Voyager Academy Middle School News, Dec. 3, 2021

 


Hi Middle School Families, 

Wow, where did this week go?  It has been a fast one with lots of activity! 



CELL PHONE HELP NEEDED:  We have lots of cell phones at school and students are using them during the school day to text you, friends, take pictures, when the phones should not be out of their bookbag.  If students must bring their cell phone to school it needs to STAY in their bookbag and turned off.  Having cell phones out in class is very distracting and is impacting their learning and causing teachers to remind students about phones.   Our students are making unwise decisions with their phones which could cause some of our students to be suspended from school or  have In School Suspension.  They do not need to walk around with their phones and when asked by adults to put the phone in their bookbag attempt to argue with the adults.  This behavior needs to stop and we need your support to shift from phones to their learning! PLEASE have a conversation with your student about their cell phone and the fact that it needs to be in their bookbag not out in class nor on the field nor in the restrooms with them.  If you have questions please let me know!


 We are proud of our National Junior Honor Society and our Student Council as both groups are involved in Service Projects.  Our National Junior Honor Society is coordinating the Toy Drive for the Rescue Mission.  The drive has been a huge success.  The Rescue Mission will come to Voyager on Monday around lunch  to gather all the toys so if you are shopping this weekend you still have time to purchase a toy or two for the drive.  Remember the toys need to be new with no wrapping.  Our Student Council had a terrific Snack Sale.  The Council is using some of their money to purchase gift certificates to grocery stores to support some of our families.  Both groups have lots of ideas for upcoming Service Projects!


ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR:

  •  Dec 3rd, home basketball game for MS Boys, 6:00, Voyager

  •  Dec. 14, home basketball game for MS Boys, 6:00, Voyager

  •  Dec. 16, home basketball game for MS Boys, 6:00, Voyager 

  •  Dec. 16, home basketball game for MS Girls, 5:00, Voyager

  •  Dec. 17:  The 2nd Quarter of School Ends

  •  Dec. 17:  School Is Dismissed at 11:45 am

  •  Dec. 20-Jan 3:  Winter Break

  •  Jan. 04:  Students Return to School/3rd Quarter Begins

  •  Jan. 07:  Report Cards Are Emailed 

 

NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS:  TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS AT DPAC.  Proceeds from this show will benefit Voyager K-12 Arts Programs.  

 SHOW WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 11, 2022 - 7:30 PM

 

 

SCIENCE OLYMPIAD UPDATE: If your student likes science or engineering, then the science olympiad team might be a great extracurricular activity for them! Our team learns science related events and then competes in a tournament against other schools in the spring. Information about science olympiad can be found in this presentation. Signup for the team is open from now until Dec 10th. Signup for the K-5th graders is HERE. Signup for 6th-8th graders is HERE.  For questions, please email Kristin Jantz at scienceolympiad@voyageracademy.net

 

LUNCH AND BEFORE CARE UPDATE:  Before & After care payments will be made within the Titan Family portal at Family.Titank12.com. It is the same system we are using to deposit funds for lunch. If you have not set up an account yet, I've included the instructions (Spanish & English) to this email. I also created a short video tutorial of the process. 

Watch the video here:

Titan Video Tutorial Link

 

You will need to create an account on the portal first to begin making payments. Once in the Titan family dashboard

  1. Link your student(s) to your family account. All Voyager students are in the Titan system.

  2. Add a payment method here under profile or in your cart before checking out.

  3. Use the menu on the left to select "Store." This is the future home of all fees payments at Voyager Academy.

  4. Select the Extended Day Programs - Before & After Care (Viking Care) button. 

  5. Select your student(s) name from the drop down list.

  6. Select the plan selection. (i.e. 2 day, 3 day, before care, etc.)

  7. Select your students' grade level.

  8. Select the month of service.

  9. Press the add to cart button.

  10. A pop up button will appear with the option to continue shopping or view the cart. If you have a sibling to register or need an additional plan, click continue shopping. Otherwise, continue to the cart for payment.

  11. Review your cart before completing your purchase. To delete an item. Click the 3 dots to the right of the item.

  12. The system should email you a receipt. You can also view your transaction history from the dashboard menu under "History."

  13. Please do not set up recurring payments within the portal for Before or After care. It only works for school lunch funds.

Receipts for previous transactions will be emailed to parents that paid by check or money order. December payments can be made now using this system. You will need to complete this process each month for your student to appear on the roster. This process includes staff and their children. You will need to select the staff student plan in the drop down menu. If after watching the video, reading the instructions here or on the attached pdfs, please feel free to call or email me. Thank you for your patience.   Patrice Johnson

Lunch menus are published for the month of December. Be sure to select your milk preference. Milk is included with each meal at no additional cost. The lunch ordering rule is a week in advance. If you need assistance email foodnutritionservices@voyageracademy.net.

VOYAGER LUNCH UPDATE:  The Linq system is updated each Friday with your Titan account balance. Accounts with a negative balance on their Titan Family Portal account will not be permitted to order lunch online in the LINQ system. Meals ordered will be cancelled, if payment or arrangements have not been made. If you need assistance with paying off your account balance, please contact the Finance Departm at ext. 107 to make arrangements. Please be sure to send your student(s) to school with lunch, if no meal was ordered. You can pay on your balance using either form of payment below:

  1. Online at  https://family.titank12.com  There is a $2.80 flat fee charged by the bank per deposit online. (Example: $100 deposit + $2.80 fee = $102.80) 

  2. A check/ money order made payable to Voyager Academy. Please include your child's name and id# on the memo line. You can also use this pre-printed form. 

