Viking Weekly News
November 10, 2022
Dear Voyager Community,
It’s been another fabulous week at Voyager. Learning and extracurricular activities are in full swing on campus. Thank you to all the families that joined Dr. Link for the first “Voyage into Service” project at the Diaper Bank in Raleigh on Saturday. This volunteer initiative will help the Diaper Bank meet the needs of families across the Triangle. Our volunteers packed over 18,000 diapers to serve 300 families. Our Varsity Soccer team also had an amazing win on Monday night in triple overtime and will continue to play in the next round of the tournament. We wish the team continued success!
I enjoy visiting classes to see our students fully engaged and excited about their learning every day. This week Ms. Coursey’s 8th grade ELA class was finalizing work on a project. Students were applying their knowledge of suffixes, prefixes, and root words and creating novel words, innovating alien creations, and applying their new words in their writing. Students explained how their learning of suffixes, prefixes, and root words has supported their understanding in other subjects as well. Students will be presenting their projects to families next week.
Ms. Morrow’s 6th grade class is studying the Holocaust. During my visit to their class this week they were analyzing photos and describing what they saw and how it may have made Jewish families feel at the time to broaden student knowledge before reading Number the Stars and The Diary of Anne Frank next week. They will finish the unit right before Winter Break and Rose Mills, a daughter of two Holocaust survivors, will come speak to the 6th grade students about her parents' experiences.
Ms. Borcik’s elementary science class was working on an experiment to test how water temperature impacts the breakdown of a material. Students learned about formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, analyzing the results, and discussing their findings. Students analyzed the different impacts of warm and cold water on an M&M. Students evaluated the water color and clarity as part of their experiential science lesson on Tuesday.
Ms. Clark-Stover’s High School Art class combined their learning of science and art to explore new artistic techniques. Students learned how to create a circuit and build a robot to create art. Each student used their imagination to develop their robots and tested out the impact on their drawings by changing weights and marker placement for different artistic effects. Below are some examples of their robot art creations. Also shown are additional artwork projects from our Voyager artists on display in the high school hallway.
Please remember that we are all here to support your child grow, learn, and find their passion. Feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher, building administrator, or student support if we can assist your family in any way. Check out the upcoming events and all the updates below from our School Nurse, Student Support Team, Operations Manager, and Athletic Director below.
Please remember that school will be closed on Friday in honor of Veteran’s Day. Have a wonderful long weekend!
All the best,
Upcoming Dates:
11/10 - Blood Drive
11/11 - No School – Veteran’s Day
11/14-12/13: Durham Rescue Mission Toy Drive(NJHS)
11/21 – Remote Learning Day
12/1-12/2: Viking Troupers presents Seussical
12/5: Parent Enrichment Night
12/13-12/21: H.S. final exams
12/21 – Early Release
WEEKLY NURSES UPDATE:
Flu 2022-2023 Update: The Flu is OFFICIALLY HERE
The CDC has been actively tracking flu cases and there has been an early increase in seasonal influenza (flu) across the United States and especially in the southeastern and south-central areas of the country. Over the last week, there has been an uptick in both confirmed flu cases and individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms here in Durham and in the Voyager community.
Some of the most common symptoms of flu include:
Flu signs and symptoms usually come on suddenly
Fever/feeling feverish or chills
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
Fatigue/tiredness
Vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults
Notes for Families:
If your child is complaining of not feeling well before the school day starts, please honor their symptoms and keep them home for further monitoring. Students should return to school when they are feeling well enough to actively participate in learning during the school day.
If your child has a fever (temp above 100.4F), please DO NOT GIVE THEM A FEVER-REDUCING MEDICINE and send them to school. Fever is a sign of active illness and they can spread illness to others during this period. When the medicine wears off, the student’s symptoms return and the school will notify parents asking you to come pickup your sick student.
If an individual has a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, they must stay home until those symptoms have been resolved for at least 36 hours without the assistance of medication per the Voyager Academy Sick Policy and Parent Handbook.
