From the Voyager Academy Managing Director, March 10, 2023

 

Viking Weekly News 


Dear Voyager Community,

What a wonderful week on campus! Our Vikings continue to demonstrate their learning and all their talents.

Bull City Lights and Bull City Sound

Our Bull City Lights and Bull City Sound performers had an incredible weekend at the Koste Classic Music Competition in Richmond, Virginia. They did a tremendous job performing and received the people’s choice award for our division, 4th place in our division out of 8 schools and 7th overall out of 20 schools. The students are all excited to continue to perform and improve on an already successful performance. We are grateful for the leadership and support from Mr. Maras and Mr. Puhala who lead the Bull City Lights and Bull City Sound programs. We wish everyone continued success at upcoming competitions. Use the link below to watch their fabulous performance.

Bull City Lights & Bull City Sound Performance

PBL in Action

The 7th grade project celebration was held on Tuesday. Their driving question was - How do we, as engineers, design a blueprint for an original structure utilizing geometric shapes for a builder to use in a city park?  Students created a blueprint that contained orthographic drawings and directions on how to construct the original structure. An accurate isometric drawing was also created. Parents were engaged in the process by following the blueprint to create the structure designed following the student blueprints using toothpicks and gumdrops. It was exciting to see the big reveal when students unveiled their structures to see how closely the parent designs matched their structures. The project celebration concluded with student presentations highlighting their inspiration for their designs, their research, and process for design.


Schoolwide Spelling Bee

A Schoolwide Spelling Bee was held on Thursday to challenge our students. There were 31 students from grades 3-8 that competed in the event. The students did an awesome job spelling some challenging words like supplant, solidarity, reconvene, and query. Congratulations to our 2nd place winner Jake Brennan, and 1st place winner, Ena Scott Benson. Ena will go on to represent Voyager Academy in the Regional Bee via Zoom on March 25th.  Good luck in the next round of competition!


Culture and Climate Survey

Thank you to all the families that have responded to our culture and climate survey. Our culture and climate survey launched on Monday, February 27th. To date we’ve had 539 responses from our families, representing 27.3% of parent/guardian emails. Our goal is to have 100 % participation. The email was sent from Panorama Education so please check your email so you can share your feedback.  Measuring and implementing community feedback is part of our Cognia accreditation process and will help guide our future strategic planning process so that we can focus on continuous improvement. The survey will close on March 17, 2023.

Accepted Student Tours

The campus was filled on Friday with students and their families that were accepted for admission during the lottery held last week for the 23-24 school year. Each building held tours and provided an overview of the Voyager education experience. Our student ambassadors and school teams did an amazing job welcoming all of our new families.

DPAC Country Songwriter’s Night is Tonight

This is the last chance to get your ticket and join in on the fun at DPAC for the Country Songwriter’s Night. We are grateful to Jeff Outlaw and the Loud Lemon Foundation for organizing the event to support Voyager Arts programs. I look forward to seeing everyone at the show tonight!

Please remember that school will be closed for students on Monday and Tuesday for a teacher workday and conferences.  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. Have a great weekend!

All the best,

Upcoming Dates:


3/13 – 3/14 – Teacher Workdays – no school for students

3/18 - Voyage into Service (final event): NC Diaper Bank, 9:30-11:30a

3/20-3/24  STEM week at Voyager Elementary 

3/20- Vaping 101 Session with 9th graders (Poe Center)

3/21- Vaping 101 Session with 6th, 7th, 8th (Poe Center)

3/21 - 3rd Grade Math NCCI 3

3/21 - ACT Make-ups 

3/24 - Teacher Recruiting Fair - 1 pm at MS

3/25 - HS Choir & Band: Powhatan Classic (Powhatan, VA)

3/27-3/28 – Remote Learning Days

Last Chance to get your DPAC tickets!  Help us sell out DPAC and support Voyager Arts Programs!

Your student is invited to join us on an upcoming educational travel experience to  England & Scotland in spring 2024!

When students travel, they expand their knowledge of the world around them, discover more about themselves, and grow more confident. These skills are critical for creating the global citizens of tomorrow, and I would love to have your student--you too, if you'd like!--join me on this adventure.

