Hi all,
Oh my, it is already September 17th! The beginning of the year has been a little different because many of our students have been thinking they were still at home and feel they do not have to follow school rules and procedures. For example, students do not need to bring their cell phone to school as it is not needed at school. If they absolutely have to bring their phone, the phone needs to be turned off and in their bookbag. I ask that you talk with your child regarding his or her cell phone. I also ask that you not text your child during the school day. We are also finding that some of our students feel they should be able to use their computer in any way they want. Playing games in class, logging onto sites, and chatting via text with friends during class are all unacceptable behavior. The students need to be focused and ready to learn and participate in class each and every day. I ask for your help in reinforcing the appropriate behaviors during the school day. Thank you as we want our students to be ready for the next grade level!!!!!
STEP IT UP: Step It Up is OVER!! I cannot believe the success of this program. The Step It Up company stated that Voyager Academy has shattered every fundraising goal in North and South Carolina. We have made a profit of over $55,000. The middle school and elementary school will be splitting the profits. Thank you so much for the support you provided. Now that the work is done, it is time to celebrate.
Our Day of Awesomeness will take place on October 8. Do you want details? Here we go:
K-2 students will celebrate from 8:30 to 10:00
3-5 grade students will celebrate from 10:15-11:45
6-8 grade students will celebrate from 12:00-1:30
There will be 8 Ninja Warrior Type blow up activities for the students to enjoy, a dance party station, prize station and more.
The prizes that students have earned will be delivered to their classrooms on October 8 (to take home)
All students may celebrate and enjoy the fun and games. We are all one community and we all support and care for each other.
Students will wear masks at all times. This event is totally outside.
Now that the work is over, we need your help to pull off the fun. We will need 12 to 15 volunteers per period to help us run the activities and package the prizes. If you would be willing to help us with this event, please click on the link below to sign up for a time to help.
Purifiers - We’ve had several groups of parents purchase purifiers for the classrooms. On behalf of our teachers, I want to THANK YOU for the purchases. Our teachers are extremely appreciative!
ACCREDITATION UPDATE: Voyager Academy is a fully accredited school. Every five years the school goes through a re-accreditation process. That process will take place this year during the month of November. We are thrilled to be able to share all the great things Voyager Academy does to create amazing, life-long, independent learners. This is the year for Voyager’s School Accreditation. We are in the process of preparing our documentation for the team from COGNIA who will interview staff, parents, administrators, and students. The team interviews will be virtual as well as their visit. Each school will select representatives to meet with the team. The Accreditation Visit is November 17-19. The Accreditation Team has a different agenda for each day.
Sports Are In Full Speed: At this time of year we have students running Cross Country, students on the Boys’ Soccer Team, students on the Girls’ Tennis Team, and our Girls who are Cheerleaders. We are very proud of all of our athletes as they have been very successful but most importantly have shown great sportsmanship and are supportive of each other. Our students continue to make me proud as they represent Voyager so well!
From High School Student Council:
The HS Student Council has been talking about a way to honor Layla Sawyer, a 3rd grader suffering from cancer. We've come up with the idea of Purple-out on Wednesday, September 22nd. The student body would wear purple as a way to make Layla smile.
The middle school certainly wants to participate in Purple-out as a way to support Layla, along with Layla’s mom Kristen Sawyer. The HS student Council will make the posters reminding our middle school students to Purple Out! Thanks, McKenna Andrew, for including the middle school.
Parents, highlight September 22 on your calendar so your child/children can wear purple to support Layla! What a great idea!!!!!!!
Console Clean Out:
It was awesome to see how the middle school supported the high school Console Clean Out event on Tuesday and Thursday. High school students created posters and held them up during car line on Tuesday and Wednesday to remind all the Console Clean Out would happen on Thursday. I was so very proud of the Middle School students and families. It didn’t matter how much change or how many dollar bills our students gave - the most important part was seeing how excited our students were to be able to help Raise Awareness for Leukemia. Great teamwork!
CONFERENCE DAY:
Just a reminder that Friday, September 24 is Voyager’s Conference Day. Several of you will receive an email from your child’s teacher requesting a conference with you. If you do not receive an invitation and you feel you need a conference, please contact your child’s teacher. Some of our teachers plan to have In-Person conferences which means anyone coming into the building will need to wear a mask. Other teachers plan to have conferences via Zoom. Your child’s teacher will let you know what type of conference he/she is having.
EOG READING REPORT:
Our EOG Reading scores arrived this week and reports were sent home with our students last Thursday. If you did not receive the EOG Reading report 1) ask your child about the EOG Score report, 2) If you still do not receive the report, please send me an email.
Make Up Pictures
A few of you have asked about Make-Up Pictures. Our Mak- Up day is October 22. As we get closer to October 22, Ms. Pam will send a picture envelope home with the students who were absent on Picture Day.
Substitutes and Bus Drivers
If you are interested in being a substitute, we need you! In order to be able to sub, we would need you to complete a background check and have a Drug Screening. Information is located on the Voyager website. We also will have a small training to give you some additional information. All 3 schools need substitutes as we pull subs from the same list. If you enjoy working with children/students, we need YOU!
If you are interested in Driving a Bus, we need you! We need drivers for our Activity Buses so we can use the buses for a field trip or our athletes may possibly use to travel to away games. In order to drive you would need a CDL license along with completing a Background Check and completing a Drug Screening. If you are interested, information is on our Voyager website.
QUARANTINE GUIDELINES: Listed below are the guidelines we have been given as they are related to quarantine:
When your children need to stay home, always contact me and your child's teacher.
The teacher will provide assignments for your student. When quarantining, if the student is doing some work at home and you complete the attendance link provided below students will be counted present. The link to complete your child’s attendance is HERE
Because your student has been directly exposed to someone, outside of school, who has tested positive for COVID, your student needs to quarantine for 10 days. They may return to school after the 10 days of quarantine have been completed AND have no symptoms from the time of exposure.
The 10 day quarantine protocol is not school days, it also includes the weekend. For example, if your child was exposed on Aug. 9, they can return to school on Aug. 20 (10 days).
Please keep me, your child’s teacher, and our school nurse, Mrs. Skoff updated on your child’s symptoms and/or test results.
Please do not send your child to school if your child is not feeling well, has a fever, has a sore throat, or if you know he/she is sick. That puts our students who are at school at risk of getting germs and becoming sick. We are doing our part to stay healthy and well and need all of you to do the same. THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE KEEPING THEM HOME!
Teachers will provide work for those at home if your child is well enough to complete their work.
Need Information:
As always if you have questions or have concerns or have suggestions feel free to contact me at gjohnson@voyageracademy.net. I am happy to help you or if I don’t know the answer, I will find out for you!
Thanks for your continued support and enjoy the long weekend!
Gwen
Gwen Johnson
Middle School Principal
gjohnson@voyageracademy.net