Dear Voyager Community,
We are in the home stretch with only one week left to the school year. Our students have worked hard and are finishing strong with all their end of year projects, assignments, and tests. We are all so proud of their effort, perseverance, and resilience during the 20-21 school year. Thank you to our parents and guardians who have supported our staff and your children during all the transitions throughout the year. Next week is a short week for students and the last day of the school year is Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Please remember that there is an early dismissal on the last day of school. We are all looking forward to celebrating our seniors at Graduation which will be held on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
Earlier this week I shared flyers about upcoming vaccination events in the Durham community for ages 12 and up. The flyers with additional details are also posted below the newsletter. The events will also have doctors and professionals available to answer all your vaccine questions. We are grateful that the vaccine and all safety protocols have allowed us to reopen schools safely this year. It has been a true joy to have all students and staff learning and working on campus together. I am so thankful we were able to make this transition to finish our year on a high note.
This week we also celebrated our Teachers of the Year, Young Educators of the Year, and Teaching Assistant of the Year. These dedicated education professionals were nominated and voted on by their peers to recognize them for their leadership, innovation, and commitment to our students and school community. A small group of retired educators will meet and interview all teacher of the year awardees and select one teacher and one young educator that will represent Voyager at the state level.
Summarized below are our award winners. Winners will be recognized at a school-wide event on May 24th.
Elementary School Teacher of the Year Award Winners
Teacher: Kerri Owens
Young Educator of the Year: Casie Bickers
Teaching Assistant: Chrissy Wilson
Middle School Teacher of the Year Award Winners
Teacher: Susan Easterly
Young Educator of the Year: Cole Blackstone
High School Teacher of the Year Award Winners
Teacher: Shelley Dowaliby
Young Educator of the Year: Alexandra Kehoe
Congratulations to these outstanding educators!!
Please know that we are all here to support your child grow, learn, and find their passion. 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.
Have a wonderful weekend with your family and enjoy the sunshine.
All the best,
Upcoming Calendar Events:
May 24 - Voyager TOY Announced
May 25 - Senior Awards and Parade
May 27 – Graduation Orange County Speedway
2021 -2022
As we prepare to close out the 2020 – 2021 school year we are already actively planning ahead for the start of the 2021 – 2022 school year. At this time, we are planning to move forward with our current 2021-2022 calendar which is posted on our website. We are planning for in person instruction for all students Monday through Friday and are not planning to offer a remote option. Please remember that the Voyager calendar has a built in early release day on Monday to allow for staff professional development and collaborative team planning in the afternoon. After school care will be available on the Monday early release days for students that register. Please contact our school registrar, Mary Beth Hawkins if your plans for your child to return to Voyager in August have changed for next year.
Vaccine Events
Summer Camp Opportunities
Voyager will be offering multiple opportunities this summer for enrichment, remediation, and camp experiences on campus. Identified third graders that have not met the Read to Achieve requirements will have the opportunity for Summer Reading Camp to focus on literacy skills. Students in K-8 that are not at grade level in math and literacy will have the opportunity to participate in the Summer Jumpstart program. Additionally, Voyager will be offering a traditional summer camp with exciting programs and enrichment opportunities to keep your children engaged and learning during summer break. Program details have been shared by the Director of Operations. The summer camp registration information is listed below
Voyager Summer Camp Registration
1. Register for Voyager’s Summer Day Camp or one of the Specialty Camps of your choice on CharterPay.Org.
2. Go to the Activities section of the Guardian/Staff Portal.
3. Select the Activities/Field Trips tab to view the camp options.
4. Complete the Summer Camp Registration Form for each child. The $30 registration fee will be applied to your account after registration is complete.
5. Select the Camp or weeks of your choices and pay the $97.50 deposit. The deposit is non-refundable. The balance of $97.50 will be due by June 1st for each week of camp selected.
https://www.voyageracademy.
News from the Student Services Team
Summer Enrichment Programs
Find engaging summer opportunities for children of all ages and interests to include academic, recreation, art, STEM, and much more. See the compiled list for all summer opportunities (Summer Programs).
Covid Safety Reminders
As you know we have had 3 positive Covid-19 cases on our campus that were community related. To date, we have not had any secondary school infections. Everyone is doing a great job wearing their mask, washing hands frequently, and maintaining distance when possible. Please remember to keep your child home if they are not feeling well so that we can ensure we do not spread illnesses on campus. Thank you to all families for completing the Greenlight App accurately and for those families that have signed the consent form for their child to participate in the Covid surveillance testing. This process has helped many other schools identify asymptomatic Covid cases and control the spread of Covid. Please read additional information below about the surveillance testing process with Duke and consider submitting a consent form for your child to participate in the process to help us keep our entire community healthy. You also may have seen that the state will be relaxing policies in the future. We are planning to continue to enforce our masking and screening policies so that we can help mitigate virus spread and keep everyone healthy.
Voluntary Surveillance Testing at Voyager
RE: Surveillance COVID-19 Testing at Voyager Academy
As part of our return to safe in-person instruction at Voyager, we are participating in a COVID-19 surveillance testing program. Surveillance testing will help us identify individuals who have COVID-19 but do not show symptoms.
The primary goal of our surveillance COVID-19 testing is to limit the number of infected individuals at our school. The testing data will help us plan our learning accommodations and safety procedures for the summer and the upcoming school year.
How the testing program will work
Surveillance COVID-19 testing will take place at our school from April 22, 2021 to June 30, 2021.
We have asked a team of Duke doctors to help us administer this program and analyze the testing data from our school. Testing data sent to Duke will be de-identified, meaning that Duke will not be able to know who participated in testing or their individual results.
Here’s what you need to know:
- We will send you a consent form to complete on behalf of your child(ren). (Included below, please return in an envelope labeled School Nurse).
- If you sign the consent form and agree to participate in the testing program, your child will be assigned a unique identification number. This number will be used in place of your child’s name for all testing-related procedures and data sent to Duke to help protect your child’s identity.
- Each week, a set of identification numbers will be randomly selected for testing. You will know ahead of time which week your child will participate in testing.
- Students selected for testing for a particular week will receive a nasal swab on the designated day at the school by a Duke clinician.
- While the tests we have selected are accurate in most circumstances, it is possible to receive a false positive result. If your child’s test gives a positive read-out, your child will immediately receive a second test to confirm the result.
- Our school administrator or nurse will contact you if your child receives a confirmed positive result for COVID-19, and we will provide instructions for picking up the student and how to isolate at home.
About the testing kits
We will start the program by using the Quidel QuickVue test and will switch to the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test in early May. These tests were chosen because they:
- Use a small swab in the front part of the nose (nares).
- Provide quick results (10-15 minutes).
- Have high accuracy.
- Are suitable and accurate in individuals with and without symptoms.
- Are approved for use in adults and children.
- Can be administered in the school.
- Can securely transmit results to our school or public health department (i.e. it is HIPAA compliant) [Ellume test].
We will send additional information about this program soon. We hope that your participation in this surveillance COVID-19 testing program will help you feel more comfortable about your students being at school.
Thank you for your role in keeping our school community safe and healthy.
CONSENT FORM LINKED HERE - PLEASE PRINT AND RETURN TO FRONT OFFICE ADDRESSED TO THE SCHOOL NURSE
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.