Monday
Oct252010

Harvest Festival

Bhaktivedanta Academy's annual Harvest Festival is this Thursday, October 28th. We invite all students to come to school dressed as their favorite devotional character. In the afternoon students will be able to participate in a variety of fun activities, such as ox cart rides, apple bobbing, crafts, etc. At 1:40 we welcome parents to come early to cheer for the variety of spiritual personalities who will be "parading" around the school.

Thanks to the following parents for committing to help with the festivities so far:

  • Ananga Manjari (Herrera)
  • Bhagavan & Ananga Manjari (Bauer)
  • Bihari
  • Indrani
  • Jatamamsi
  • Kanchambala
  • Lalita Shyam
  • Lalita-Sakhi
  • Param
  • Premanjali

We are still looking for more volunteers to help between 11:30 - 2:00. Please contact the school office at 386-462-2886 or email - office@bhaktivedantaacademy.org if you can participate.

Thank you!

Friday
Oct152010

PTO Meeting Minutes

PTO Meeting Minutes
October 14th, 2010 from 6-7pm

In attendance: Gopi Prema, Yadu, Param, Adi Gopi, Kulavira, Jvalamukhi, Jahnava, Mahatma, Bhagavan, Nitai Lila, Sarala, Satyaki, Padmaksi, Malati, Radhika, Vrindavanesvari, and Visvambhara.

The first PTO meeting of the school year was well attended and very productive. I would especially like to extend a warm welcome to first time attendees and new parents at Bhaktivedanta Academy - Nitai Lila and Sarala.

Below is an outline of the topics discussed at the meeting:

  • Gave brief introduction to the function of the PTO and addressed some of our past successes
  • Invited parents to give input for what they want from and for the PTO this year. Responses included:
    • Inter-family relationship building activities throughout the school year
    • Student production for parents and families, organized by the students themselves (especially by Madhurya and Audarya)
    • Pajama-party brunch for kids for fun
    • Halloween booth or get together - Jahnava will e-mail Visvambhara with her ideas, and parents will be sent info
    • Student slokas: Bhagavan mentioned how it would be useful for the slokas that the children in Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan practice prior to the Friday Srimad Bhagavatam class be sent home so that parents may help their children learn the verse
    • More school outings:
      • Museum visits, especially art museum
      • Visiting Mother Rucira and Adikarta Prabhu's farm/cows (newborn cow/milking)
        • Vrinda mentioned how the school will be collecting money to give as a donation to buy a new trough for the cows at NRR
      • Students helping maintain the garden at the women's ashram
    • School-sponsored Sunday Feast
      • Cooking/sponsoring prasadam
      • Children leading singing, etc
  • Harvest Festival 10/28 11am-2pm. Need assistance! Current volunteers include:
    • Jvalamukhi, Bhagavan, Radhika (maybe), Param, Nitai Lila
    • KD and Kanch (cookies!) were both brought up as possible people who would be interested in helping
  • Govardhana Puja performance. Need help with:
    • Make-up - parents are expected to send children dressed for the performance at the given time. Jvalamukhi will help put on make-up for Krishna, Balarama, Indra, and any other lead characters
    • Supervision During Rehearsal - Please contact school/Mother Satyaki if you are interested in helping with this
    • Costumes - sorting out costumes for students to wear (Gopi Prema)
    • Props - NEED NEW GOVARDHANA HILL! - who can help??
  • Group harinam and SF Lunch
    • First Friday of every month (starting November) families are invited to come on Harinam
      • Discussed the fact that we are representing Srila Prabhupada's movement and that children should look and behave appropriately - this means that parents need to: dress children nicely, with tidy hair, neat clothing, and tilak; supervise their children while on harinam; and talk to them about what behavior is expected from them beforehand
    • SF lunch:
      • Talked about older students going in small groups to experience assisting with this - need to set up with Mother Akuti
  • Holiday sales items
    • Will do our usual Holiday Fundraiser, selling Russian teacakes and chocolate fudge
    • Will also be selling new items. They are organic and fair trade, and are sold at a 40% profit for the school (examples shown were: hot chocolate powder, dried cranberries). Great low-effort, low-risk way to raise funds.
  • Family Days
    • A day every Winter and Spring when there is an organized event for all BANA families to attend
    • It will be added into the school calendar
    • It is an opportunity to meet and develop relationships with one another, building a stronger school community
  • After school program feedback
    • Swati Mahalaxmi - a professional Indian classical dancer performing Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi and a singer performing in Carnatic and Hindustani. She possesses a Master's degree in Ancient Indian History and can fluenty read, write, and speak English, Sanskrit, and Hindi.
    • All parents in attendance were thrilled at the prospect of Swati Mahalaxmi coming to BANA to teach Sanskrit, Music, and Dance afterschool
    • Click here to read a description of the program and to answer a brief survey

