October 2008 Newsletter

Newsletter - October 2008

Message From The Director by Visvambhara dasa I am happy to present the first issue of the New Raman Reti School monthly newsletter for the 2008-2009 school year. Beginning of year ceremony Thank you all for your participation in our beginning of year ceremony. It was great to have Srila Prabhupada in his murti form and so many devotees present as we celebrated the beginning of what is already looking to be a wonderful school year. I want to take this opportunity to welcome the new additions to the New Raman Reti School community: Abhimanyu Suta - son of Mahakirti and Jvalamukhi Aravind - son of Anil and Vidya Hladini - daughter of Mathura and Bhakti Jalangi - daughter of Mathura Lila and Kriphanidhi Kamala Sundari - daughter of Jaya Gaurasundara and Gopi Paranadhana Madhumati and Venumadhava - children of Madhava Pandit and Deva Deva Narottama - son of Pundarika Vidyanidhi and Indrani Radhesa - son of Jaya Kirtan and Ananga Manjari Ramananda Raya - son of Sri Thakura and Krishna Preshta Ross - son of Paul and Sabrina Syamali - daughter of Radha Vallabha and Krsna Vallabha Tulasi – daughter of Raina and Lindsey As I compiled this list I was struck by how many families are not only new to the school but also to our temple community - some traveling from as far away as Vancouver just to attend. Thank you so much for placing your faith and trust in us. I, along with the rest of the administrative and educational team, are absolutely committed to providing the best Krishna-centered educational experience possible for our young students. I am convinced that the long-term growth and development of the New Raman Reti community is dependent on the continued success of our school. As I look beyond this year, we are going to have to start investing resources now to ensure that we can meet the needs of our burgeoning child population. Now is the time to start thinking about how we would like to see the New Raman Reti School develop. Your input is essential, so I am asking for your help. Over the next week or so think about what you would like to see for our children now and in the future and how New Raman Reti School can be a part of that. Please share your thoughts and ideas with me. I can be reached by phone: 386-462-2886 or email: david.aguilera@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you! Bhaktivedanta Academy on Facebook Your servant, Visvambhara das Director Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten by Nataka-Candrika dasi New Name: The 3-6 year old class (formerly Bambini Bhavan) now has a new name: Bhakti Bhavan, or place of devotion. We also have brand new 12” Deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra which were donated by mother Iccha Sakti. They are situated on Their new altar and are served daily by the students. Thank you, mother Iccha Sakti! August/September: We focused on several themes including the spiritual festivals of Janmastami, Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance and Radhastami. We have been hearing and chanting about these wonderful pastimes and the students never seem to tire of singing the many songs about the Lord and His devotees. Ramanda Raya receives a lesson Other areas we have focused on are the Fall season, the parts of a tree, land, air, and water, the world, living and non-living things, vertebrate and invertebrates, as well as magnetic and non-magnetic objects. In Practical Life we have been learning new work such as mirror polishing while doing some of their old favorites like banana cutting. October: We will continue with our Fall unit but will focus on the annual celebrations of Kartika such as Diwali, Govardhana Puja and Go-puja. Next week, we will start rehearsing for a play which will be performed by the class on Govardhana Puja. We are looking forward to this and if anyone is interested in helping out in any way, please let the teachers know. Themes for October: North America (featuring Native American people and culture), the human body, leaves, art projects centered around cows and pumpkins, and new Practical Life work such as apple slicing. We are also planning on participating in the annual Harvest Festival coming up later this month. Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3 by Satyaki dasi The 6-9 year old class is called Audarya Bhavan, which means the place of generosity and magnanimity. Lord Chaitanya was the most magnanimous and generous in giving freely the Holy Names of Krishna to all fallen souls in this age of Kali, and we are practicing to follow in His footsteps. The Deities that we worship are Gaura -Nitai and Lord Nrisinghadeva. The children serve the Deities every day by offering arotik and kirtan. On Thursdays, we offer arotik to Tulasi –devi while the children circumambulate and water her. Our themes for August/September were Janamastami, Radhastami, and the Appearance days of Vamanadev and Srila Bhaktivinoda. We also started a classroom book entitled “Who Am I?” This will be finished in October. Tulasi puja Academically, we focused on the five kingdoms of life, external parts of animals, points, lines, and solids, images in stories and poetry, parts of a paragraph, land forms and the history of writing. In practical life we focused on greeting a guest and the art of conversation. Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6 by Krishna Priya dasi Technology in the Classroom: In Madhurya Bhavan we created digital Photostories of the Tenth Chapter of the Gita. Each group was composed of a music master, digital story master, Narrator and picture hunter. In only two weeks time the students created a narrative with digital pictures, music and narration, which they recently shared with their fellow students in the Audarya Bhavan. Balaram worships Gopal We have also created a classroom Google group where students can dialogue about hot topics related to lessons in the class. Last week, Narayani posted the question, "What would you do if you were not invited to a birthday party by a friend." Students debated online what the most appropriate response would be and how they would respond. The Google group is a safe online space for students to converse, upload their work and even download their homework! Classroom Newsletter: This month we also started our classroom newsletter. Students will take turns being the Editor, Graphic Designer and Journalists. This month Bali and Srivas are the Graphic Designers and Aravind and Narottama are the editors. Because the newsletter is student driven, they even voted on the name - Madhurya Mountain Winds. Stay tuned; the first edition is due to be completed shortly! Counting Our Blessings by Nataka-Candrika dasi Pouting, with tears welling up in her eyes, 4 year-old Nadia rushes toward her teacher. With the words tumbling out of her mouth, she points to a classmate, 3 year-old, Hladini. “She took the sand bucket I was playing with!” Hladini, also on the brink of tears, defends her position. “She left it so I took it!” Calmly, in a loving tone, their teacher tells Hladini, “Talk to Nadia, tell her with your words.” Just then, Nadia exclaims, “We need the peace flower!” as she runs to get it. Taking turns holding the flower, each girl explains her side of the story and how she’s feeling. Back and forth the flower is passed until they come to an agreement. Each girl smiles and runs back to play, oblivious of their teacher who observes from a distance. Nataka-Candrika reads Krishna book As a newcomer to Bhakti Bhavan and the Montessori method, I never cease to be amazed at the myriad of events such as these that take place on a typical day in our classroom. Admittedly, as a former pre-school teacher, I had my reservations about teaching in a Montessori classroom. After all, I had run my own Krishna Conscious pre-school for many years so why the change? Aren’t most classrooms pretty much alike? But after learning about this system by taking training courses and visiting several Montessori classrooms, I can honestly say that our classroom is unique-unique because it offers the best of both worlds! Recently, I have been reflecting on how fortunate we are as the parents, students and teachers of Bhakti Bhavan. It is encouraging to see such loving parents, who are the first and foremost teachers in a child’s life. Daily, I witness these loving exchanges as the children are dropped off and picked up at the school. Each morning children kiss their parents good-bye and run off to play with friends in an attractive and safe environment. I think about how the parents have given so much time and care to see that their child is sent to school clean, well-fed, and rested. For instance, the contents of the healthy lunches (sent in earth friendly containers) are a testimony to the love of these parents for their children. Indeed, it is refreshing to see! During the school day, I can’t praise the teachers enough for providing a clean, beautiful atmosphere of warmth, love and care. They treat the students as they would their own children. Recognizing each child’s unique characteristics and developmental stage, the teachers guide them towards appropriate activities, always encouraging them to “be their best self!” Daily I observe the respectful manner in which all of the children are treated. I am in awe of the teachers’ ability to keep so many things running smoothly in a classroom of 23 students! These teachers deserve so much credit for their attention to the details in their environment. From the beautiful place settings (using real silverware, cloth napkins, and glass plates) to the child-sized furniture and materials made of natural products, the