johnson so that we can share the excitement!
Student Services Team
The Student Services team is continuing their student socials and parent enrichment events each month to further engage our community while we are learning apart. Please check out the details below.
Students enjoyed a karaoke party together February 4th. Not only did the students enjoy it but so did the staff who attended!
Wow, that was fun! I really enjoyed the Karaoke Party with the students. I am already looking forward to the next social. Be on the lookout!
The Durham County Cooperative Extension will share programs to engage children now and throughout the summer at the next parent enrichment night scheduled for February 11th. Both programs are designed to further connect and support our students and families.
UPCOMIMG SOCIAL EVENTS For STUDENTS
Sponsored by our Counselors
Thursday, March 4, 2021: Freeze Dance
Thursday, April 15, 2021: 20 Questions
Thursday, May 6, 2021: Family Dance Party
Thursday, February 11, 2021:
Durham County Cooperative Extension: Programs to Engage Your Children Now Thru Summer
Thursday, March 11, 2021:
How to Raise Healthy, Thriving Children: Nutrition Tips for Families
Thursday, April 22, 2021: Diversity & Inclusion
Lottery Application
The new year also 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.
Virtual Information Session
We have scheduled a virtual information session for prospective families on February 9, 2021. If you know families who are interested in Voyager and/or who have applied for the lottery or plan to apply, please encourage these families to join us Feb. 9 for our virtual information session!
Virtual Tour -
The link below will take you directly to a virtual tour of each of our school buildings along with drone footage of our campus. This will provide prospective families with a good sense of our incredible facilities since they will not be able to tour in person. The virtual tour will allow you to walk through the buildings and get a 360-degree view. The navigation menu will also allow direct access to each of the rooms on the tour.
FREE TUTORING: National Honor Society Tutors/Viking Buddies Back In Business
The NHS 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
Greenlight App - Health Screenings - Speed up Carline
We have partnered with Duke and Greenlight Ed to complete our daily health screening so we can monitor the overall health of our school community. 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/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 attends. 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 indicating your are clear. 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.
Middle School- activate account here: https://glit.me/go/voyager-middle
Account set up questions should be directed to help@greenlightready.com
The app is not yet in the app store so you can't just download it at this time. The developer is currently waiting for approval from Apple. Once you set up your account you can send the link https://app.greenlightready.com/ to your phone. Additional resources are below to assist with setting up your phones for easy access to our Greenlight health screening.
Here is a link to a video that walks through registering for Greenlight:
Greenlight Video from Claire –instructions to add Greenlight to your home screen on your phone
For iPhone users:
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/add-a-web-link-to-home-screen-iphone-ipad/
For Android users:
https://www.howtogeek.com/667938/how-to-add-a-website-to-your-android-home-screen/
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,
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
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. Apply to Student H Here
Carline Number - Very Important
You should receive an email to provide you with your child’s car line number. The car line number that you receive will be used during afternoon carline. If your child was at Voyager during 2019-2020, the car line number will be the same as in the past. If your child is new to Voyager, the 4 digit number you received is your child’s 4 digit number that will be used for dismissal each day. On the first day of carline, the MS will provide you with a piece of blue cardstock. You will need to write the names of all of your children on the cardstock and write their carline number beside each student’s name. Again, we will provide you with a piece of blue cardstock. Some of you may have your blue card from last year! We need you to display your sign on the right side of your dashboard as this will help our staff who are outside monitoring the dismissal process. This is done daily.
If you did not receive your car line number prior to the Winter Break, please send an email to Gwen Johnson at gjohnson@voyageracademy.net requesting your car line number.
Stay healthy and safe – Practice the 3 W’s: 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. Masks will need to be worn except when eating lunch.
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 MIDDLE SCHOOL SCHOOLNET CHECK INS
Thanks for all the support you have provided the Middle School. We are
thankful to have you on this most unusual journey that we are on!
If you need anything, please email!
Just remember ---YOU are “simply the BEST!”
Gwen Johnson
gjohnson@voyageracademy.net
Principal, Voyager Middle School