Important Dates for October

Hurricane Ian School Closure Notification

Alachua County Public Schools, the University of Florida, and Santa Fe College will be closed Wednesday through Friday due to the threat posed by Hurricane Ian. Bhaktivedanta Academy will also close, starting Wednesday, with a plan to resume school on Monday, October 3 if conditions allow.

Resumption of school will be based on:

• Extent of any damage to buildings/facilities
• Amount of debris clean-up required
• Availability of running water (the New Raman Reti Temple has a generator that powers auxiliary wells)
• Resumption of electrical power
• Availability of teaching staff 

We certainly hope the storm’s impact is minimal for Bhaktivedanta Academy, our families, our staff, and our greater community. We will do our best to keep you all updated as much as possible.

Please be on the lookout for emails, phone calls, or text messages from the school. We wish you all the very best.

Notes and Reminders for the Week of September 26

It has been great to have everyone back at school. Thank you all for your patience through our extended summer and for making the transition back to school so smooth. Below are some updates and reminders as we wrap up September:

Expansion Update

Our revised planned development submission has been approved to go on to the Alachua County Development Review Committee agenda for their October 6 meeting. This means that county staff have completed their review and do not feel there are any issues that should prevent us from going forward with adding our new classroom building. There are still many more steps ahead of us, but this is a significant milestone that has taken considerable work and expense to get to. 

Hurricane Ian

As I am sure many of you are aware, Hurricane Ian continues to track toward us. The latest projections show us starting to see weather from the storm as early as Wednesday. If the storm track requires school closure, we will notify you via our phone message system and post online.

Afternoon Pick-up

Thank you to our Krishna Sharanam safety patrol team for taking up the responsibility of running the afternoon pick-up. They have been doing a great job learning the routines and getting to know cars and students. 

We want to clarify a couple of points that will help pick-up go smoother:

• The earliest students may be available for pickup is 5 minutes before dismissal. Under some circumstances, your child’s class may not be ready for pick-up until actual dismissal time (on the hour). If your child’s class is not prepared for pickup, we may ask you to either park or circle back to the end of the pick-up line. 
• When utilizing the pick-up lane, please pull entirely forward toward the beginning of the cement lane and remain in your vehicle.

Worship Wednesday

We look forward to resuming our once-weekly morning start at the New Raman Reti Temple for students in Audarya Bhavan, Madhurya Bhavan, and Krishna Sharanam this Wednesday. All students in these classes will begin their day by being dropped off at the temple at 7:20 a.m. 

The dress code for Wednesdays requires that all male students wear uniform pants and female students wear uniform pants or skirts. 

All students are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

ALA After School Program

The Alachua Learning Academy has extended an invitation for Bhaktivedanta Academy students in Kindergarten - 10th grade to participate in their after school program. See the announcement posted last week for details. Registration is done directly with the Alachua Learning Academy. They can be reached at (386) 418-4689 or AfterSchool@OurALA.org. 

As always, reach out to the school office at office@bhaktischool.org or 386-462-2886 if we can be of any help.

Alachua Learning Academy After School Program Invitation

The Alachua Learning Academy has extended an invitation for Bhaktivedanta Academy students in Kindergarten - 10th grade to participate in their after school program. ALA offers an after school program until 6 p.m. and a regular schedule of enrichment activities that are posted online at: https://afterschool.ourala.org.

More information about the ALA after school can be found within the ALA After School Handbook. This includes fees, hours of operation, and policies. 

The ALA will provide us with the roster of students participating in ALA After School. Students on the roster will be transferred from Bhaktivedanta Academy to ALA at dismissal time – 3 p.m. (2 p.m. on Wednesdays).

Bhaktivedanta Academy families opting to register their children with ALA After School will do so directly with the ALA office and sign a consent form with Bhaktivedanta Academy. The consent form will allow us to share necessary student and family information and also permit us to transfer students to ALA at dismissal time. 

We hope this partnership will benefit families needing care for their children beyond school hours. Questions about ALA After School can be directed to (386) 418-4689 or AfterSchool@OurALA.org. 

First Week of School Notes and Reminders

We are looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. Here are a few notes and reminders as we start the school year:

Procare Connect

You only need to sign your child in and out daily using Procare if they are in pre-kindergarten (3-year-old and VPK). If your child is in grades K - 10, you will need access to Procare to sign in for them if they are late or to sign out for an early pick-up. 

Please verify that the Procare app is installed and working on your phone. Let us know if you need any help getting set up. We are happy to help.

Drop-Off

All families are welcome to use the drop-off area. The marked yellow space is directly in front of the main access ramp. If using the drop-off, we ask you to please:

• pull fully forward
• remain in your vehicle
• ensure your children only exit from the passenger side of your vehicle

Please park in a designated space if you need to unload anything from your car or need assistance.

Students may arrive at school beginning at 7:50 a.m. The drop-off area will close at 8:00 a.m. If coming after 8:00, please bring your child to the office for late sign-in.

For the safety of all families, do not use your mobile phone while driving within the parking area.

Lunch 

If you opt to bring your child’s lunch to school after arrival, please deliver it to the school office at least 10 minutes before their lunch time:

• Bhakti Bhavan - 11:00 a.m.
• Audarya Bhavan - 11:15 a.m.
• Madhurya Bhavan - 11:45 a.m.
• Krishna Sharanam - 12:15 p.m.

Early Dismissal

Students in grades 1 - 10 are dismissed at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. We know it can be confusing, especially in the early weeks of school, so we encourage you to set a reminder to establish the routine.

Worship Wednesday

We are resuming our once-weekly morning start at the New Raman Reti Temple for students in Audarya Bhavan, Madhurya Bhavan, and Krishna Sharanam. All students in these classes will begin their day by being dropped off at the temple at 7:20 a.m. This will start on Wednesday, September 28. 

As always, reach out to the school office at office@bhaktischool.org or 386-462-2886 if we can be of any help.

See you tomorrow!