Thank you very much to all of those in attendance, and for the wonderful prasadam that we were all able to share after the meeting! For those of you who couldn't make it we hope to see you at the next meeting, which will be held within the next 2-3 weeks. The main topic will be the Holiday Fundraiser. Please remember that the PTO is for all parents, and your involvement is greatly beneficial for your children and the school!

Padmaksi Sutherland
PTO Chairperson

Friday
Oct082010

PTO Potluck Invitation

When: Thursday, October 14, 2010
Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Place: Multipurpose Room @ BANA
Who: All parents are invited to attend

Please join us for the first PTO meeting of the the year. We will have a meeting first, followed by potluck prasadam. The purpose is to reconnect with each other, meet new parents, and discuss plans for the remaining school year. Playground supervision will be provided, so you are welcome to bring your children.

If you have not done so already, please RSVP by calling 386-462-2886 or by filling-out the online sign-up form.

Look forward to seeing you!

Padi Sutherland
PTO Chairperson

Friday
Sep102010

Roses for Radha



Offer a rose to Srimati Radharani on her appearance day along with a prayer for yourself or a loved one.

1 Rose for $3
2 Roses for $5
Family Bouquet (1/2 dozen) for $15

Reserve your roses by:

phone: 386-462-2886
in-person: Sunday Feast table on September 12th

On Radhastami day, pick up your roses at the temple starting at 11 a.m. You may either offer your prayer card and the roses yourself, or a student from Bhaktivedanta Academy will offer them on your behalf at 11:45 a.m.

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All proceeds go toward funding the Bhaktivedanta Academy classroom technology program.

Tuesday
Aug312010

Beginning of Year Update

We have had an excellent start to the school year and are about to enter into the festivals of Sri Krishna Janmastami and Srila Prabhupada's appearance day. All our students are settling nicely into their classroom communities - learning routines, making friends, and beginning academic work. Spanish instruction started this week and reading groups with Nataka-Candrika will begin next week. It has been especially nice to see many of our students at the temple in the morning and on-time for school. Please keep it up.

Quality of the Month
To help in developing the character of our students, we focus on a particular quality every month. We discuss and perform activities related to it and encourage an emphasis at home. September marks the beginning of our first quality - Respect. You will receive a flyer soon to print and post at home that includes suggested discussion and activities. Please help develop the home-school connection by taking opportunities during the month to talk with your child about the concept of respect.

Drop-Off / Pick-Up
To help relieve congestion in the parking lot, we encourage families with children in Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan to utilize the pick-up circle in the afternoon. The pick-up is staffed from 2:00 p.m. to 2:10 p.m. and is a convenient and safe way to retrieve your child at the end of each school day.

Upcoming Holidays
There will be no school on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, September 1st (Sri Krishna Janmastami)
  • Thursday, September 2nd (Srila Prabhupada's Appearance Day)
  • Monday, September 6th (Labor Day)

We are looking forward to a year full of social, academic, and spiritual growth. Thank you for entrusting your child(ren) with us. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday in glorification of the Lord and his pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada!