Beginning of Year Ceremony Reminder

Bhaktivedanta Academy will be holding its official beginning of year ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 28th. We will be following Srila Prabhupada in procession from the temple to the school and a fire sacrifice will be performed to attract auspiciousness for the coming school year. Please bring your child in full uniform or nice devotional dress, and be sure to invite your friends and family.

We look forward to seeing you!

Morning Drop-Off Procedure

Thank you to everyone for making an effort to bring your children to school on-time. It has been great to see our so many smiling faces first thing in the morning.

To ensure a safe and orderly flow of traffic we request that all parents of children in kindergarten through 6th grade utilize the marked drop-off / pick-up drive-through as weather permits. Between 7:50 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. the drop-off circle is staffed by someone who will greet and safely escort your child from the car.

The drop-off circle closes at 8:00 a.m. If you arrive after this time, park your vehicle in the parking lot and bring your child directly to the office to sign-in. A staff member will escort your child to his/her classroom.

Please adhere to the following guidelines while driving within the school parking lot or drive-through:

• Do not use a cellular phone (even hands free) during drop-off and pick-up.
• Keep your speed to a maximum of 15 m.p.h. on the road leading to the school parking area and 5 m.p.h. within the lot.
• Don’t park in a handicap parking space unless you have a handicap placard.
• Refrain from lingering in the drive-through or at the parking lot entrance or exit. If you wish to speak with someone or want to get out of your car for any reason, please park in a designated parking space.
• While walking within the parking lot, always keep your children by your side, and don't allow them to run ahead.

We appreciate your support in making the morning drop-off as smooth and safe as possible.

Thank You!

Aftercare Program Announcement

As mentioned at last Friday's orientation, we are now offering aftercare from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. for our Kindergarten through 6th grade students. We are offering this new service to provide a flexible and convenient way for our families to have quality care for their children after school hours.

You do not need to schedule care in advance. We will simply transfer all students into aftercare if not picked up by 2:10. A light snack is served to all participants remaining after 3:00. Just make sure and pick up your child by 6:00 p.m. and to sign them out with the aftercare staff person on duty.

The rate for aftercare is $4 per hour and is billed in half-hour increments. You will be invoiced at the end of each month.

Within the next few weeks we will also begin to take registrations for after school studio programs. Some studios we are considering offering are:

• Sanskrit
• Classical Indian Music
• Cooking
• Jr. Radharani Club
• Photography
• Chess Club
• Crafts - knitting, weaving, etc.

There will be an additional charge for these classes that will vary based on length of class, supply needs, etc. Keep an eye out for registration forms in the coming weeks.

P.S. We are considering expanding aftercare to our Pre-K (VPK) students but the increased staffing requirements for this age group would require a clear idea of how many participants we could expect. If you are a parent of a Pre-K (VPK) student and think you would make use of aftercare, please email the school office at office@bhaktivedantaacademy.org letting us know how often you would utilize the service and until which hour.

Thank You to Our Work Day Volunteers

We had a very successful work day on Sunday.  WIth the help of our enthusiastic volunteers we were able to spread fresh mulch in all the play areas; demolish the old swing set and benches; pressure wash the decks, eating benches, and buildings; weed and prune the landscape areas; and mostly complete our new fence. Best of all we got a chance to spend time together in a spirit of community.  Thanks to Saradiya, Lalita Sakhi, and Nataka-chandrika, we also enjoyed a wonderful lunch.  Thank you to the following volunteers who labored for many hours in the hot sun:

• Adi Gopi
• Anuradha
• Babhru
• Gopi Prema
• Govinda
• Hanuman
• Jamuna Prasad
• Jaya Govardhana
• Jvalamukhi
• Mahakirti
• Nagaraja
• Narada
• Raghunatha 
• Ramachandra
• Rashikpriya
• Saranga Thakura
• Shantipur
• Yamuna 

I want to offer a special thanks to Saranga Thakura, our community's master carpenter.  He donated a full day of his expertise, labor, tools, and materials to help us install over 450 feet of fence board.  The end result is beautiful and it certainly wouldn't have been possible without him.

We still have a few projects left to finish.  If anyone has a few hours to spare and are inclined to help out, please call the school office at 386-462-2886 or email me at visvam@bhaktivedantaacademy.org.

Parent and Student Work Day Help Request

We have been working hard over the summer to prepare the school for the upcoming school year. A lot has been accomplished but we need all the help we can get to finish up some of the bigger tasks. Thank you to the following parents for committing to help so far:

• Babhru and Satyaki Reed
• Radha Dainton
• Nitai-lila and Nimai Chandra O'Connor

If you have not done so already, please consider signing-up to help this Sunday. Lunch will be provided for everyone, but we need to know how many to expect, so please call the office at 386-462-2886 or use the online form to tell us if you are coming.

Thank You!