ST. CLOUD, Fla. — With much of Central Florida holding onto their last hours of summer break, teachers are making the final preparations to their classrooms for the first day of school.

What You Need To Know

  • Voyager K-8, which has a vision to “Build a community of leaders through a sustainable future” will be opening on Aug. 12 in St. Cloud

  • This is the first-year Voyager K-8 will be open

  • The school has a partnership with the Sunbridge community and the Florida Headwaters Foundation

In the Sunbridge area, school faculty are getting ready to open Voyager K-8 for the first time. 

Because the community has a strong focus on the environment, school leaders said it was just natural to carry that vision through to the new K-8 school, Voyager. As teachers get ready for the big day, they say how they are implementing environmental STEM-related topics into everyday learning.

“I’m so excited about the school opening in our community," said Voyager K-8 teacher Paxton Patterson. "I actually live close by. All the programs and everything that is going to be offered here. I’m excited about."

While this is the first year Voyager K-8 will be open, this will be Raquel Bonilla's ninth year of teaching. This year, she’ll be guiding the Paxton Patterson Labs —  just one of the programs the new school offers that introduces students to different career paths.

“What I feel this will really help them with, is they get to try out the different careers, they get to see which pathway they can take, which high school they want to go to,” said Bonilla.

Bonilla said she loves that Voyager K-8 goes beyond the classroom. The school has a partnership with the Sunbridge community and the Florida Headwaters Foundation. The partnership has led to a 360 environmental education for faculty and students. With Bonilla also living in the area, she loves seeing the connection between the school and the community.

“We get to see nature, we get to see the animals all around us, different types of plants, I just love it," Bonilla said. "I love that the school now is working to conserve this community, to be able to see and appreciate the nature that’s around us."

As the clock ticks down to the first day of school, Bonilla said she is excited to welcome her new students into a new school year.

“As we get closer, I keep saying, ‘Did I do this? Did I do that?’ But I’m ready for it,” she said.