Lunch menus are published for the month of December. Be sure to select your milk preference. Milk is included with each meal at no additional cost. The lunch ordering rule is a week in advance. If you need assistance email foodnutritionservices@voyageracademy.net.


PTO HOLIDAY ORNAMENTS AND COFFEE MUGS: The PTO is selling Voyager Christmas ornaments and Voyager Coffee Mugs.  Orders need to be submitted by Dec. 6 in order to receive them before Winter Break.

 

https://voyager-academy-pto.square.site/


PTO UPDATES:   The  New Cheddar Up Link is now Open- Streamlining the staff gift process- One of the PTOs goals is to streamline the teacher gift collection process to make sure all staff receive a token of our appreciation during the upcoming season (and end of year). Parent donations are completely voluntary. This Cheddar Up will make it easy to give a gift and divide it among your child's teachers!  Check it out: https://voyager-staff-holiday-gift.cheddarup.comIf you are a room parent, please reach out to PTO Board member Tiffany Henrikson at tiffie130@yahoo.com and she will outline how she will work with you with regards to collection for your room and disbursement.  What a great way to honor our staff during this special time of the year.

 

 

The PTO Hospitality Committee is preparing for the last staff hospitality lunches of 2021.  Thanks to all staff for making this successful!

 

Sign up Genius links are below:

 

  

LET'S STAY CONNECTED

 

Let’s stay connected! Scroll on over to our Voyager Academy website to see all the updates and additions. Be sure to follow, friend, like and subscribe to all our Social Media accounts! #GoVikingsGo #VoyagerVikings

 

 

 

 

Amazon Smile

It’s the most wonderful way to support all of the great things we are doing at Voyager and to help us expand our program offerings in academics, extracurricular activities, professional development, athletics, the arts and more! 

 

Now, it’s easier than ever to support us just by shopping online! Whenever you make an eligible purchase from Amazon, Voyager Academy will benefit at no additional cost to you.  All you have to do is select Voyager Academy Inc. as your charitable organization on Smile.Amazon.com. You shop…Amazon donates!

 

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop with AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Voyager Academy Inc.

 

Before & After Updates

 

There are currently no openings in after care and the waitlist is full. We will not reevaluate space availability until we are fully staffed. Your placement on the waitlist will remain the same. We will make an announcement via email once the status changes. 

 

Patrice Johnson, Operations Manager

TOY DRIVE

 

Toys must be new and unused. Please do not wrap the toys. The Rescue Mission will accept all toys but are in greatest need of toys for children ages 8-12.  A picture of last year’s event is included. 

All toys need to be dropped off in the Middle School Office from November 15-December 3.

Last Year’s Toy Drive


School Store Envelopes

Wow, what great participation in the School Store.  Students who returned their envelope with the added information received their prize.  It is not too late to complete the envelope with the needed info and return to your child’s teacher.  We will pass out prizes again so return your envelope the Monday no later than Wednesday!   The stuffed animals are really cute!  Thanks for supporting the Middle School on the School Store project.


 MASK HELP

Please make sure our students are wearing their masks as they get out of the car/truck in the morning.  It would also be helpful if each student has an extra mask in their bookbag.  We have lots of students asking for a second mask but they prefer the blue masks.  We have no problem giving them a mask but we only have the white cloth masks provided by the state.  We are happy to give them a white cloth mask.


Tardies Continue to be a Concern

This week has not been our best week of getting our students to school on time.  We have at least 10-12 students who are tardy each morning.  Please leave home a couple of minutes earlier so your student can be on time and be in class when class begins.

 



  1. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Regarding COVID

  2. Our School Nurse, Chelsea Skoff, created a document that has been added to our website.  I’m including this document as I found it to be very informative and helpful!  

  3.  Here is the link: COVID-19 Guidelines FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)


  1. If your child needs to quarantine, teachers  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


  1. If 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.


  1. 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). 


  1. 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!

QUARANTINE GUIDELINES:  Listed below are the guidelines we have been given as they are related to quarantine:

  1. When your children need to stay home to learn, always contact me and your child's teacher. 


  1. The teacher will provide remote assignments for your student. As long as the student is doing some work at home and you complete the attendance link provided below they will be counted present. The link to complete your child’s attendance is HERE


  1. 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.


  1. 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). 


  1. Please keep me, your child’s teacher, and our school nurse, Mrs. Skoff updated on your child’s symptoms and/or test results. 


See below for details for siblings where ONE tests positive, another tests NEGATIVE. Or for students and a parent tests positive, but student tests NEGATIVE.


Your positive student will need to complete a 10 day quarantine and may return to school after those 10 days so long as they are fever free for 24 hours and their symptoms are improving. With regard to siblings - as of now, IF you are able to isolate the positive child from the family, eat in separate spaces, wear masks in the home, use separate bathrooms, etc the negative child may return at the end of the positive child’s 10 day quarantine IF you were able to ensure the above protective measures were taken in the home. 

 

The negative child(ren) would need to have NO symptoms and obtain a COVID test NO SOONER THAN 5 days following their last exposure to the positive sibling. So, if you used Monday as Day 1, they could test after Friday. If that test is negative AND you have been able to keep the positive student isolated the entire time, then the negative siblings could go back to school after the positive child's 10 day quarantine is over.  We would request that you provide us documentation of their negative PCR tests before the children return. IF any of your other children develop symptoms at any point, they should get tested. If they then test positive they would then just complete a 10-day quarantine from the onset of symptoms.

 

These are the recommendations that the Durham Health Department has provided us as of today. They will continue to assess and monitor the situation and may update their guidelines. We will make changes to our protocols here at Voyager if that happens. 

 

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 in so many ways,


Gwen Johnson

Middle School Principal

gjohnson@voyageracademy.net





 

 


            

 

 

 


 


 



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