Hi Middle School Families,
Wow, another great week we’ve had! Step IT Up has been lots of fun with great prizes given to students who had at least 10 supporters. We will be pulling a name tomorrow (Friday) for a chance to receive the Mini Refrigerator that will have money in the refrigerator. Yay!!!!
Good Evening from Kathy Robinson!
It’s that time of year for Luncheon Number 1. I must say the teachers are looking forward to a delicious lunch and beyond thrilled at the possibility of lunch coverage. The date of the Luncheon is Sept. 8.
There are a few more open spots if you would like to contribute. Wow, I just looked at the Sign Up Genius and YOU have done it again. Almost all slots are full, thank you so much. The link is below.
Thanks So Much from Kathy also!!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0949A8AE2A1-vams
School Improvement Team Reps for MS
Help - I need two Voyager Middle School parents to represent the Middle School at the School Improvement Team meetings. The team is led by Mrs. McCullough and the team members are 2 staff members per building, Principals, Assistant Principals, Mrs. Schollmeyer, and 2 parents per building. The meetings are scheduled for 9/20, 10/25, 11/29, 1/24, 2/21, 3/21, 4/25, and 5/23. Meetings are held at the High School or they were last year and we begin at 4:00 and end at 5:00. This is a great way to get involved in what’s happening at Voyager. Let me know if you are interested!
Join the Voyager Academy PTSO
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.
Please click here if you would like to join the PTS
Dates to Remember
9/5 Labor Day - No School
9/16 Fall Festival
9/22 Remote Learning Day (asynchronous) - Students will have assignments and will have an opportunity to meet virtually with the teachers.
9/23 Parent Teacher Conferences
9/26-9/30 Scholastic Book Fair
2022-2023 VAMS Student Council Campaign and Election
What a fun week it has been as the candidates campaigned this week. You enjoyed the excitement as you came through the carline each morning. Our students were fantastic as they shared their speeches this week over the intercom. They all did a great job!
Student Council will be comprised of:
Executive Council Offices and Requirements (will meet once a week/as needed):
President: 8th grade students only may run for office.
Vice President: 8th and 7th grade students only may run for office.
Secretary: 7 th grade students only may run for office.
Treasurer: 7th and 6th grade students only may run for office.
Press and Public Relations: 6th , 7th and 8th grade students may run for office.
Community Relations: 6 th, 7th and 8th grade students may run for office.
General Assembly Requirements (will meet once a month).Each homeroom will need to select a homeroom representative from each homeroom in grades 4 th -8th. These representatives will be chosen after executive council elections are complete.
Playground Update - We are so excited that our middle school playgrounds are adding some additional pieces of equipment. We have added 4 basketball goals with new basketballs, 8 swing seats in addition to the ones we have, 4-Square will be painted on the sidewalk and Hop-Scotch will also be added to the sidewalk. We are now waiting for mulch. Our new equipment is terrific and it is because of you and the donations you made to our Step It Up fundraiser and it’s coming back. Our Step It Up campaign is in process and we hope to get more equipment along with some additional technology.
The 22-23 Voyager Parent Activities calendar lists all programs and activities so all families have access to the events and programs offered on campus. The calendar is posted on the school website.
To subscribe to 22-23 VA Parent Calendar
View 22-23 VA Parent Calendar on Voyager Website under the Calendar tab
Select the plus sign at the bottom right of the calendar to add to your Google calendar
This will open your Google calendar
Select other calendars, add calendar
Select subscribe to calendar
Once subscribed, Voyager events will populate on your Google calendar
Carline— Wow, what a great job you all are doing to ensure that the carline is safe and the process is well done and moves quickly. We do need to remember that in the morning our teachers also need to get to their parking spaces. Beginning Monday if you see a bright yellow card in the driver’s side windshield, know that it’s a middle school teacher. Please let them enter the drive so they can get to their classrooms.
Morning: Morning carline begins at 7:45 and ends at 8:15. If you are coming earlier than 7:45 a bottle neck often happens and we can’t move .
Your child/student needs to be in the class by 8:15. If not, the student will be marked tardy. At 8:15 your student/child will need to enter through the front door and will need to get a tardy pass to take to the homeroom teacher. Please note that classroom instruction begins at 8:15 which means entering the classroom late disrupts the class and the teacher.
We are having way too many tardies. Please make sure you know the Tardy Policy. A student is tardy if he or she is not in class by 8:15.
Afternoon: Make sure your BLUE CARD is on the driver’s side windshield every afternoon and that your number is on the card. . When we have to look up numbers, it slows down the process. Please make sure your numbers on the blue card are large and written with a marker so they can be read from a distance. It is extremely helpful if you wait until 3:10 to come onto campus. We do not dismiss students until 3:10.
TITAN SCHOOL STORE
Pay your school fees, manage your students accounts, and apply for free and reduced meals. Use the chart below as a guide for where to pay your fees or deposit money for lunch.
Deposits - The "one time" and "recurring payment" feature is ONLY for lunch accounts.
Assigned Fees- They are automatically assigned to the student it applies to, but you still have to select the item, complete any required fields and then add to your cart. Then you check out to make payment.
Transaction History -You can view payments & transactions.
Meal Application Status -You can check on the status by selecting the meal application in the menu to the left. Meal application status, if processed, is on the home screen.
Support Desk - If you have trouble logging into your account or have questions, call or email the Titan Support team. Support is available from 7 AM to 7 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, to answer your family portal questions at (844) 467 4700, option 2.
Refunds are issued at the school level.
Titan Family Portal Webpage
Bring Your Own Device: For the 2022-2023 school year we asked that 6th, 7th, and 8th graders Bring Their Own Device to School.
BYOD stands for “Bring Your Own Device”. It is a strategy for providing personal computing in business and education where the end user (employee, student), as opposed to the organization, provides, owns, and maintains his/her own device. It is typical in universities and colleges, and is gaining in popularity in K-12 education and businesses.
Daily Expectations.: Access to a computer is essential to learning at Voyager Academy. The student’s personal device is considered an essential school supply, just as pencils and paper traditionally have been. Students are required to be prepared at the start of each school day with their fully-charged and functional devices. This is considered a part of being prepared to learn. As with all technology at Voyager Academy, students are required to follow the Acceptable Use Policy and the Ethical Use Policy when using their personal devices.
Student Services News
Students in 4th through 8th grade completed needs assessment surveys this week. Through both video and classroom presentations, school counselors Mrs. Farrish and Ms. Purdy were able to introduce themselves and school counseling services to the students, as well as give a survey to assess student strengths and needs. We received 450+ responses! This feedback will guide the development of the school counseling program and provide valuable insight on the student experience at Voyager. Thank you to the teachers who helped make this possible!
If you have questions, feel free to contact me. I will respond as soon as possible.
Gwen gjohnson@voyageracademy.net 919-4333-301 ext 101
Gwen Johnson
Middle School Principal