teachers have created an aesthetically pleasing learning environment. Lunch time! As for our students-we think we are blessed to have the privilege of training these great souls. Krishna has surely sent them to teach us what is most important in life. This is evident as they naturally bow to our classroom Deities each morning and bring their small offerings of wild flowers. Recently, as I offered my obeisances to the Deities, I noticed a small necklace made from pasta around Lady Subhadra’s neck. One of the students had offered Her this small token of love. This is real bhakti...offering our service and love to Krishna. As part of their daily circle time, the children sing songs and do finger plays about Krishna. One of their favorite activities is hearing a flannel board story about Krishna’s pastimes told by teacher assistant, Radhakunda dasi. As Srila Prabhupada said, “These children are given to us by Krishna, they are Vaisnavas and we must be very careful to protect them. These are not ordinary children, they are Vaikuntha children, and we are very fortunate we can give them chance to advance further in Krishna consciousness. That is a very great responsibility, do not neglect it or be confused. Your duty is very clear.” - Srila Prabhupada letter to Arundhati, 7/30/72

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Important Dates Mon., Oct. 13: Parent Meeting 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Fri., Oct. 24: Holiday - UF Homecoming Mon., Oct. 27: Pupil Holiday/Teacher Workday Wed., Oct. 29: Govardhana Puja (School in session) Fri., Oct. 31: First Quarter Report Cards (Audarya and Madhurya Bhavans) Mahajan Corner Current Mahajans Thanks to the following “Mahajans” for volunteering their time, talent or treasure to the school: Bali: The Givers of Charity Krishangi's family donated a new message board for the front of the school. Vishnupriya’s family and Candrika’s family for science materials and supplies. Narottama’s family and Aravind’s family and Balaram's family for cleaning and spiritual supplies. Vishaka’s family for a futon cover. Nayana’s family for a CD. Tulasi’s family for a game and work material. Shyam’s family for a decorative plant. Narada Muni: The Visiting Teachers A special thank you to Dina Bandu Prabhu for sharing the wonderful pastimes of Lord Krishna with our students. Puspanjali Jani (Krishna Priya’s mother-in-law) and Ajay Gupta helped with math tutoring in Madhurya Bhavan. Brahma: The First Point of Contact Jahnava (Balarama’s mother) and Guruseva (Srivas and Ramai’s mother) have agreed to be the room moms for Madhurya Bhavan. Kumaras: Assisting the Instruction of Your Kumaras and Kumaris The families of Shyam, Kalyani, Vrindavani, and Hladini for materials for practical life work in Bhakti Bhavan. Future Mahajans We need the following services for the upcoming month: Yamaraja: The Ever-Watchful Anyone interested in helping supervise the students of Audarya and Madhurya Bhavans during lunch recess (12-12:30 PM) should contact Navina-Shyama at 386-462-2886 or navin108@gmail.com. (If you can arrange some sort of sport or other exercise, so much the better, but even just another set of eyes would be a great help!) Brahma: The First Point of Contact We need someone to help plan and coordinate drivers for field trips in Audarya Bhavan. The first one will be to the local library. Bhishma: The Dutiful Soldier We need help running the various booths and activities for our annual Harvest Festival, to be held on the school grounds from 12 to 2 PM on October 31. Please contact Krishna Dhama at 386-462-2886 or kdrico@yahoo.com if you are interested in participating. Narada Muni: The Visiting Teachers Guest readers are invited to come in the morning and read to Bhakti Bhavan. Just show up at 8:30 with your favorite book. Kumaras: Assisting the Instruction of Your Kumaras and Kumaris For birthday walks, please bring in a picture for each year of your child’s life (Bhakti Bhavan). For the fall garden, please bring in a safe and seasonally-appropriate plant (Bhakti Bhavan). For this month’s food preparation work, please bring in a bag of apples (Bhakti Bhavan). There are laminated sheets that need to be cut up in various geometric shapes for math activities. These can be picked up from Mother Satyaki and done at home (Audarya Bhavan). Prahlada: Creating the Right Conditions to Learn With the change of weather, please make sure your child has appropriate clothes. Please keep your children at home if they are showing any signs of illness. Bali: The Givers of Charity We need: High-quality paper shredder (Office). Buttons for button sewing (Bhakti Bhavan). Stepping stool (Bhakti Bhavan). Candle snuffer for our circle time (Audarya Bhavan). Hourglass for our quiet time (Audarya Bhavan).

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