Beginning of Year Ceremony Invitation

Please join us this Sunday, August 26th at 6:00 p.m. for our official beginning of year ceremony. We will have a kirtan procession from the New Raman Reti temple to the school’s new lunch area and a vedic fire sacrifice will be performed to bring auspiciousness for the coming school year.  Everyone is invited to participate. 

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

Beginning of School Year Update

Dear Families,

I hope that you have all enjoyed a great summer break. It is hard to believe that we are less then a week away from the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. The entire educational team has put a lot of work into preparing for the start of school and are looking forward to another great year together with our new and returning families.

Below are some notes, updates, and reminders as we approach the start of school on Monday. 

Welcome Packets
By now you should have all received welcome packets in the mail containing the school calendar, class introduction letters/supply lists, parent handbook, and other important forms and documents. If you have not, please contact the school office at 386-462-2886 or at office@bhaktischool.org right away so we can get this information to you.

Lunch Program
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey we conducted over the summer regarding our proposed new lunch program. It was clear from the responses that there is great interest in school provided lunch but that the price and monthly commitment needed to get the program off the ground made it difficult for enough families to commit. As mentioned in the survey, we needed at least 30 daily lunch orders to launch a school sponsored program. We fell short of that goal but there was enough interest to try to do something. Instead of a school run lunch program, Radha Dainton will be preparing lunches as an extension of her catering business. She will be sending out lunch order forms soon and will begin prasadam lunch service by September 4th.

Campus Improvements
Although we will be making major updates to the school campus in preparation for our new middle school next year, we did want to get a few projects done this year:

• Cement walkways are being installed along the most trafficked areas around the school. These paths will provide a means for students and families to walk from the pick-up/drop-off and pedestrian entrances of the school to the main entrance and school office without getting bitten by ants and tracking mud and dirt.

• A new student lunch area is being established on the south-west area of the school. A covered deck is being constructed and new easier to clean tables will be setup. Overall, our students will have a new space to have lunch and other outdoor activities that is more sanitary and that provides better protection from the elements and bugs.

• Balance beams and log stairs are being installed in the Bhakti Bhavan play area. These new apparatus were donated by the Early Learning Coalition and will provide some new fun activities for our active young students.

Campus Beautification Work Day
Speaking of campus improvements, Bhaktivedanta Academy's annual campus beautification work day is this Saturday, August 18th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. We need lots of help to spread mulch, pressure wash, landscape, paint, and many other tasks as we make the final preparations for the start of the new school year. Lunch will be provided for everyone, but we need to know how many to expect, so please call the school office at 386-462-2886 or use the online form to tell us if you are coming.

Gardening
With guidance from an experienced gardener in our community, Tapasvini Peattie, each class will be establishing and maintaining garden boxes with vegetables and flowers this school year. Our students are always very enthusiastic to work outside and with the help of a local expert we are looking forward to some great crops this year.

Spanish Program
We are very excited to launch our new Spanish program led by Radha Dainton. Due to the hard work of the families who participated in our holiday fudge and cookie sales effort along with a generous donation from His Holiness Hridayananda Maharaja, we have purchased all the materials needed to offer a comprehensive Spanish language program for our lower and upper elementary students. 

Title I Tutoring
I am happy to say that Jasmin Ackermann will be continuing to work with students in our after school tutoring program this year. This particular program is federally funded via Title I. Due to an increase in funding, we will be able to further expand the program to serve even more students in need of some additional help in reading and math.

Parent Orientation
Our family welcome meeting and orientation will be held on Friday, August 17th at 6:00 p.m. Attendance at this very important meeting is required for new families and highly recommended for families of returning students, so please plan on attending.

I, along with the rest of the teaching and support staff are looking forward to seeing you all very soon and continuing our efforts to provide a quality Krishna-centered educational experience for all our students.

Yours in service,

Visvambhara das
Head of School

Campus Beautification Work Day Volunteers Needed

Come join us this Saturday, August 18th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for Bhaktivedanta Academy's annual campus beautification work day. We need lots of help to spread mulch, pressure wash, landscape, paint, and many other tasks as we make the final preparations for the start of the new school year.

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

Thank You!

Madhurya Bhavan Welcome Letter and Supply List

Dear Students and Families,

Welcome to a new year at the Bhaktivedanta Academy! And welcome to Madhurya Bhavan, our classroom for students in grades 4 through 6.  This is the largest group of older students that we have had for several years, and I am excited to work with all of you to continue building a close sense of community among our students, families and teachers, and to facilitate a love for learning in our classroom.

For those of you who do not know me well, I would like to share a little bit about myself. My name is Shantipur, and I have lived in Alachua ever since my own parents decided that they wanted my siblings and me to attend a school that emphasized a Krishna conscious education. I had wonderful experiences growing up in such an environment, and I went on to earn a degree in psychology from the University of Florida. I also received a Bhakti Sastri (spiritual studies) certificate from the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium, and eventually realized that there would be nothing that I would rather dedicate my life to than the education of children in our own community.  

This will be my third year teaching at the Bhaktivedanta Academy, and I am currently working towards my Montessori elementary level teacher certification through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. We will also continue to enrich our teaching with the help of our great team of educators, including Nataka-candrika Delaney, who facilitates reading instruction and directs the spiritual curriculum, and Radha Dainton, who will be introducing our new Spanish curriculum this fall. 

Click here to download the student supply list.  Please review it and let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year.

Your servant,

Shantipur dasi

s.day@bhaktischool.org

Audarya Bhavan Welcome Letter and Supply List

Dear Families,

Welcome to a new and exciting school year! It’s a year with new beginnings—new surroundings, new friends, new experiences, new skills and new challenges. It will take time to get to know each other and to learn the rules and what we expect from one another. Together we will help our children learn many things, and we will see them grow and mature all year long.

I would like to introduce myself to all the new families who have children joining our class. My name is Satyaki devi dasi (please feel free to call me Satyaki). I have been working with children in the field of education for over thirty years. Six of those years have been here at Bhaktivedanta Academy.  I hold a BA in elementary education from San Diego State University and a Montessori elementary certificate from the American Montessori Society (AMS).  I am an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhakitvedanta Swami, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement. My husband is Babhru das. I have two grown daughters, Krishnamayi and Lalasamayi, and several grandchildren.  

We have a great team this year that will provide each child with valuable learning experiences. Nataka-candrika Delaney will continue teaching reading this year. Last year the children loved her reading program. Radha Dainton will be teaching Spanish. Ultimately, you, the parents, are your child’s first and greatest teacher. Working together, we will help your child learn many things about the world. 

A primary goal at Bhaktivedanta Academy is to provide a rich spiritual education, in the Vaishnava tradition, for each of our students. In Audarya Bhavan, which means the place of generosity and giving, students will learn spiritual principles and practice through a wide variety of activities such as scriptural study (Bhagavad-Gita in particular), singing, worship, japa meditation, and drama, to name a few.  Our aim is to create an atmosphere by which everyone is spiritually enlivened.

Click here to download the 2012-2013 school year supply list. Please read it carefully, and if you have any questions call me at (386) 266-9254. I will be happy to assist you.

Sincerely,

Satyaki devi dasi