Voyager Academy remains a mask-friendly environment and individuals may choose to wear a mask at any time. With holidays and gatherings with friends and family coming up, now is a great time to discuss wearing a mask for families interested in adding an extra layer of illness prevention and protection. Students showing symptoms of illness will be asked to wear a mask while at school as outlined in the 2022-2023 Voyager Academy Sick Policy. Individuals returning to school after a COVID-19 isolation period will be required to wear their mask for the duration of their 10-day masking period per the CDC guidelines.
Voyager Academy still follows the CDC guidance for COVID-19 that highly recommends COVID-19 testing for any individual with symptoms of illness and the required isolation and masking periods for individuals that test positive.
We are doing our best to protect our classrooms and keep our students, teachers, and staff as healthy as possible as we head into the Fall and Winter months. The best first step is keeping sick children home.
We greatly appreciate each family’s understanding and cooperation.
COVID-19 COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION WEEKLY UPDATE:
Our CDC COVID-19 Community Level is: LOW
People may choose to wear a mask for any reason at any time.
People with a positive test for COVID-19 MUST wear a mask for 10 days.
People with symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
In Case You’re Interested… - Mrs. Farrish and Ms. Purdy are currently offering groups during the school day at the Middle School on the following topics: (a) Friendship; (b) Managing Feelings; and (c) Time Management. If you would like more information on these groups and/or to include your student in a future group, please feel free to contact either of these phenomenal school counselors!
tfarrish@voyageracademy.net or 919-433-3301 X 206
spurdy@voyageracademy.net or 919-433-3301 X 144
Parent Enrichment Night – Fall Seminar: WE HEARD YOU! Please join the Student Support Services Team on Monday, December 5th from 6p-7:40p for an exciting night filled with enriching topics that are meaningful to YOU! Participants will be able to choose TWO of the three available sessions to attend, in seminar format. We kindly ask that you sign-up in advance in order to help us plan for space, refreshments, and childcare. We are looking forward to this evening of enrichment and fellowship with you! For questions or support signing up, please contact Dr. Link at mlink@voyageracademy.net or 919-433-3301 X 146.
National American Indian Heritage Month: November is reserved for the celebration and recognition of the rich histories and diverse cultures of our nation’s first people! Check out the websites below for more information, activities, and fun facts:
https://www.uncp.edu/academics/american-indian-heritage-center
https://www.visitraleigh.com/event/27th-annual-american-indian-heritage-celebration/84642/
Important Dates in November:
Important Dates in November:
11th – Veterans Day: Do you know the history of Veterans Day?!
13th-19th – Transgender Awareness Week
14th-18th – American Education Week
14th-20th – National Apprenticeship Week
16th – International Day for Tolerance
17th – Children’s Grief Awareness Day
Great American Smokeout
National Parental Involvement Day
19th – Family Volunteer Day
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
National Adoption Day
20th – Universal Children’s Day: Protect the rights and improve the welfare of children!
Transgender Day of Remembrance
24th – Thanksgiving Day: Do you know the history of Thanksgiving?!
25th – Native American Heritage Day
29th – Giving Tuesday: A global day of generosity; “do something good” today!
Reminder!
All before and after care payments are DUE on the 1st of each month. The titan fee groups open starting on the 20th of the previous month. If payment is NOT received by the 5th of the month the student will be dropped from the roll. If your family is experiencing some difficulty in making the before or after care payments please reach out to Taylor Thomas at tthomas@voyageracademy.net.
Enrichments: Details are being finalized for Spring 23' Enrichments, once everything is finalized specific information will be sent out and they will be active in Titan.
School Lunch
December lunch menus for K-8 and 9-12 are active!
Each day lunches are scanned into Titan, please make sure there is a sufficient balance on your child's meal account for that week. Thank you for all your cooperation with this matter.
Lunches are pre order and have to be ordered through LINQ a week in advance.
Have an awesome 3 day weekend!!