NEWS FROM ELEMENTARY: It is Super Bowl Weekend!! We hope you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating and pulling for your favorite team. Voyager Elementary created a football graph to show who the students think will win the game. Our students think the LA Rams will win. Let’s see if they are correct. The following announcements will be helpful for you and your family for the week of Feb. 14-18.
SUPER BOWL FRIDAY: Many of our classes celebrated the upcoming Super Bowl with special football learning stations on Friday. Ask your child what they learned about the Super Bowl this week.
THANK YOU FOR STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK: Words cannot express how much we appreciate your support and kindness given to the staff during Teacher Appreciation Week.
Voyager parents Rock.
TEACHER WORKDAYS–SCHOOL CLOSED FOR STUDENTS: Voyager Academy will be hosting Teacher Workdays on Thursday, Feb. 17 and Friday, Feb. 18th. There is NO school for students.
REMOTE LEARNING DAY: Monday, February 21 is a REMOTE LEARNING DAY for students and staff. The students will be provided with lessons to complete while at home. The students will not be zooming in with their teacher.
THE POWER OF PERSUASIVE WRITING!
Mrs. Spankie’s 3rd grade class wrote persuasive letters to Mr. Manning asking him for playground equipment to use at recess. They also had an opportunity to express why they needed recess equipment and how it would solve some problems on the playground. Mr. Manning read the letters, listened to their concerns, and responded straight away. This week, the third-grade students were excited and delighted to receive a box of a variety of recess toys from Mr. Manning. The students have learned the power of writing to voice their concerns. They gained an understanding of how they can make a difference and solve problems. Thank you, Mr. Manning!
SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS: The Voyager Autism Team has been meeting monthly this year to find ways to better support teachers' classrooms for students with sensory needs to be successful. This group of teachers and administrators wrote and applied for grant funding which was approved by the Department of Public Instruction. With the grant, they purchased sensory items to make “Classroom Support Kits.” for each grade level. (K-3). These kits included items such as weighted blankets, hand fidgets, flexible seating options, as well as visual timers. The Autism Team's plan is for all students to be able to benefit from these items in order to support language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, social interaction and emotional regulation. If you would like more information about this project or to make a donation, please contact Tracey Edler-Exceptional Children
Director-Tedler@voyageracademy.net.
IT IS TIME TO ORDER YOUR YEARBOOK: Voyager Academy Elementary School is excited to announce our YEARBOOK ordering is up and ready at Strawbridge Studios! See attached flyer.
VOYAGER ACADEMY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
2021-22 YEARBOOK
$22 - UNTIL 3/04/22
$27 - FROM 3/05/22-4/29/22
FINAL DEADLINE TO ORDER IS APRIL 29, 2022
ONLINE CODE - YB110322
https://strawbridge.fotomerchanthv.com/search/YB110322
YEARBOOK COVER CONTEST: Hey there all VAES ARTISTS! We need your help in designing the cover for the 2021-22 school YEARBOOK! Any VAES STUDENT may participate. Simply create your own original color artwork that you feel reflects the Elementary school spirit and life during this year. Click on the link below for full details.
Contest Rules:
• Submissions should be completed BY ONE STUDENT ONLY on a SINGLE PLAIN WHITESHEET OF 8.5” x 11” PAPER.
• All submissions must be in color using either COLORED PENCILS OR MARKERS. Please DO NOT use crayons!
• Artwork may optionally include the school’s name and year “Voyager Academy Elementary School 2021-22”. If you do not include the school name and year, it will be added to your artwork digitally. If you do choose to include it yourself, please make sure it is neat and legible.
• Using pencil only, please print the artist name, grade and homeroom teacher on theBACK of the artwork. Ensure your artwork meets these guidelines above and then send your entry via your folderor bring to the front office to Ms. Karen between 8am-2pm no later than Monday, February 28th.
Questions? Email Karen Hofmann at khofmann@voyageracademy.net Several finalists will be selected from all entries and some will be featured inside the yearbook if not on the cover. The one OVERALL contest winner will receive a FREE YEARBOOK along with their artwork on the cover! We will do our best to return all artwork to the students, however we cannot guarantee this. Please make a copy or scan a copy for yourself before submitting.
CARLINE REMINDERS: Thank you to the parents who work so hard to help make our carline successful. Things are certainly much smoother than they were but we still have room for improvement. I wanted to encourage everyone to consider coming to school 5 minutes earlier to ensure we can begin school on time. The past week, the majority of cars have arrived at Voyager at 7:40 and then we cannot begin school until close to 8:00 because the cars back up in the line. We need to begin our day at 7:45 am. Car line begins at 7:15 and it would truly help if we could have more parents arrive on campus before 7:40. We are working to remind our students they can make a difference, and we can model that for our students with our car line procedures. Will you help us make a difference at Voyager?
A second reminder to all Voyager Families–please be kind and respectful while in the car line. Please do not cut into the line when everyone else has been waiting their turn. It is just the wrong thing to do.
SINGING FRIEND-A GRAMS: Thank you for ordering your Singing Friend-A-Grams. They will be delivered to your students on Monday, Feb. 15th. We think the special songs, sung by some of our high school students, will certainly make our students smile.
PTO SPONSORED LUNCH FOR FEBRUARY: Thank you for the special PTO sponsored lunch. The food was delicious and your support and kindness are so appreciated.
PARENT ENRICHMENT NIGHT: The February Parent Enrichment Night will be held on 2.16.22 from 6:30-7:30pm. This session will be recorded and hosted by a special guest presenter! The topic is: Social Media and Internet Dangers. Please "come out" (it's actually a Zoom meeting!) and join the Student Support Services Team for this enlightening and important topic!
KIDS HEART CHALLENGE UPDATE: Our Kids Heart Challenge is coming to an end but our learning is for a lifetime. Our students have learned that their hearts are important organs and that healthy hearts work all the time without us having to think about it. They learned that their hearts are muscles that need regular exercise to stay healthy. Our students have experienced fun activities that will exercise their hearts. They learned that their heart is about the size of their fists. They understand that they have one heart and where it is located but they also learned to feel their heart beat on their carotid artery in the side of their neck. Some students have even been able to feel their radial pulse on their wrist after jumping or running.
As a part of our Kids Heart Challenge, students saw a presentation explaining how the American Heart Association funds research. This research has helped doctors develop ways to help people with sick hearts of all ages. This research has also helped exercise specialists understand the best and the safest ways to keep well hearts healthy.
The money that has been donated during our Kids Heart Challenge will help the American Heart Association continue their efforts to fund research. THANK YOU to all who have been able to help with this part of our Kids Heart Challenge. We have currently raised over $1,700!! We will close the fundraising for this project on Friday. If you still have money to donate, please send it to school by Monday February 14, 2022.
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.
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. THE MATTRESS SALE HAS BEEN MOVED TO FEBRUARY 12.
ADD THESE DATES TO YOUR CALENDAR:
Feb. 14: Singing Friend-A Grams Delivered (must be ordered by February 8)
Feb. 17-18: Teacher Workdays (School Closed for Students)
Feb. 21: Remote Learning Day for Students: Students will have packet work to complete on this date as teachers will be completing Professional Development.
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.
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
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.