VAES Family Update: Our first two weeks of hybrid learning have gone so well. Thank you to every parent, student, and teacher for being so patient and kind during this time of transition. Thank you for encouraging your students to give their very best each day. It has been wonderful to meet so many of you during the afternoon car line. We’ve got this!
Car Line Is Going Well: Thank you to every parent, grandparent and friend for arriving at the car line on time and for having your RED car line sign. Because of you, we have been rocking the car line. Remember, because we have a smaller number of students attending in-person classes, car line will end sooner than in the past. Please make sure you arrive on campus between 2:45 and 3:00. Car line has been ending around 3:05 each day.
Morning Car Line: To help us make our morning car line even more efficient, I ask that you try to make sure your student is ready to exit the car as you pull up to the drop off zone. As you are waiting to pull up, please make sure book bags, lunch boxes and water bottles have been located. If you arrive on campus after 7:45, we ask that you come to the front office and walk your child up to the front door of the school. We will check them in from this area after 7:45. PLEASE TRY TO ARRIVE AT SCHOOL ON TIME. IF YOUR CHILD IS LATE TO SCHOOL, IT EFFECTS THEIR ENTIRE DAY.
What is St. Patrick’s Day: Bring out your green! St. Patrick’s Day—observed every March 17—is packed with parades, good luck charms, and all things green. The event started as a religious holiday, but over time it’s become a celebration of Irish culture. People celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a variety of ways, from wearing green to eating corned beef and cabbage. People also gather to watch parades of traditional Irish dancers and musicians as they march through city streets. However you celebrate, here’s hoping it’s a lucky day!
Mr. Manning is a Papa Again: Thank you to many of you who have wished my family your best as we welcomed Boston Levi Manning into the world. My 4th grandchild arrived in Charlotte this past week.
What Are We Learning This Week:
Kindergarten: This has been a busy week in kindergarten! In math, we have been solving number stories with 9 and 10 using different models. In writing, we have been writing stories with a beginning, middle, and end. In phonics, we are focusing on diagraphs, ch, th, sh, qu and ng. In literacy, we are reading about presidents and our nation's symbols. In project work, we are making predictions about the needs of living things and have been observing plants.
First Grade: This week first graders are continuing to work on their realistic fiction books in writing. They have been creating their own characters and determining problems/solutions that they may face. While working on this concept in writing, in reading they are also diving deep into analyzing characters emotions and how they change over the course of a story. They have become experts at venn diagrams and are able to tell how they are similar/different to particular characters.
Second Grade: We are learning all about timelines! We have learned how to read a timeline, how to answer questions about a person's life using a timeline and we will be creating our own timelines. In math, we're beginning to learn about measurement and why we have standard units of measure. We've also learned why we wouldn't use a ruler to measure the soccer field! We are reading Rosie Revere, Engineer to learn about describing characters using character traits and why an author might use rhyme to write a book. Lastly, we have been reviewing verbs and learning how to change irregular verbs to past tense.
Mark You Calendar Now: The majority of the VAES staff will be receiving their 2nd COVID vaccine shot on March 24. Because of this, remote learning will be held for all students on March 25-26. Voyager will not be offering before or after school care on these two dates. The students will have assigned remote lessons to complete on this day (no small groups). This will be an asynchronous learning day to be prepared in case a large portion of the staff is not feeling well. We wanted to make sure you had a good amount of time to obtain child care for these two days.
What Do I Do If My Student Has Been Exposed To Someone with Covid: If an K-3 student has been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID, please call the school or email Mr. Manning and we will talk you through the details of how long you may need to quarantine. Please complete the Greenlight App, because it will automatically give you a date where you will be allowed to return to school.
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.
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
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.