NEWS FROM ELEMENTARY: We hope your week was wonderful for you and your family. Listed below are some announcements for the week of October 3-7
FALL BREAK: Voyager Academy will be closed for students and staff for fall break October 10-14.
DAY OF AWESOMENESS: Our day of celebration is finally here! Friday, October 7, our students will be celebrating the success of our fundraiser. As the students prepare for the day, we wanted to share the following details:
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to help on this fun day!
Each student has been asked to bring an extra pair of socks to school on Oct. 7
Each student has been asked to bring a water bottle to school on Oct. 7
THANKS TO YOUR GENEROSITY: Thanks to your giving, The Step It Up Fundraiser was the most successful fundraiser Voyager has had. The school profited $53, 800 from this event. The money has been evenly split between the middle school and the elementary school. With our funds, we have been able to purchase 14 new interactive boards for our classrooms and 50 new ipads.
PICTURE RETAKE DAY: Strawbridge Studios will be on campus on Oct. 20 to take school photos of any student who was absent on the original picture date. If you had your child’s photo taken, and you purchased it and you did not like the photo, you may return the original photos on Oct. 20 and Strawbridge will retake them.
OCTOBER STAFF LUNCHEON: The PTSO is at it again. They keep trying to MAKE OUR TEACHERS SMILE! If you are able to help provide a food item or support for the October Staff Luncheon, please click on the link below. Thank you for supporting our staff in this special way!
October Staff Luncheon Sign Up
VOYAGER BLOOD DRIVE: Voyager is hosting a blood drive this semester on November 11th, from 9 am to 2 pm. This will take place at Voyager High School.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Voyager always has great things happening. Mark your calendar for these special events. More details will come your way soon!
Voyager Elementary Family Walking Challenge Begins on October 7.
First Report Cards will be sent home on October 21
Fall Break will take place Oct. 10-14
Students will learn about recycling and conservation on Nov. 4 by watching a LIVE play production from the National Theater for Young Children.
LOOK WHAT WE DO IN PE: Kinders are taking turns, working together, and moving to build strong bodies. Third Graders run to earn buckets. Then they work together to build the tallest column.
HIGH SCHOOLERS BRING CULTURE TO OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS: This month in Kindergarten we are celebrating Latinx Heritage Month. We are learning about different countries and cultures in the Latinx community. We collaborated with Ms.Vicens high school Spanish class to bring some authentic learning into our classroom. The high school students applied their Spanish vocabulary and knowledge into creating handmade storybooks to share with the kindergarten and first grade classes. The kids had lots of fun learning some new Spanish words and making some new high school friends!
VAES ELEMENTARY YEARBOOK CONTEST:
Hey there all VAES ARTISTS! We need your help in designing the cover for the 2022-2023 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.
Contest Rules:
Submission should be completed BY ONE STUDENT ONLY on a SINGLE WHITE SHEET 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 2022-2023”. If you do not include the school name and year, it will be added to your artwork digitally. If you 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 the BACK of the artwork.
Ensure your artwork meets the guidelines above and then send your entry via your RED folder or bring it to the front office and give it to Mrs. Oakley no later than OCTOBER 7TH. Questions? Please email Angie Oakley at aoakley@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 song with their artwork on the cover! Thank you for participating in this fun.
PARENT RESOURCE: Parents, I want to encourage you to READ, READ, READ with your children. I also want to ask you to consider using the below listed program with your child. This program is a great way for students to practice reading and math skills.
https://www.teachyourmonster.org/
HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR CHILD BE SUCCESSFUL AT SCHOOL? We are partners working together to help create independent life-longt learners. What can you do to help your child have the most academic success?
READ WITH AND TO YOUR CHILD EACH NIGHT. READING IS THE KEY. THE MORE WE PRACTICE THE BETTER WE WILL BECOME.
REVIEW 5 MINUTES EACH NIGHT WITH YOUR CHILD. ASK THEM WHAT THEY LEARNED AT SCHOOL AND THEN TALK ABOUT IT. SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH YOUR CHILD.
IF YOUR CHILD IS IN THE 3RD GRADE–PLEASE, PLEASE BEGIN TO PRACTICE THE MULTIPLICATION FACTS.
ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO KEEP A JOURNAL–THEY CAN PRACTICE WRITING, SPELLING AND HANDWRITING SKILLS VIA A JOURNAL.
MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD GETS ENOUGH REST EACH NIGHT.
FAMILY COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT: The Student Support Services Team is pleased to announce our inaugural K-12 Community Service experience for the 2022-23 school year: “Voyage into Service.” This is a school-wide volunteer opportunity that is available to all students, parents, and staff throughout K-12! The Vision of Voyage into Service is “Building the capacity for positive regard and respect for self, others, and the world around us.” The Mission is to “Provide confident, empathic, curious, and reflective service to and throughout the community, with integrity.” We invite and encourage all of those who are interested in serving to join us Saturday, November 5th from 9:30-11:30a for our first Community Service Event: The Diaper Bank of NC (1311 E. Club Blvd, Durham, 27704 - inside the green fence at the corner of Kiss Dr. and E. Club Blvd.). The Diaper Bank of NC requires the following:
Sign up link: https://x.gldn.io/e/hfSgEoGhXrb (Each participant must fill this out parents, children, and staff).
*Volunteer guarantees that they are not feeling ill before their shift.
Masks are optional for all staff and volunteers. Those who wish to continue wearing masks are encouraged to; however, anyone who is not vaccinated, please wear a mask at all times.
Volunteers will work inside a ventilated warehouse. Please note that this area is in a warehouse that is not climate-controlled. The loading dock doors open will be open and large fans will be going, but it does get warm!
Bring a cool drink!
Close-toed shoes are required.
If anyone is interested in attending but needs transportation to/from the event, please contact Dr. Monique Link, School Social Worker at 919-433-3301 X 146 / mlink@voyageracademy.net
Also, if anyone will be attending who is under the age of 18, please contact Dr. Link, as this needs to be noted for the Diaper Bank on the Group Waiver form by Dr. Link. Certificates of Participation will be awarded to everyone in attendance AND there will be a raffle for a few sweet give-aways!
CHICK-FIL-A READING CHALLENGE: We are so honored to partner with Chick-Fil-A on Roxboro St. They will be giving a FREE gift card to students every month who read 15 books. The October challenge begins Oct. 1. We are almost reading to begin our October Reading Challenge! As your child reads or you read to your child, please record the books on the reading log and return it to your child’s teacher once you have 15 books listed. Your child can earn one free gift card per month.
COVID UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE: 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.
Our CDC COVID-19 Community Level is: LOW
People may choose to wear a mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
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.
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)