Giving Tuesday 2020

Supporting a holistic and meaningful education rooted in Bhakti for the benefit of current and future generations. 

This Giving Tuesday finds us In a year unlike any other. The serious demands of safely operating school within the COVID-19 pandemic has required significant investments in facilities, personnel, technology, and supplies. To date, we have spent close to $20,000 to ensure students and teachers are in a school environment that is as safe as possible. Your contribution goes directly toward offsetting the costs of:

• Air system modifications and maintenance.
• Classroom re-designs and barrier installations.
• Enhanced daily sanitization of all classroom spaces.
• Systems for daily health screenings and monitoring.
• Equipment and software to support simultaneous distance learning.

Join together today in supporting Bhaktivedanta Academy’s mission to provide children the opportunity to grow to their highest potential — academically, socially, emotionally, and physically — all the while developing their spiritual identities in a nurturing and positive environment.

Bhaktivedanta Academy is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible. 

Storm Closure Update

We hope this message finds you all well. School will resume Friday, November 13. We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. 

Hurricane Eta School Closure Notice

Alachua County public schools will be closed on Thursday, November 12 in anticipation of tropical storm force winds and rain from Hurricane Eta. The greatest impacts for are area are expected overnight and in the morning, so we are also closing to ensure the safety of all our families and staff.

A determination for resumption of school on Friday will be made after the storm passes our area. Please be on the lookout for emails, phone calls and/or text messages from the school on Thursday with an update.

We certainly hope the impact of the storm is minimal for Bhaktivedanta Academy, our families, our staff, and our greater community. Wishing you all the very best.

First Week Friday Folders & Family Handbook/COVID Mitigation Policies Acknowledgment

Dear Families,

We hope you and your child(ren) have had a great first week of school. 

Several important documents will be coming home in your child's blue Friday folder today. They all need to be reviewed, signed, and returned on Monday, August 31. 

DISTANCE LEARNING FAMILIES: You may collect your child's Friday folder from the office until 3:00 pm today, and return it along with the signed documents next Friday (September 4). 

Family Handbook/COVID Mitigation Policies Acknowledgment:

In addition to the documents in today’s Friday folder, we also have an online form that needs your attention. Please review the 2020-21 Family Handbook and COVID Mitigation Policies and complete this acknowledgment form. You will find the links to both documents in the form description. 

Return all documents to the school either by placing in your child’s Friday folder or bringing them to the school office. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

Yours in service

Sucitra Wygmans

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This message was sent to you by Alma on behalf of Bhaktivedanta Academy

Important Start of School Information

Dear Families,

We are only 2 days away from the start of school. Everyone has been working extremely hard to prepare to receive students both on campus and online. We are looking forward to seeing everyone very soon.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our school-wide orientation on Thursday and classroom sessions on Friday. If you attended both sessions, you should be prepared with all the information you need for Monday.

Many participants mentioned that they had not received the revised school calendar. It is linked here along with the Family Handbook and COVID-19 Mitigation Policies:

• 2020-21 School Calendar
• Family Handbook
• COVID-19 Mitigation Policies

I will do my best to summarize some of the most important points presented on Thursday:

Morning Drop-Off

Students can begin to be received at 7:50 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. We are temporarily extending drop off until 8:15 as we all acclimate to the new sign-in and health check process. Ultimately, we intend on becoming familiar enough with the process to complete all student check-ins at 8:00 a.m, so please don’t arrive past 8:00 a.m.

Daily Student Health Screening

As part of our COVID-19 mitigation strategy, all students are required to complete a daily health screening before entering their classrooms. This is done via an electronic sign-in process using Procare Connect (formerly Kinderlime).

Account setup instructions have already been sent to everyone along with information on how to setup and use “contact-less” sign-in. Contact the school office if you did not receive or cannot setup your account.

Each morning at drop-off, you must sign-in your child(ren) regardless of grade level before they head to their classrooms. At sign-in you will be prompted:

Please confirm your child has not been in contact with someone who has had a COVID-19 exposure and has been free of the following symptoms for the last 72 hours:

• Fever of 100.4 or higher
• Chills
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Congestion, or runny nose that is not allergy related.

If your child(ren) have been exposed or have any of the above symptoms they cannot be at school until the symptoms have resolved for at least 72 hours.

Classroom Access

Each classroom has a designated route for access:

• Bhakti Bhavan - back porch
• Audarya Bhavan - back porch
• Madhurya Bhavan - up the main deck to the front door of the classroom
• Krishna Sharanam - back porch

The routes are shown on the the campus access map.Students should only go to and from their classroom using their specific route.

Campus Access

For the time being, the school campus is only open to students, teachers, and parents. No visitors are allowed on campus during school hours.

Only students and teachers may go to classrooms. If you have to drop off an items, such as lunch, please bring it to the school office.

Playgrounds and other common areas are only open to students at their classroom’s designated times and are closed otherwise.

Office Access

The school office is open to all our families, though we must restrict occupancy to 1 family at a time. If a family is already in the office, please wait at the outdoor waiting area until they come out of the office.

Face Coverings

The other important part of our COVID-19 mitigation is the use of face coverings for everyone on campus. This means that all students, teachers, and families must have a face covering during arrival and departure from the school if you are outside your car.

Face shields are only allowed for pre-k/kindergarten students. Bandanas, wraps, or masks with a ventilator (commonly used in workshops) are not considered protective. The school office has a supply of disposable masks in case you need one.

Daily Schedule

School begins at 8:00 a.m. daily. Dismissal is at

• 12:00 p.m. Bhakti Bhavan half-day students.
• 2:00 p.m. Bhakti Bhavan full-day students
• 3:00 p.m. Audarya Bhavan, Madhurya Bhavan, and Krishna Sharanam

Our early dismissal day for elementary and middle/high school has been moved to Wednesday. On Wednesday students are dismissed at:

• 1:00 p.m. Krishna Sharanam
• 2:00 p.m. Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan

Aftercare

Due to COVID-19 mitigation, we are only offering aftercare to full-day students in Bhakti Bhavan who have siblings in other classes until their dismissal time (3:00 p.m.). We cannot offer aftercare services for any other students at this time.

The transition to on-campus schooling with COVID-19 mitigation or distance learning will be an adjustment for everyone. We are committed to make this as easy and friendly as possible but know there is a lot to get used to. We will all work together through this with patience and care.

Please reach out to the school office with any questions - office@bhaktischool.org or 386-462-2886. We are happy to help clarify anything.

Yours in service,

Visvambhara Dasa
Head of School