Notes and Reminders for Week of August 15

Dear Families,

Welcome to the start of the 2016-17 school year. It was great to see so many returning and new faces here today! We now have 99 students throughout the school. We have come a long way from 14 in a converted mobile home back in 1999. We are so happy to have you all as part of the Bhaktivedanta Academy community.

Below are a few notes as we kick off the year:

Lunch
Radha’s Kitchen will be making lunches available for pre-order beginning Tuesday, September 1. Generally, lunch will be available for order on Tuesday, Thursday and Ekadasi (see note below). Ordered lunches will be pre-packed and delivered to the school in time for your child’s class meal time. 

Lunch times this year are:

• Bhakti Bhavan - 11 a.m.
• Audarya Bhavan - 11: 35 a.m.
• Madhurya Bhavan - 11:45 a.m.
• Krishna Sharanam - 12:15 p.m.

If you are bringing lunch for your child, please deliver it to the school office 15 minutes before their class lunch time.

Drop-off / Pick-up
Our first morning utilizing our new parking lot generally went very smooth. One point of clarification – The drop-off / pick-up area is the marked yellow lane in front of the school. Fully pull into this lane to allow pass-through traffic to circulate past. Students should exit from the passenger side of of the car. Drivers: please remain in your vehicle if using the drop-off / pick-up. 

In the coming week we will install additional signage and markers to make everything a little clearer. Thank you all for your patience as we all get used to the new traffic flow. 

Beginning next week, we will begin accepting all pre-k students in the drop-off. An iPad will be on hand to sign-in/out as needed.

Temple Tuesday
Students in Audarya Bhavan, Madhurya Bhavan, and Krishna Sharanam start school on Tuesday at the New Raman Reti Temple at 7:20 a.m. This will begin on Tuesday, September 1. Please come directly to school at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and next Tuesday. 

PE Uniforms
Students in Upper Elementary and Middle Years (Madhurya Bhavan and Krishna Sharanam) are required to wear a PHE uniform for physical and health education (PHE). Formal PHE classes will begin the week of August 29. Approved uniform tops and bottoms may be purchased from Lands’ End (school code 900163411). We are looking into the possibility of having some PHE uniforms available for purchase from a local vendor. We will have more information by the end of the week.

Beginning of Year Ceremony Reminder
Our annual beginning of year ceremony is this Sunday at 5 p.m. This is a special ceremony in which we inaugurate the start of school with kirtan and vedic ceremony to attract auspiciousness for the coming school year. Students should come well dressed in school uniforms (if they have them) and groomed neatly for the occasion.

2016-17 Bhaktivedanta Academy Family Handbook

The 2016-17 Family Handbook is available. Click the links below to download:

• ePub – Kindle or iBooks compatible
• PDF – Viewable on a computer or tablet

This year’s handbook contains changes to the following areas:

• Morning and Afternoon Procedures
• Attendance and Punctuality
• Lunch
• Snack
• Parent/Teacher Conferences
• Financial Policies

Please take a little time to review. Let us know if you have any questions after looking through it. 

We will have printed copies available in the school office upon request. Let us know you want one and we can include a copy in your child’s Friday folder.

Parking Area Map

One of our summer projects at Bhaktivedanta Academy was to expand our parking area to accommodate our expanding enrollment. Under the direction of a civil engineering firm we have implemented a new parking lot design to increase the number of available parking spaces and improve traffic flow. All this means that the parking lot will look very different on Monday morning.

We are certain that the new layout will alleviate the issues we have had in the past but will take a little time to get familiar with. To help ease the transition, we have created a parking area map. The map shows traffic flow, designated parking areas, and the new drop-off and pick-up area. 

School personnel will be on-site to help guide you in and out of the lot as we all learn the new flow. We look forward to seeing everyone on Monday!

Parking Area Map (Click to View Larger Image)

Beginning of School Year Update

We are one week away from the start of the 2016-17 school year! I hope you have all had a wonderful summer. We have been busy here getting ready and are putting the finishing touches on some significant facility improvements. Those improvements include a completely reconfigured parking lot, boundary fencing, and overhangs to provide for all-weather classroom space, as we approach an enrollment of 100 students. 

Below are some important updates as we approach the start of school on Monday, August 15:

Uniform Pick-Up
School uniforms are available for pickup from the school office this week on the following days/times:

• Tuesday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
• Wednesday 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
• Friday  10 a.m. - 12 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

This is also a great time to drop off any paperwork and forms. Please note that the main school parking lot is closed until Friday. Parking is available on the north side of the school. 

Beginning of Year Meeting and Orientation
Our annual welcome meeting and class orientation is this Friday evening. This event is broken up into two parts for new and returning families:

• 5:30 p.m. New Family Welcome Meeting (required for all families new to Bhaktivedanta Academy)
• 6:30 p.m. Orientation - Bhakti Bhavan (pre-k/k) and Madhurya Bhavan (grade 4 - 6) 
• 7:30 p.m. Orientation - Audarya Bhavan (grade 1 - 3) and Krishna Sharanam (grade 7 - 10) 

Students in grade 1 and above are welcome to attend if they are able to remain in the classroom with you. Unsupervised children will not be permitted to play outside. Light refreshments will be served. 

Supply Lists and Welcome Letters
Welcome packets that contained student supply lists were emailed at the beginning of July. If you have not received one, they may be downloaded from the school website – www.bhaktischool.org.

We are looking forward to the start of a new school year and to seeing everyone on Friday. Feel free to contact us in the school office at 386-462-2886 or office@bhaktischool.org if you have any questions. 

Welcome Letter and Supply List - Krishna Sharanam

On behalf of the teachers and staff of Bhaktivedanta Academy, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning families for the 2016-17 school year. We are honored that you have entrusted your childʼs education with us and are looking forward to the start of school on Monday, August 15.

Linked below is important information for your review prior to the start of school:

• Class Welcome Letter
• 2016-17 School Calendar
• Student Supply List

If you have questions about any of the information contained in this packet please call 386-462-2886 or email office@bhaktischool.org. We are happy to answer any question you may have.

Please be on the lookout for additional information and forms that will be sent out to you in the coming weeks as we get closer to the start of school.