July 2019

School Starts Next Wednesday (7/31)!

Aloha to all our families, new and returning! We are so excited to embark with you and your keiki on our journey of learning for the 2019-2020 school year. Mrs. Donaldson and I, our office and support staff, and a few teachers have been on campus racing to get the campus ready for learning in time for your children's arrival next week.

This newsletter is a monthly update that we use to share important news and upcoming events in the life of Voyager. Be on the lookout for Google Classroom notification as well, as we work to improve our systems for parent communication this year. You will also receive email messages from the Voyager office (voyagerinfo@voyagerpcs.com). Please send a message to this office email address if you are not receiving periodic news and updates.

Below, you will find an introduction to Voyager's administrative team, a newsletter from our Parent/Teacher/Student Organization (PTSO), notices of upcoming events, details about Thursday and Friday's "Welcome Back" days, some helpful reminders regarding Voyager policies and procedures, and an invitation to contribute to Voyager through volunteering. Thank you for choosing Voyager as your keiki's learning home. We look forward to a powerful learning partnership in the months to come!

Sincerely,

Evan Anderson, Trisha Donaldson, and the entire Voyager PCS Staff

About us:

Assistant Principal Trisha Donaldson is a veteran Voyager teacher who returned to us in 2017 after a brief stint in California, where she successfully launched Temecula International Academy, a new K-8 charter school built around cultural diversity, social-emotional learning and multilingualism.

Principal Evan Anderson is entering his 13th year serving Voyager students and families. He has served Voyager as Kindergarten teacher, music teacher, teacher coach, and now administrator. This is his third year as principal.

Both of us (along with our respective spouses) are proud parents of Voyager graduates, and Voyager 6th graders.

Aloha Means "Hello..."

This year brings a few changes in our instructional team, and we want to take this opportunity to welcome the following teachers into our learning community:

Christina Conrad will be teaching middle school mathematics.
Cristy Hasha, former Voyager 1st/2nd grade teacher, will be returning in a new role as Special Education teacher, focusing on middle school grades.
Tim Early will join the Makalapua team at the 3rd/4th grade level.

. . . And Aloha Means "Goodbye..."

Kelly Ralleta has accepted a position at Kamehameha Schools for the upcoming year. We wish her the very best, knowing that even in her departure, she helps fulfill Voyager's ambition of being an influence for positive euccational change in the state of Hawai'i.

. . . and Aloha Means "Hello..."

Our beloved longtime sub, yard supervisor and Voyager parent Mei-Lynn Kalima will be serving as a long-term substitute in Room 201, while we complete our search and hiring process for the vacant 1st/2nd grade position.

Cristy Hasha has been a teacher for the past 13 years. She has taught 1st through 4th grade students in Virginia, Hawaii, and most recently Tennessee. She is returning to Voyager to work in the Special Education department with middle school students. Currently, Cristy is a top 9 state finalist for Tennessee Teacher of the Year. She is the proud parent of two Voyager students, Abi (4th grade) and Everett (1st grade). Her husband, Eric, works for Redmont Group.

Originally from Hilo, Hawaii, Mei Kalima has worked at Voyager School since 2012 and also coaches school and club volleyball. As of this year, all 3 of her children will have attended Voyager, with her youngest being a current 6th grader.

Tim Early is excited to start his fifth year teaching. This is his first year at Voyager. He grew up in Chicago and spent the last three years teaching fifth grade on Kauai.

Christina Conrad was previously working at Kapolei High School since 2011 as a math teacher. For five years she was the advisor to the Best Buddies Club. She was raised in small towns in Illinois and attended college at Indiana State University.

Welcome Back: Room Assignments Posted 7/25 and 7/26 8:30-2:30

Please note that we will be welcoming parents to our Welcome Back Booth, in the Voyager lobby, this Thursday and Friday, July 25th and 26th, from 8:30am till 2:30pm, where you can gain a wealth of knowledge, run into school friends, and pick up uniforms. Please find street parking, as our Voyager lot is reserved for teachers and staff who will be on campus these days.

