HAPPY NEW YEAR! From all of us at Voyager Academy, we hope you and your family have a prosperous and healthy 2022! Listed below are some important reminders for you and your family for the week of January 10-14.
NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS: We took the time to ask our students if they had any New Year Resolutions and of course they did. Listed below are a few examples from our incredible students:
Kindergarten:
Matilda: To get better at her big bike.
Emma: To not fall off her new scooter.
Hudson: To learn how to ride his bike without training wheels and to listen better at Morning Meeting
Miles: Get better with his electric scooter.
James: To learn how to ride his new skateboard.
Ferris: Learn how to drive a car.
Jessica: To learn cool tricks on her scooter.
1st Grade:
Skylar: To start caring more about her cat.
Addison: To learn how to tie her shoes.
Joel: To learn how to make his bed.
Ellie: To donate to kids with no toys.
Landon: To learn how to skateboard.
Madelyn: To learn how to ride a bike.
Kendell: To help mom do the laundry.
2nd Grade:
Connor: To learn how to do a hockey stop with his left foot.
Nico: Learn how to play the piano better.
Adeola: To eat healthier.
Austin: To listen better.
Marley: To keep her room clean.
Levi: To help people feel better every day.
Andon: To learn how to play field hockey.
Breanna: To be better at riding her bike.
3rd Grade:
Ava Grace: To learn all the songs in Hamilton
Zizi: To play basketball more.
Imogen: To eat a salad every day.
Scarlett: To be nicer to my sister.
Parker: To practice riding my bike.
Staff Members:
Bickers: Read a few pages of a book each night before going to bed
Manning: Complete a random act of kindness every month
Flowe-Dawson: To encourage families to take this challenge: Complete 1000 hours of activity outside in 2022.
Bowen: To keep my workspace organized.
McDonald: To be mindful about spending quality time with the people I love.
Spankie: Spend more one on one time with my students getting to know them as a person.
LEGO LIFE MAGAZINE: Did you know you can sign up to get the Lego Magazine for your child–FOR FREE!!! Log on to LEGO.com/magazine to sign up for your child’s free magazine.
CAR LINE UPDATE: Parents, thank you for all you do to help us have the safest car line experience possible. You all have truly been amazing during this challenging year. I would like to ask that as you participate in the car line, please try to be mindful that we would like to try and keep the entrance to the main office parking lot open so that if we had an emergency during the car line, an emergency vehicle could turn and get into the parking lot. Please be looking for signage that reminds drivers to try and not block the main drive entrance as we are waiting for the car line to begin.
SCHOOL SAFETY: Covid is in our community and we are striving to keep everyone as safe as possible. We are following all Voyager safety guidelines and are diligently striving to keep everyone learning. What can you do to help?
Please do not send your child to school if they are showing any signs of sickness.
If your child has been exposed to someone with Covid, please contact us and we will provide you with the next steps.
Send your child to school in a mask each day. It would be wonderful if they could have an extra mask in their bookbag in case their mask breaks during the day.
FIRST GRADE FIELD TRIP: First grade will have an in-house field experience coming soon on January 28th. "The Traveling Tortoise" will be coming to teach us about animals. This field trip will cost $4 (plus fees). Please fill out this permission form and submit payment by January 17th. Field Trip payments will now be made through the Titan Family portal at Family.Titank12.com. It is the same system Voyager is using to deposit funds for lunch. You will need to set up an account first if you have not done so already. Once your account is set up, you will need to select and add "First Grade Field Trip" to your cart.
MATTRESS FUNDRAISER: The Voyager Academy High School Chorus Program Mattress Fundraiser is right around the corner on Saturday, January 29th. There will be 25+ different styles of beds on display for customers to try. The beds are new, brand name, made to order, available in all sizes, and cost less than retail stores. In addition to beds, there will also be luxury pillows, mattress protectors, adjustable power bases and even massage chairs!!
MONTHLY CHARACTER STUDY AT VAES: Beginning in January, Voyager elementary students will focus on a new character study every month. KINDNESS will be the topic we focus on in January. Students will discuss the trait and complete class activities during their morning meeting sessions. Our 3rd graders will be our Valiant Vikings and they will be looking for students who are showing the monthly concept and they will TICKET them. If the student is ticketed, their name will be announced over the intercom during morning announcements. We hope this is a fun way to teach valuable community lessons to our amazing students.
ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR:
Jan. 04 -Jan. 25: Middle of the Year Reading Assignments Begin
Jan. 07: Report Cards Are Issued
Jan. 17: School Closed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
FIELD TRIP PAYMENTS AT VOYAGER: Field Trip Payments will now be made through 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. Each family will need to set up an account in order to pay for field trip and classroom fees.
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 item you aRe purchasing (field trip, etc)
Select your student(s) name from the drop down list.
Select the plan selection.
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 field trip fees.
WHAT IS NEW? Just a couple of quick updates for everyone:
Voyager has been using our fall fundraising money to improve our school
We have had one sensory walk installed and will have a second sensory walk installed around February or March.
We have been able to purchase a new electric keyboard for our music classroom.
We have purchased new outside benches for our elementary and kindergarten playground.
We have ordered additional picnic tables and they should arrive soon.
We are in the process of getting some quotes to try and improve the playground equipment for the elementary school.
We are thrilled to announce that Mrs. Roberts, our reading interventionists, will be moved to a full time position beginning in January. This will give even more students the opportunity to experience reading support.
We have hired an additional first grade teacher assistant to work with our first grade teachers and students as we seek to develop independent learners. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Nichole Utley to our staff.
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
IS YOUR CHILD READY TO RETURN TO SCHOOL AFTER A COLD? OR ALLERGIES? A TEST IS BEST! Parents, please remember that our current Sick Child Policy REQUIRES that if a student stays home from school with ANY symptoms of illness - such as cough, sore throat, headache, fever, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea - that they MUST obtain a PCR COVID test with a negative result or have a note from their doctor before they are able to return to school. Even if the symptoms are mild - or they just appear to be a cold or allergies. We apologize for the inconvenience, but at this point in time we cannot allow children to return to school without a negative COVID test. This policy helps keep students, teachers, and the Voyager community safe. For convenience, there is a PCR testing facility right down the street from Voyager that offers free, no-appointment required COVID testing.
NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS: TICKETS ON SALE NOW FOR NASHVILLE SONGWRITERS AT DPAC. Proceeds from this show will benefit Voyager K-12 Arts Programs. Click on the link below for more details.
SHOW WILL BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 11, 2022 - 7:30 PM
CHICK-FIL- A READING CHALLENGE: We love Chick-Fil-A (on Roxboro Rd) and how they support our school community. Stay tuned for details about how Voyager Elementary will be partnering with Chick-Fil-A to promote the value of reading. This program began on December 1. WE GAVE OUT OVER 180 Chick-Fil-A gift cards during the month of December and we read 2,875 books. We have challenged the students to read even more during the month of January.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CONCERNING COVID: Voyager’s amazing school nurse has created a document for all of our families entitled FAQ Concerning Covid. We understand how challenging and stressful this situation has been and we appreciate your support and partnership. I highly encourage you to click on the link below and read the health information so you can stay informed and will better understand the guidelines Voyager is following as we seek to keep all students and staff safe.
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.