Come hear all the details, including the itinerary, activities, academic opportunities, and the cost of our trip at our informational meeting on March 21, 2023, at 6:00 pm. The meeting will take place at Voyage Academy HS - Room A152 (Ms. Scott's room).

Please click here to register for the meeting ASAP to save your seat: bit.ly/3EPkeXz.

There are limited spots on this trip, so we would love to have you attend this meeting to learn more about this exciting opportunity!


Thanks,

Amy Scott

WEEKLY NURSES UPDATE:

March is National Nutrition Month! National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits. One of the best tools and habits people can have is reading food labels. The Nutrition Facts (located on the back of almost every single store-bought food item) shows you some key nutrients that impact your health. You can use the label to support your personal dietary needs – look for foods that contain more of the nutrients you want to get more of and less of the nutrients you may want to limit. Nutrition Facts labels also list important allergen information for individuals watching out for food allergies like nuts and egg or food sensitivities such as gluten.

Helping kids understand how to read the Nutrition Facts label on food packages is important. The label is a tool for making food choices that they’ll be able to use throughout their lives. The sooner they begin to Read the Label, the sooner they’ll be making healthful choices when comparing foods. 

Below are a few ready-made, informative tools that can help kids get their food facts.  Check them out – and have fun engaging with your child as you explore the Nutrition Facts label together!

Reading Food Labels Video Lesson on YouTube: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7770751-fda-national-childhood-obesity-month/

Daylight Savings Time: Don’t forget to Spring Ahead one hour on Sunday, March 12th (2a)! You don’t want to be late anywhere!!

Student Support Services Newsletter: Be on the lookout for our first edition of “Connections” - your new, quarterly Student Support Services Newsletter! Connections will provide parents and caregivers with relevant content for all school-aged children. Please check out our first edition tomorrow (hint hint!) and feel free to complete a short survey (also tomorrow) to let the Student Support Services Team know how we can improve Connections or if we met your needs in a satisfactorily manner! We appreciate serving you and your feedback is important to us!

March is Women’s History Month: This month is dedicated to observing, honoring, and learning about the great women in our nation’s history! Check out these websites for more information and exciting opportunities to join in the celebrations and learn more:

Laws of Life Essay Contest: This contest encourages middle school and high school students to reflect and write about a core value that means the most to them – and why.

• The program is available to all students in grades 4 through 12 across the world.

• All essay writers will be recognized by Character.org. We will also recognize the most compelling essays and feature them on our website and social media channels.

 Submissions are due MARCH 23rd, and can be submitted through this online form. For more information, please click on the following link: https://character.org/laws-of-life-contest/

Final Voyage into Service K-12 Event: Time is running out to sign-up!! Please consider joining us! We have one more in-person “Voyage into Service” event with the NC Diaper Bank this academic year! For everyone who is interested, please sign-up at: https://x.gldn.io/e/hfSgEoGhXrb to solidify your spot today! We will be on-site on Saturday, March 18th from 9:30-11:30a. Here are the important details:

  • Each participant - each parent, child, and staff member, must fill out the link above.

  • All volunteers guarantee that they are not feeling ill before their shift.

  • Masks are optional; however, anyone who is not vaccinated, must wear a mask at all times.

  • Bring a cool drink!

  • Close-toed shoes are required.

  • Address: 1311 E. Club Blvd, Durham, 27704 - inside the green fence at the corner of Kiss Dr. and E. Club Blvd.

Contact Dr. Monique Link, School Social Worker at 919-433-3301 X 146 / mlink@voyageracademy.net with any questions or needs. Certificates of Participation will be awarded to everyone in attendance AND there will be one last raffle for a few sweet give-aways! Thank you in advance for your commitment to service and volunteerism!


