Parent Community Meeting Reminder

Dear Parents,

I am writting to encourage you to attend our Parent Community Meeting this Monday, January 30th at 6:30 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be served and child care will be provided.

We will be talking through a few agenda items but primarily want to have an open forum to discuss how we can continue to develop and strengthen our parent community for the benefit of our children.

Good communication between parents, teachers, and administration is the foundation of any great school. I hope many of you will take the opportunity to attend. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours in service,

Visvambhara das

Director

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

100th Day of School Celebration Invitation

Please join us on Thursday, February 2nd at 12:45 p.m. for Bhaktivedanta Academy's annual 100th day of school celebration. The festivities will include:

• Songs by the Bhakti Bhavan students;
• Book talks by Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan students;
• Presentation by the Sanskrit program students;
• Certificate presentment for the Raceway reading program graduates;
• Cupcakes for all!

We hope that you will come be part of the fun.

Please remember to help your children log the books they are reading and to turn in their reading logs by February 2nd morning.

Thank you to the following parents and teachers who have volunteered to help bake cupcakes:

• Ashley
• Nila
• Radha
• Vaisnavi

We still need a few more volunteers to bake cupcakes at home for the celebration. 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 Thursday, February 2nd at 12:45 p.m.

Please Note: The previous email announcement gave Friday, February 3rd as the celebration date. This is Ekadasi, so we have moved the celebration to Thursday. We apologize for any confusion.

Parents Make the Difference Newsletter

We are happy to announce that through our partnership with the Title I office of the School Board of Alachua County (SBAC), we are now able to offer you a free subscription to the Parents Make the Difference newsletter.

Parents Make the Difference! (Early Childhood & Elementary School versions) are four-page, research-based newsletters that provide practical, proven information for parents, on a variety of school success topics.

Click the links below to view and download:

Early Childhood Edition	Elementary Edition	Elementary Edition Spanish

This is one way in which we hope to empower our parents with information and maintain the home-school connection. I hope you find the newsletter valuable.

We will be linking to the newsletters on our website and will send out updates as new editions are published throughout the school year.

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

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.