PTO Meeting Recap - December 4, 2015

Bhaktivedanta Academy

PTO Meeting Minutes – December 4, 2015

Attendees

Adi Gopi Kohair, Raghunandini Consbruck, Visvambhara Aguilera

PTO Account Balance

• Prasadam sales during the messenger performance went exceptionally well. Total sales were $1,938.15.

• PTO income, expenses, and bank account balance were reviewed:

		Balance
PTO Account Balance	$199.12	$199.12
Messenger Event
Food Sales	$1938.15	$2137.27
Ice/Propane	-$48.00	$2089.27
Rental	-$179.00	$1910.27
Food/Drink	-$372.89	$1537.38
O’Leno Park Picnic
Pavillion Rental	-$53.50	$1483.88
Supplies	-$11.71	$1472.17
Lunch	-$187.50	$1284.67
Harvest Festival
Bounce House	-$225.00	$1059.67
Supplies	-$154.53	$905.14
Ending Balance		$905.14

Holiday Fundraising Planning

• Work is underway to sell and prepare cookies and fudge for our annual fundraiser.

• 1 major workday is planned for Saturday, December 12th from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

• 6 volunteers signed up so far. Many more are needed to fulfill orders.

Outreach Week

• Students will begin their outreach week activities on December 14th.

• We are finding it difficult to book a senior center for students to sing at. Atrium was suggested. Music Junction students perform there. Barbie is a possible contact.

Teacher Gift Cards

• Traditionally parents have contributed toward purchasing Target gift cards for teachers as a thank you holiday gift.

• Visvambhara will prepare and send form.

• Raghu will collect contributions and allocate funds.

• Adi Gopi will purchase gift cards and give out on last day of school before break.

Parent Survey Review

• To date 40 responses have been received. Follow-up reminders will be sent to those who have yet to respond.

General Discussion

• The O’Leno State Park family get together was a nice event. Next event should include some organized games.

• Add facebook group membership to checklist for new families who join the school mid-year.

• Per parent request, Visvambhara will look into having Bhaktivedanta Academy sweatshirts produced as an alternative to Lands’ End.

The Messenger Performance Video Online

The Messenger performance by the students of Bhaktivedanta Academy was warmly received by the 250 people who attended on Saturday, November 14th. Thank you to everyone who made this possible and for your encouragement and support. It was our honor to make this offering to Srila Prabhupada. 

Below is the video of the performance. We hope you enjoy it.

The Messenger: A Lifetime In Preparation

 

A Tribute to Srila Prabhupada Presented by Bhaktivedanta Academy Saturday, November 14 5-8 p.m. New Raman Reti Temple Alachua, FL

Please join us at the New Raman Reti Temple pavilion for dinner and a dramatic, musical, multimedia performance by the students of the Bhaktivedanta Academy. This drama commemorates the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada coming to the West to spread the message of Lord Caitanya and celebrates his devotion, early influences and unprecedented achievements. 5:00 p.m. Dinner (Available for Purchase) 6:00 p.m. Doors Open 6:15 p.m. Act I: The Senapati Bhakta 7:00 p.m. Intermission 7:15 p.m. Act II: Full Surrender

PTO Meeting Recap - September 25, 2015

Thank you to everyone who attended our first PTO meeting of the school year. Below are the minutes:

Bhaktivedanta Academy PTO Meeting Minutes

September 25, 2015

Attendees

Kalindi Simic, Lalita Sakhi Leslie, Malika Chacon, Murti McDaniel, Oksana Stefanyshyn, Raghu Consbruck, Ramya Raghavan, Rati Manjari Wahlstrom, Visvambhara Aguilera

Welcome - PTO Overview

• Reviewed purpose of the PTO and recapped foundational steps taken toward the end of the last school year.

• Discussed 3 main categories of involvement:

  • Events

  • Teacher/Class Support

  • Parent Community Support

• Proposal for requiring minimum hours of parent volunteer involvement was discussed. Will discuss further at future meetings for implementation in 2016-17 school year.

• Parent involvement survey was proposed to gauge areas of interest and meeting day/time preferences. Visvambhara will develop and send online and in Friday folders.

PTO Committees

• Discussed committees based on 3 areas of participation. Present members indicated their preferences for being part:

  • Raghu - Teacher/Class and Parent Community Support

  • Ramya - Events and Teacher/Class Support

  • Kalindi - Events, Teacher/Class and Parent Community Support

  • Rati Manjari - Teacher/Class Support

  • Malika - Events and Parent Community Support

  • Oksana - Teacher/Class and Parent Community Support

  • Lalita - Event and Teacher/Class Support along with interest in providing input on Curriculum

• Further commitments will be gathered in family survey.

Harvest Festival

• Annual harvest festival is on Thursday, November 12th.

• Special meeting for Harvest Festival planning will be held on Friday, October 16th at 2 p.m. in the library room.

Family Picnic/Fun Day

• Fall family potluck and fun day was discussed.

• O’Leno State Park is a possible venue on an upcoming Saturday afternoon.

• Malika will look into reserving space.

Srila Prabhupada Jubilee Event

• Instead of typical Govardhana Puja performances at New Raman Reti temple event, teachers are proposing a special event on Saturday, November 14th celebrating Srila Prabhupada.

• Venue would be the New Raman Reti Temple pavilion.

• Parent help will be needed for setup, prasadam (food) sales, etc.

• Murti volunteered to help with devising a means to erect temporary walls around pavillon to insulate from external sounds and to create a nicer atmosphere for the event.

• More details will be sent after teacher meeting on October 6th.

PTO Meeting Schedule

• Discussed meeting frequency and days/times

• It was agreed that monthly meetings would be good as the PTO becomes more established.

• Meeting will be the last week of every month and will alternate between early afternoon and evening.

• Present members indicated preference for a 7 p.m. start time. Exact day and time of October meeting will be based on survey responses.

General Discussion

• To help connect families with one another it was requested that a family directory be provided.

• A reminder that we have a Friends of Bhaktivedanta Academy facebook page for connecting with other parents and posting items that may be of interest.

• Discussed a means for parents to know when visitors will be presenting in the classrooms. Talked about giving all families 24hr notice of special guests and providing list of class volunteers.

• It was suggested that some additional procedures be added to field trips that require all drivers to caravan as a group and that prior notice to parents be sent indicating who is driving on a particular trip.

• Discussion about cost of providing music instruction at the upper elementary level and if it is something the PTO may want to fundraise to make possible. Visvambhara will investigate and report back.

• Discussed students being engaged in practical services for the New Raman Reti temple. Attempts have been made in the past with mixed results. Visvambhara will re-visit the topic with the teachers and temple administration.

O Atlantic - Tribute to Srila Prabhupada

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's arrival from India to the United States, Bhaktivedanta Academy students performed "O Atlantic" at the New Raman Reti Temple.

Special thanks to Yamini Dasi for producing this beautiful song - https://youtu.be/qDfedJy3L0A

Note: Due to a technical difficulty the very last seconds of the video recording were cut off.