Great News. Summer enrichment is here. Registration is open now open until April 14th. The process will look a little different from Fall and Spring enrichment sign up. Enrichments will be offered Monday through Thursday for 3 weeks during  the month of June.  Beginning June 5th and ending June 22nd.  There will be 3 different session times offered depending on the individual enrichment. There will be a google form used to register for each individual enrichment. Each enrichment must meet the minimum number of participants before payment will be assigned in Titan. You will receive an email letting you know that your student is being placed on the roster, based on a first come first served basis. You will have until April 14th to make the payment. If your payment is not made your spot will be forfeited and will be given to the next student. Please go to our website to see a full description of each enrichment. https://www.voyageracademy.net/resources/summer-enrichments/ . 

Middle School Athletics

The baseball team (1-0) got their spring season off to a nice start as they beat conference opponent Eno River Academy, 18-3 this past Tuesday on the road.  Linus Smith and Cohen Rappleyea took the mound with each pitcher earning 5 strikeouts in their appearance.  Offensively, Mason Singleton went 4-4 with a double, Hayden VanAuken went 2-3 with a double, and Cole Eisch drove in 4 runs.  The team is back in action next Thursday.

High School Athletics


Attention Senior Athletes and Parents!!

Will you be competing in a sport at the next level (prep. school, JUCO, 4-year college, Internationally)?  Please email me with where you’re going, what you will be competing in, and include a picture of yourself playing that sport!  I will put something together over the next few months to share with everyone so we can see where our student-athletes are going!

The baseball team (2-1, 0-0) split two games this past week.  On Saturday the team traveled to take on North Stanly where they would fall 3-1.  Carrick Ryan (’25) took the tough loss on the mound, going 4 innings and striking out 6 batters and allowing 2 earned runs.  Ryan also accounted for the only RBI that the Vikings scored during the game.  On Tuesday, the team got back on track with a big 8-7 win against 4A rival Northern Durham.  Daniel Higdon (’23), Dylan Ohlendorf (’23), and Marshall Hambrick (’25) combined for 7 strikeouts on the evening.  Hambrick also drove in 3 runs with a bases loaded double while Sam Koerner (’25) added 2 RBI’s of his own. 

The softball team (1-0) started their season off with a huge win against Durham School of the Arts, winning 31-0.  Maleyva Pardo (’25) got the start on the mound for the Vikings, pitching a complete game shutout.  Pardo gave up 1 hit, walked 1 batter, and struck out 12.  McKenna Andrew (’24) drove in 5 runs on 2 hits while Reese Minor (’25) brought in 4 runs with 4 hits, including a triple.  Andrew and senior Autumn Suka also had doubles in the win.

The men’s tennis team (0-2) dropped their first two matches of the season to Research Triangle and Seaforth.  Both schools are highly competitive at the 2A level and will only help the Vikings down the road.  The team will be back in action on Tuesday, as they host 2A Raleigh Charter in a 4pm match

Despite their record, the men’s lacrosse team (0-4, 0-1) has made huge improvements from last season.  On Tuesday, the Vikings opened up conference play as they hosted Vance Charter and lost 10-4.  Keith Njuguna (’25) made 14 saves while Scott Green (’23) scored 2 goals. Last year the Knights had beaten Voyager 17-0 and 15-1.  The team has drastically cut down on their goals allowed per game, thanks in large part to Njuguna’s play.  Green currently leads the Vikings in goals for the season, followed closely by Graham Buchanan (’24).

The women’s soccer team (0-2-1) is still looking for their first win of the season, but has played competitively in the first three games.  Last night the Vikings ended their match with 2A Jordan-Matthews in a 1-1 tie.  Maddie Norman (’24) scored with 13:30 remaining in the game to tie it up, but that’s as close as they would get.  Due to it being a non-conference game there was no overtime added onto the contest.  The Vikings are back in action on Wednesday as they travel up the road to take on 2A Durham School of the Arts in a 6pm match.

Men’s golf (0-1) kicked off their season with their first conference match this past Monday at Henderson Country Club.  The Vikings finished the day in 6th place after they found themselves not having enough golfers to score.  The team is back in action on Tuesday as they will travel to Treyburn Country Club for their TNAC match. 

      


Go Vikings, Go!

Jordan Gatcomb, Athletic Director

jgatcomb@voyageracademy.net



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