NEWS FROM ELEMENTARY: We hope that you and your family had a wonderful week of school. Students were happy and engaged. Teachers were prepared and energetic and parents were kind and helpful. The following announcements will be helpful for you and your family for the week of August 22-25.
PLAYGROUND UPDATE: We are so excited that our two elementary playgrounds are being upgraded. Thanks to your Step It Up donations given last fall, we will have new playground equipment on both of the elementary playgrounds as well as behind the middle school. The structures are up and now we are waiting on our new mulch to arrive. I know the students are so excited and I do apologize for the delay.
FIRE DRILL: We have hosted our first fire drill at Voyager. The students did a wonderful job. They understand the process involved with exiting the building. We will practice fire drills once a month. We will also review all other safety drills with our students, including lock down drills and severe weather drills.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO SHORTEN CAR LINE: As you may know, carline has always been a tremendous challenge at Voyager Academy. Here are 2 great recommendations on how we, as a community, can shorten the carline, and your weight time:
It is highly recommended that families from the same neighborhood consider carpooling to school.
Consider partnering with another family (or two), to meet up at the Lowe’s parking lot (or another nearby parking lot), to group students in one car. Not only can you take turns dropping off at the school building, but this will also shorten the carline.
Teamwork makes the dream work!
ZONES OF REGULATION: Voyager Elementary is working to help our students better understand their emotions and how to be as productive as possible while at school. We are teaching students Zones of Regulation (to help them learn how they are feeling and how to self-regulate themselves if needed). Ask your child which zone they are in today (RED, GREEN, BLUE OR YELLOW).
REMIND APP: You can now sign up to receive text messages from VAES through the REMIND app. Even if you have signed up before you will need to subscribe again with your updated grade level and phone number. How do you sign up?
Texting from your cell phone:
Kindergarten Parents: In the “To” section of the text, please type 81010 and in the message section please type @vakinder23
First Grade Parents: In the “To” section of the text, please type 81010 and in the message section please type @vafirst23
Second Grade Parents: In the “To” section of the text, please type 81010 and in the message section please type @vasecond23
Third Grade Parents: In the “To” section of the text, please type 81010 and in the message section please type @vathird23
COVID UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE: Each week, our school nurse will provide us with a brief Covid related update. The message for this week is listed here: Our CDC COVID-19 Community Level is: HIGH
**Masks are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED indoors, even if you are vaccinated**
The health and safety of our students, teachers, staff, and volunteers are our top priorities. Voyager Academy is following the CDC COVID-19 Community Level guidance. We sincerely appreciate your consideration.
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE: Each and every Monday, Voyager will dismiss students at 12:45 pm. Since our staff attend meetings every Monday, it is imperative that students are picked up on time.
BIRTHDAY ROCK: The Voyager Birthday Rock is such a popular thing! We hope you and the students enjoy seeing the various birthday designs. The Birthday Rock is available on a sign up basis. The sign up was sent out late summer. If you would like to see if there is any availability left, please click on the link below.
AUTHOR VISIT: Voyager Academy values READING. On August 25, 2022 we will have Jonathan Miller, author and illustrator of the children’s book series The Adventures of Sammy the Wonder Dachshund visit our students. He will be sharing his most recent book and will talk all about the importance of reading and writing. If your student would like to order a book from Mr. Miller, please complete and return the order form that was sent home with each student.
CHICK-FIL-A READING CHALLENGE: We are so excited to partner with Chick-Fil-A on Roxboro Street. This store has supported Voyager for many years and we hope you will support them. They are going to be encouraging Voyager students to become life-long readers. Beginning in September, students will have an opportunity to earn a FREE Chick-Fil-A Voucher for a Kids Meal. The Chick-Fil-A Team, including the COW will be on campus on August 29 at 11:00 to kick off this fun reading program!
BEFORE AND AFTERCARE: Available spaces in the program will be limited. THERE IS CURRENTLY A WAITLIST FOR AFTERSCHOOL CARE. Students will experience a balance of homework time, enrichment, and recreational activities. The programs are staffed by teachers, college students and/or young adults who are selected for their work ethic, experience and ability to be a positive role model. After-school programs will also operate on early release days at no extra program cost to parents. There may be field trips and activities on early release days for an additional fee. The fee will cover transportation, admission and/or guest fees for the activity scheduled on that day. If your child is not registered for a field trip/activity, they will be able to continue to have fun with their friends during Stay and Play activities back at school.
REGISTRATION PROCESS
Care programs will have limited spaces available due to continued staffing shortages. Pre-registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Families on the list after the capacity cut off will be placed on a wait list. You will be notified by email, if this affects your family’s registration.
Voyager Academy uses the Titan Family Portal for program registration and payment. There is a non-refundable $30.00 registration fee per family due at the time of registration. For questions about setting up your family portal account, you may email the Support Team at support@titank12.com or call
EARLY CARE (BEFORE SCHOOL) HOURS (K-12)
The Voyager Early Care program is a fun, well supervised start to your student’s day. They will have the option to participate in active play, passive games, quiet time reading or screen time.
Elementary 6:45 a.m. – 7:15 a.m.
Middle 6:45 a.m. – 7:45 a.m.
High School 6:45a.m. – 8:15 a.m.