All Students: Classroom assignments will be posted in the lobby. If you do not see a room number next to your child's name, please see our office clerk, Naome Barretto, to take care of any missing paperwork. She will provide your child's assigned classroom number upon completion of forms.
Ka'apeha (7th/8th Grade) Students: please pick up your Keiki Kit (school supplies) and bring it home until the first day of school.
PTSO Welcomes You! Our parent/teacher/student organization will be on hand, inviting you to join their efforts. PTSO is responsible for a number of great events throughout the year that benefit the school both in spirit and in the budget. See the newsletter below from Vice President Kristi Dagdagan for more details about PTSO activities.
Pick up your school uniforms from Kula Threads: If you ordered school uniform shirts or jackets through kulathreads.com, your order will be waiting for you in the lobby on these days.
Carpool list: A parent volunteer is interested in helping coordinate ridesharing to and from school in the morning. If you are interested in finding other Voyager families in your neighborhood that you might carpool with, please enter your name on the list. A digital version will be created as soon as I figure out how to format the Google Form :)

Classroom teachers will be occupied in training these days, and so will not be available to talk or answer questions. However, you can expect all teachers to be contacting you via email shortly following our Welcome Back days.

From the Principal: A note about Supplies

Voyager has handled the need for student supplies in a number of ways during my years at Voyager. We've ordered for parents and charged them directly, we've asked parents to go buy their children's supplies on their own, and this year we've worked with a vendor, Keiki Kits, to provide a high standard of quality at a reasonable price. We request that all parents who are able please order a kit from keiki kits, even if the cost seems a bit higher than comparison shopping. Kits will be delivered directly to Voyager, and sent to your child's classroom for immediate use. We will ask for parent feedback about the new system early on in the year, as we plan for next year's supply ordering. If the cost of a Keiki Kit presents a financial burden to your family, we do have a few donated keiki kits available. Please email Evan Anderson, Principal, with your request at eanderson@voyagerpcs.com

Keiki Kits can be ordered at: https://keikikits.com/voyager-pcs/

2019.07.00 - PTSO Newsletter.pdf

School Meal Updates: Pay for Meals by Card? Of Course!

If your child purchases school lunch, you may now add funds to your meal account with a credit card using our EZ School Pay online system. Look for registration information coming home in your child's communication folder. Please address any negative balances promptly; beginning in September, students with a negative balance may not be served a meal, and parents will be called to provide a meal for their child that day. Payments can also be made by cash (under $20), check or money order to the Voyager office.

After a number of years struggling to make school breakfast popular, Voyager will no longer be contracting with our vendor, Nippon Foods, for a school breakfast option. We ask that parents ensure your keiki has a well-balanced meal before arriving as school, and pack a nutritious and filling snack to help them last through our extended school day.

Call for Morning Volunteers

Our new play structure gives our kids a great place to stretch their legs and move before heading into the classroom in the morning. So far, the kids have been very good about playing safely and mindfully around their schoolmates, big and small. However, we would benefit from more adults on the yard to supervise play from 7:30am-7:45am. We can also always use help opening car doors for arriving students from 7:45 to 8:00am.

If you are available to help during these times, please email Principal Evan Anderson at eanderson@voyagerpcs.com with your preferred days. Mahalo!

Coaches Wanted for Voyager Sports!

Thanks to the efforts of our staff and parent volunteers, Voyager has had the privilege of participating in multiple seasons of Co-ed Basketball and Co-Ed Flag Football over the past few years (see the trophies in the front lobby!). We welcome the opportunity to expand our sports offerings this year, and we need your help to do so. If you are willing and able to serve as coach or assistant coach for a sport this year, please contact the principal at eanderson@voyagerpcs.com.

Last year's PTSO sunset picnic

Save the Date:

Please mark your calendars for these upocoming events:

August 9th: PTSO Fall Picnic at Magic Island (5:30pm-8:00pm)

August 20th: Back to School Night (5:30pm-7:30pm)

November 10th: Ice Palace Night! Details TBA.

Traffic! Kokua Requested

Voyager's pickup line is a unique challenge that requires everyone's cooperation and patience to solve. We have set a goal to complete dismissal each day within 15 minutes. To help us with reducing the backup and achieving our goal, please follow these important guidelines:

DO NOT LINE UP ALONG WILDER AVE UNTIL 3PM (1:45PM on Wednesdays). No students will exit until that time.
IF WILDER AVE IS FULL, ENTER H-1 FREEWAY AND CIRCLE AROUND VIA WILDER EXIT.
CONSIDER CARPOOLING, OR PARKING AND WALKING TO PICK UP YOUR CHILD.

It is CRITICAL that NO CARS stop before the freeway entrance "split"; drivers may be cited and Voyager will receive complaints. Thank you.

By following these three guidelines, we hope to bring our dismissal time down to a manageable 15 minutes (see chart below). With your help, we can say "Bye-Bye to the Backup!"

Please review this video for more detail on how to make our pick-up line safe and swift.

Report abuse