Audarya Bhavan May Newsletter

Dear Families,

May has arrived, and that means the end of the school year is near. Our class has grown so much this past year, but we are still looking forward to learning lots of things in the month of May.

In the days ahead, we’ll be celebrating the Appearance Day of Lord Nrsimhadeva* on May 5th with lots of stories and activities glorifying Him. As junior members of the Radharani** Club, we will be raising money for jewelry for Their Lordships’ new outfits. Last year, we raised over $300; this year our goal will be at least $250. You can help with this project by providing opportunities for your child to earn money by doing extra chores around the house.

We invite all mothers to our classroom on May 10th for a special Mother’s Day celebration. The children look forward to sharing their classroom with you and serving you tasty refreshments. We hope to see you then.

It’s strawberry season, and we have a tentative date to pick strawberries. Last year’s strawberry picking field trip was great fun. We’ll give you more information as soon as our plans are formalized. Oh, of course, we’ll make strawberry ice cream.

Here are some important dates to remember in May:

• Poetry Fest - 22nd,
• Radhesa’s Birthday Walk - 22nd,
• Shyam’s Birthday - 23rd,
• Takurani’s Birthday - 24th,
• Memorial Day Holiday - 27th,
• Camp Kulaqua - 29th,
• End of Year Ceremony - 31st.

This school year has gone by way too quickly. I wish everyone a wonderful summer.

Cordially,
Satyaki dasi

*Lord Nrsimhadeva (nri-SING-ha-deva) is Krishna’s half-man and half-lion incarnation who manifested Himself to protect His dear devotee Prahlada Maharaja.

**Srimati Radharani, the eternal consort of Krishna who is the embodiment of His eternal pleasure giving potency.

Si usted tiene alguna pregunta y necesita ayuda en español,  puede solicitarla llamando al 386-462-2886 (oficina).

Family Community Meeting Recap

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone who attended our last Family Community Meeting of the school year. Here is a recap of what was discussed:

Upcoming Events

• 4/30: BASI Testing
• 5/1: PTO Meeting
• 5/5: Fundraising Campaign Kick-Off
• 5/10: Mother's Day
• 5/29: Camp Kulaqua
• 5/31: Last Day of School/EOY Ceremony

What's Important to You Group Activity

• Everyone participated in an activity that allowed the entire group to talk about what was important to them in the education of their children.
• By consensus we honed in on 3 character traits that were voted the most important out of the 20 discussed: Personal Responsibility, Integrity, and Humility.
• Our teachers presented how these 3 traits are taught, modeled, and assessed in each class.

Montessori Math Lessons

• Vrindavanesvari, Satyaki, and Shantipur each gave sample demonstrations of how math is taught at each level using the Montessori materials.
• In particular we focused on the golden beads and stamp game.
• Thank you to our fearless parent volunteers, Anapayani and Rohini Kumar, for stepping forward to receive lessons in dynamic addition and squaring.

Expansion Update

• Preparations are in full swing for our upcoming Krishna Sharanam Middle Years Program expansion.
• We are capping the first 7th grade class at 12 students and have 8 already enrolled/applied.
• We submitted our application for candidacy to International Baccalaureate and will be informed of our status around mid-May. This is our first milestone in the accreditation process.
• We are in the initial permitting stage of in the construction process. Our civil engineer has submitted site plan revisions to the county and are in the process of review/comment. We hope to have planning approval by the end of May.
• Although our ultimate goal is a site built campus, due to the constraints of zoning, time, and financial resources, we are utilizing modular classroom buildings for this particular expansion. They provide the most cost and time efficient option for us at this time.

Fundraising

• Between now and 2015 we need to raise a total of $425,000 to ultimately take us through providing education for students though 10th grade.
• The initial phase is estimated to cost $296,000.
• With the help of a loan from our bank, we can proceed with the expansion, but still need to raise $175,000 between now and August.
• $34,000 has been donated/pledged to date. The remaining amount will be raised through an online campaign and larger contributions from supporters.
• We have enlisted the help of a social media/online fundraising expert, who has volunteered to help us raise funds online. We will be kicking off a $60,000 campaign around the beginning of May.
• We are going to depend on everyone's help to participate in the fundraising campaign by making pledges (our goal is 100% participation), manning tables at the New Raman Reti temple, and spreading the word through contact with friends and family.
• Fundraising will be a major focus of the school between now and the end of the school year.

Again, thank you to everyone who came to the meeting. For those that were unable, I hope this recap gives some idea of what was discussed. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or ideas. We welcome your input.

Yours in service,

Visvambhara das
Head of School

Upcoming Events Reminder

Below are some upcoming events that will be happening at Bhaktivedanta Academy over the next two weeks:

• Saturday, April 20th at 10 a.m.: The Art of Parenting Seminar
• Wednesday, April 24th at 6 p.m.: Family Community Meeting
• Friday, April 26th at 6 p.m.: Movie Night Audarya Bhavan Class Fundraiser
• Week of April 29th: BASI Testing (3rd - 6th Grade)

Si usted tiene alguna pregunta y necesita ayuda en español,  puede solicitarla llamando al 386-462-2886 (oficina).

School Picture Day Reminder

Tomorrow, April 19th is Spring Picture Day at Bhaktivedanta Academy. All children will be photographed by Lifetouch School Portraits first thing in the morning.

Order forms were sent home last week. If you have not done so already, please send them to school tomorrow morning if you want to order a class picture and to select the preferred pose for individual pictures.

Please allow yourself extra time in the morning to ensure you get your child to school on time and looking their best. Please bring them in ironed uniform, nicely combed hair and big bright smiles.  

Thank you!

Si usted tiene alguna pregunta y necesita ayuda en español,  puede solicitarla llamando al 386-462-2886 (oficina).

Student Treasure Book Order Forms Due

Our Kindergarten through 6th grade students have been hard at work on their treasure books. Kindergarteners are writing and illustrating about the 9 processes of devotional service. Audarya Bhavan is producing a class book about the life of Srila Prabhupada. Madhurya Bhavan students are each publishing a collection of original poems along with their artwork.

We are due to ship the books for printing Monday morning, so we need your order forms. If you have not done so already, please return the order forms (even if you are not purchasing an extra book) Thursday morning.

Thank you!