AFTER SCHOOL CARE HOURS (K-8 ONLY)
The Voyager After Care program includes homework time, active play/games, creative arts, passive games, character development and STEM projects.
Elementary 2:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Middle 3:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
All students must be picked up before 6:00 p.m
All after care and before care questions may be addressed to Patrice Johnson, Operations Manager at pjohnson@voyageracademy.net. Ms.Johnson may be reached by phone at 919-433-3301 Ext. 243.
LUNCH UPDATE: Voyager Academy will offer a hot lunch meal option from K & W Cafeteria! Hot meals will be delivered daily to each school prior to meal time. The meals are made fresh offsite at K&W’s kitchen. They are delivered in individual hermetically sealed meal plates kept warm in commercial grade insulated food delivery bags. These meal containers closely resemble microwave meal trays. We assure you that the meals are made fresh daily following the USDA National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal requirements.
Lunch orders are placed on the LINQ Online Ordering system (https://family.onlineordering.linq.com/) The cost for lunch is $4.50 per student per meal for all students not participating in the Free and Reduced lunch meal program. There is a Vegetable Plate option listed under A la Carte items. It generally has the vegetables of the day and a starch item. The cost is $4.50 for a vegetable plate entrée. It does not qualify for the NSLP pricing & program.
All meal purchases are prepaid. You will add money to your student’s account via the Titan Payment portal (https://family.titank12.com/). It is recommended that families set up reoccurring payments by week or month. This ensures you have enough funds on account when preordering. You can also make one time payments/deposits. You can order meals by the week or month. We recommend purchasing by the month to ensure your family doesn’t miss the ordering (7 days in advance) deadlines. A week’s worth of lunch is $4.50 (price per meal) x 5 days (school week) = $22.50+ processing fees* a week or $90 + processing fees* per month (4 weeks). The processing fee for lunch is $2.60 per deposit.
We will only serve meals to students who have pre-ordered and paid for lunch. All families participating in the school’s lunch program regardless of their status (Free, Reduced or Paid) have to use this system to pre-order the meals. All meal orders must be in by 11 pm. There is a 7 day advance order cutoff policy to allow the vendor time for meal planning and preparation.
LUNCH FUND DONATIONS
Some families require more help than others with daily purchases and outstanding meal balances. A few extra dollars from families with the ability to donate can help us make sure all of our children have consistent access to nutritious school meals, while keeping Voyager Academy’s finances strong! If you would like to contribute to the Voyager Academy Lunch fund, you can do so on the School Store at https://Family.TitanK12.com
What you need to know:
There are two systems that work together for ordering and payment
LINQ ONLINE ORDERING - View and order student/staff meals.
TITAN FAMILY PORTAL -Pay your school fees, manage your students accounts and apply for free and reduced meals.
Pre-Payment Options - Please take advantage of the options to prepay your student's meal accounts.
The online payments are a simple, safe and a secure way to make payments to your students account 24 hours a day at your convenience.
Online at https://family.titank12.com There is a $2.60 flat fee charged by the bank per deposit online. (Example: $100 deposit + $2.60 fee = $102.60)
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.
Send/mail Check or money order to school with your student. Please place the payments in an envelope marked clearly with your student's name, their ID #, their teacher's name, the $ amount and the check #. Turn in prepaid deposits to the teacher or school office.
Download and Print Out a pre-formatted #10 Envelope for making Deposits
Ordering Rules
You can pre-order meals for the week or the full month.
There is a week advance Order Cutoff date. All orders must be made the Monday of the week before.
We can not accept same day orders. Changes/cancellations can be made up to 2 days before the meal date.
All orders must be pre-ordered and pre-payment made to the Family Portal account on Titan or sent to school.
Lunch Menus are available on the School Nutrition website
Images/photos on the menu are for promotional purposes and are not actual meal photos.
Free and Reduced Lunch meal pricing is available at Voyager Academy.
Applications must be renewed each school year. If a new application has not been completed, the student will automatically revert to “paid” status.
Verification of income will be requested. You will be required to submit supporting documentation during the verification process.
View the USDA Child Nutrition Programs Income Eligibility Guidelines (2021-2022)
CURRICULUM NIGHT: Mark your calendars for August 31 and Sept 1. We will be hosting VIRTUAL CURRICULUM NIGHTS for all families. We want you to understand all the various ways Voyager covers NC standards. We want you to better understand our Project Based Learning Strategies and how we use Bridges Math and CKLA resources to teach reading and writing.
Kindergarten Curriculum Night: September 01 at 5:30 pm
First Grade Curriculum Night: September 01 at 5:30 pm
Second Grade Curriculum Night: August 31 at 5:30 pm
Third Grade Curriculum Night: August 31 at 5:30 pm
The teachers will send you a LINK to attend this virtual event.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM PTSO: Fall Festival is Friday Sept. 16, 5:30-8:00 pm and the rain date is the following day, same time. A Sign-Up Genius will be available soon to obtain parent volunteers. We need help to pull off this event–we had over 2,000 attendees at each festival last school year.
Have you joined the PTSO? We are hoping to have 100 families per grade join PTSO. We are a non-profit and all membership goes to providing support for our staff and students. Please click on the link below to join Voyager’s PTSO.