Hello Middle School Families,
It’s been an awesome week at Voyager Academy! We’ve had students participating in contests, creating essays for particular contests, practicing for this week’s basketball game, and our staff leading Professional Development for our staff.
COVID Webinar Series
A huge THANK YOU to Stephanie Brennen for connecting with Duke doctors and coordinating two sessions that provided us the opportunity to learn more about COVID, vaccines and Fighting COVID from the Frontlines. The Duke Doctors did an outstanding job sharing information with us followed by a question and answer time. Mitchell Brennan and Vivian Brennan were fantastic Moderators as they helped with the question and answer session! Thanks to Mrs. Brennen, Mitch, Vivian and the doctors from Duke.
CLUB HUB - WHAT IS IT?
Is your Voyager Academy 4th-8th grade student looking for opportunities to socialize and interact with students who share similar interests?
This Wednesday, March 3 between 11:30 am and 4:00 pm, we will be hosting interest sessions for TEN brand new clubs! These groups will be supervised by at least one of our VAMS staff members and will revolve around a WIDE array of topics.
Check out our current offerings:
Social/Homework/Organization Club with Ms. Livengood and Mrs. Easterly
Kahoot! Club with Mrs. Liller
Photography Club Mrs. Miller and student host Andrea DP
Art Club with Mr. Winstead and student host Claire S.
Ukulele Club with Ms. Wicker
Recorder Club with Ms. Wicker
Theatre/Drama Club with Mrs. Thompson
Among Us Club with Ms. Wicker and Mr. Winstead
Service Club with Mrs. Johnson
Sewing/Crafting Club with Mrs. Thompson
If your child is interested, please visit our newly formed VAMS Club Hub found at https://padlet.com/lwicker/kzydkheywi8vbg53 to view detailed descriptions of each club. Once your student has selected which clubs they would like to attend the interest meetings for, please fill out the form found at the top left of the Padlet so that we can send you the Zoom link(s) and let the club leader know who to expect.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Wicker at lwicker@voyageracademy.net
Check Ins through SchoolNet
Our students have participated in Reading, Math, and Science (grades 5 and 8) Check Ins from SchoolNet. Although we do not receive student reports, you may certainly ask your child’s teacher(s) about your child’s check ins. The best information is learning the strong areas of your child’s math and reading and areas of math and reading that need some support. Don’t forget science for 5th and 8th graders!
Thank YOU
A Special Thank You to Suzanne Daly and Liam as they dropped off 2 boxes of hand sanitizer for our schools. With the Re-opening of school, we will certainly need hand sanitizer, wipes and Lysol spray.
Before and After School Care:
Before and After school care (BASC) program enrollment is happening now. BASC will open on Monday March 1st for elementary students and March 16th for Middle/High school students. To ensure we are properly
staffed for students to ratios we will use the following.
The enrollment deadline for the March 1st start date is February 24th.
The enrollment deadline for the March 16th start date is March 5th.
The enrollment deadline for future weeks will be two weeks in advance. If you register on March 16th, your students start date will be March 29th.
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 (6:45am – 8:15am High school)
After Care: 2:45pm – 6:00pm for Elementary and 3:15pm – 6:00pm Middle School.
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. 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.
Lunch Information:
Parents, you can order your child's lunch, 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. For instance, March 1st lunch order should be placed before February 22nd. You also have the option to purchase lunch for the entire month. Payment options are by debit/credit card or ACH bank draft. Order Lunch online at CharterPay.org.
K & W Cafeteria will provide lunch on Monday for Cohort A & Thursday for Cohort B.
Chick-Fil-A will provide lunch onTuesday for Cohort A & Friday for Cohort B.
All meals will be delivered in hot and cold containers to maintain food safety guidelines.
Drinks are not provided with lunch.
Elementary and Middle school students will eat lunch in their classrooms.
High school students will eat lunch in their 2nd Bell classroom.
Students also have the option to bring their own lunch to school. Students that pack their own lunch will not have access to microwaves.
High school students will not be allowed to leave campus for lunch.
If you have any questions about before and after school registration or lunch ordering please feel free to reach out to Patrice Johnson, Operations Manager at pjohnson@voyageracademy.net. Technical and account issues should be directed to support@charterpay.org.
Durham Soil and Water Conservation’s Annual Contests
Congratulations to our sixth grade students as they placed in the Durham Soil and Water Conservation's annual contests! Bernadine Dela Pena (1st) and Sophie Chorosevic (2nd) placed for their poster designs. Margaret Payton (1st) and Zoe Robinson (2nd) placed for their essays, and Zoe Robinson (1st) for her Slideshow. This year's theme was, "We All Live in a Watershed". They will be receiving prize money for their wins and Bernadine and Margaret's 1st place entries will be sent on to Regional Competition. Well done, ladies!
IMPORTANT INFO FROM the PE DEPARTMENT
The Physical Education students will not be using the locker rooms to change into uniforms. Please have your students wear comfortable workout clothes and athletic shoes when they are in the PE rotation.
They need to bring their own personal water bottle to be used during class. Please send water and not sports drinks.
Mrs. Liller and Mr. Blackston
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 please do so as soon as possible. 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.
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 the student. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
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.
Links to resources to support all learners
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
RE-OPENING PLAN
Cohort Schedules:
Cohort A- in-person M,T, remote W, Th, F
Cohort B- in-person Th, F, remote M, T, W
Remote All Year – remote M-F
Wednesday (school sanitized between cohorts, asynchronous remote learning, small groups, & office
Links to resources to support all learners
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
Student Services Team - Mrs. Farrish and Mrs. Gittens
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.
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, March 11, 2021:
How to Raise Healthy, Thriving Children: Nutrition Tips for Families
Thursday, April 22, 2021: Diversity & Inclusion
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
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!
PLEASE SET UP YOUR GREENLIGHT ACCOUNT!
YOU WILL NEED IT FOR CARLINE!!!!!
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 or call !
Just remember ---YOU are “simply the BEST!”
Gwen Johnson
gjohnson@voyageracademy.net
Principal, Voyager Middle School
919-433-3301 ext. 101