Hi Middle School Families,
Wow, what a great lunch the staff had today (Thursday)! Thanks so much for providing a delicious meal for our staff. We know that all of you are very busy and we want you to know that we appreciate you taking time to provide a dish or dessert for our lunch. We always get excited when we know a meal is being provided. Again, thanks!
Cell Phones Again!
I know you are probably tired of reading about cell phones---so am I! Thanks to those of you who are supporting our policy of phones turned off and in the bookbag. This doesn’t mean that phones are silenced but turned off. The huge majority of our students are complying with the policy (policy is in the Student-Parent handbook). Some of you are still calling your student and it is really putting the students in an awkward position as they know what we have asked. If you need to get a message to your student, please call Ms. Pam. Please do not call your student. Impacting learning and the learning of others is not ok.
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. This means they start the day off behind!
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 coordinated the Toy Drive for the Rescue Mission. The drive was a huge success. The Rescue Mission picked up the toys and were overwhelmed at the amount of toys that were donated.
ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR:
Dec. 14, home basketball game for MS Boys, 6:00, Voyager
Parent Night with our Social Worker - via zoom
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: MSl 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
Hello all,
Our family was so sad when we heard of Mr. E's retirement this December. He has taught two of our kids and we have always consistently had a great year with him. He is an amazing educator and has taught from 4th all the way to 8th and now back down to 7th grade. I would really like to take up a collection for him from the MS and HS parents. Many in the ES have not had him yet. My thought is that many parents don't even know he is retiring. Let’s send Mr. E off with lots of cards and letters sharing how much we appreciate him. If you have any questions, please contact me, Robin Lalor or Mrs. Johnson. If you have ideas on a terrific send off, please let me know at auntbob@gmail.com.
Robin Lalor
Voyager Parent
NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS: TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS AT DPAC. Proceeds from this show will benefit Voyager K-12 Arts Programs. It’s a fun night!
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:
You will need to create an account on the portal first to begin making payments. Once in the Titan family dashboard
Link your student(s) to your family account. All Voyager students are in the Titan system.
Add a payment method here under profile or in your cart before checking out.
Use the menu on the left to select "Store." This is the future home of all fees payments at Voyager Academy.
Select the Extended Day Programs - Before & After Care (Viking Care) button.
Select your student(s) name from the drop down list.
Select the plan selection. (i.e. 2 day, 3 day, before care, etc.)
Select your students' grade level.
Select the month of service.
Press the add to cart button.
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.
Review your cart before completing your purchase. To delete an item. Click the 3 dots to the right of the item.
The system should email you a receipt. You can also view your transaction history from the dashboard menu under "History."
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. 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.
LINQ ONLINE ORDERING - View and order student/staff meals. Website: https://family.onlineordering.linq.com
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:
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)
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.
LINQ ONLINE ORDERING - View and order student/staff meals. Website: https://family.onlineordering.linq.com
TITAN FAMILY PORTAL -Pay your school fees, manage your students accounts and apply for free and reduced meals. Website: https://family.titank12.com
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.
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.
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.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Regarding COVID
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!
Here is the link: COVID-19 Guidelines FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
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
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.
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!
QUARANTINE GUIDELINES: Listed below are the guidelines we have been given as they are related to quarantine:
When your children need to stay home to learn, always contact me and your child's teacher.
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
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.
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