100th Day of School Celebration and Literacy Initiative

The 100th day of school is Thursday, February 2nd. We are planning a celebration but are also taking the opportunity to promote reading throughout the school. Beginning today through February 2nd we have set a school-wide goal to read 100 books!

Students have been asked to log the books they have read over this period. The parents of our non-reading/emerging readers are encouraged to read with their children and log how many books you have read together to count toward the school-wide goal. Depending on the grade, books must be a certain number of pages to count toward the goal:

• Pre-K - 2nd Grade: Any number of pages
• 3rd Grade: 50 or more pages
• 4th - 6th Grade: 100 or more pages

Reading logs will be sent home in Friday folders today to help everyone keep track.

We will celebrate the 100th day of school on Friday, February 3rd at 1:00 p.m. We have a variety of activities planned and invite you to come be part of the fun.

In honor of us reaching the 100 book reading goal, we want to celebrate by having 100 numbered cupcakes and are looking for parent volunteers to help bake. A sign-up sheet is online. If you can help with this, please click this link and sign-up or call the school office at 386-462-2886.

Thank you for your help in encouraging reading and we look forward to seeing you on Friday, February 3rd.

Outreach Week Recap

During the week of December 12th, our annual Outreach Week, students in Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan had the opportunity to go out into the community and share the gift of Krishna consciousness. 

One of our book distribution groups: Satyaki, Vrini, Krisangi, Nadia, Radha, Divya, Divyanga, and Aravind, pose for a photo before leaving for Gainesville.The younger students in Audarya Bhavan visited with Mother Indrani (an elderly disciple of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja) at her apartment in Alachua. They shared treats, performed kirtan, and got an opportunity to hear stories from a respected member of our community. 

Students from Audarya Bhavan (2nd and 3rd year) and Madhurya Bhavan accompanied Divyanga Prabhu and Mother Satyaki, Shantipur, and Radha on store-to-store book distribution in Alachua, High Springs, and Gainesville throughout the week. They all returned with happy faces and stories of positive exchanges and appreciation with the people they met. All together, they distributed 60 prasadam cakes and 100 cookies and 236 books, including 36 Bhagavad Gitas.

Thank you to everyone who contributed items as part of our food and necessities collection drive. Adigopi Priya, who represents Ashraya, the New Raman Reti temple service organization, was touched by the generosity and thoughtful choice of donated items.  The collection was split and distributed to two families in the community.  She commented that both recipients were very grateful and that the donations came just when they needed them the most.

Overall, this year's Outreach Week activities were a great way for our students to get a chance to foster a spirit of generosity and compassion for others by sharing Krishna consciousness in a safe and supportive way.

Special thanks to Divyanga Prabhu and Aravind for giving most of their week to facilitate and accompany our students on their book distribution outings.  Thank you to everyone who inspired and supported our students during this year's Outreach Week.

Holiday Fundraising Results

During the break we concluded the 2011 Bhaktivedanta Academy holiday fundraiser. We sold 369 tins of prasadam cookies and fudge and as a result collected $3,850!  We are still tabulating all expenses but expect to raise about $2,650. We didn't get one of our large company orders this year, but came very close to last year's totals regardless.

Thank you to our community of parents, teachers, students, and supporters who all helped make this possible. In particular, I would like to acknowledge our army of volunteers who baked, packaged, and sold on behalf of Bhaktivedanta Academy:

Fudge

• Adi Gopi
• Govinda Mohini
• Nilamadhava
• Sakshi Gopal

Cookie Baking and Packaging

• Adi Gopi
• Anangamanjari
• Bhavani
• Gopi Prema
• Hanuman
• Indrani
• Jvalamukhi
• Kamala Manjari
• Kanchambala
• Krishna Dhama
• Kulavira
• Mandie
• Nandarani
• Narada
• Nitai Lila
• Palika
• Param
• Pishima
• Radha
• Radharani
• Radhikesh
• Raghunath
• Ramacandra
• Satyaki
• Shantipur
• Syamalangi
• Vrindarani
• Vrindavanesvari
• Yadurani
• Yamuna
• Yogavit

Sales Table

• Deepa
• Malika
• Nataka-candrika
• Radha
• Sarala
• Satyaki

Piece Work and Purchasing

• Adi Gopi
• Nitai Lila
• Radha Jivani

Special thanks to Adi Gopi for helping with all aspects of the fundraiser and especially for scouring Gainesville for several weeks collecting all the tins we needed from any Dollar Tree should could find them.  Although she was unable to personally participate this year, I also want to thank Padmaksi.  She did such a great job documenting the entire production process that we were able to handle all the baking as if she was right there guiding us.

We didn't raise enough to cover the cost of the new Spanish curriculum program, so will look at some other fundraisers to help us purchase it.  Please let me know if you have any thoughts on how we might raise the $1000 needed to get started with this great program.

We wish you all a great new year!

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

Quality of the Month Flyer for January

Bhaktivedanta Academy's Quality of the month for January is cleanliness. We encourage you to download, print and post the monthly flyer at home and engage in the suggested discussion points and activities with your child.

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

Thank's to Our Volunteers!

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped produce over 90 tins of cookies and 60 tins of fudge this weekend! We couldn't have done it without you:

Fudge

• Adi Gopi
• Nilamadhava
• Sakshi Gopal

Cookie Baking and Packaging

• Anangamanjari
• Bhavani
• Gopi Prema
• Indrani
• Isha
• Jahnava
• Ksina
• Nandarani
• Narada
• Nitai Lila
• Param
• Pishima
• Radharani
• Ramacandra
• Satyaki
• Shanti
• Syamalangi
• Vrindarani
• Vrindavanesvari
• Yadurani
• Yogavit

Sales Table

• Malika
• Nataka-candrika
• Radha
• Satyaki

Piece Work and Purchasing

• Adi Gopi
• Radha Jivani

If you have not had an opportunity to sign-up yet, we still need volunteers for this coming weekend.  Please take a look at the dates/times and activities listed on the online volunteer sign-up form and let us know what you can help with. 

Click Here to Volunteer

Thank You!

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