Bhaktivedanta Academy News

Rummage Sale Results

David Aguilera — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:59:04 +0000

Ksina, Ana, and Divya preparing to sell bindis

The initial tally from today's rummage sale is $174.07. There is still a little bit of money left to collect, so we anticipate raising a total of about $180 toward the purchase of a our Spanish language curriculum program. It was wonderful to see the students get involved in raising money like this. Thank you to the Madhurya Bhavan students for making a great flyer to promote the event and to everyone who collected, sold, and bought items.

Gracias!

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

Nityananda's Song Video Online

David Aguilera — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:27:30 +0000

Students from Bhaktivedanta Academy perform a song in honor of Lord Nityananda.

Parent Community Meeting Recap & Survey

David Aguilera — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:55:22 +0000

Thank you to everyone who took time out to attend the Parent Community Meeting last Monday. It was great to see so much participation and to engage in a positive and idea-filled conversation on how we can work together to develop our school.

Below are a recap of the meeting and links to some of the topics we discussed.

Links

Presentation slides

Instructions for opting-in to receive text messages from the school

Instructions for saving 5% and giving 1% to Bhaktivedanta Academy on all Target purchases

Attendee survey

Discussion

Accreditation
We talked about plans to become an accredited school, what the process is, and the benefits it would bring:

“...a process of self-assessment and 3rd party verification that ensures a high standard of performance and a commitment to continuous improvement.”

We are still in the very preliminary stages of this and will be determining which accrediting organization we want to affiliate with in the near future.

Middle School
We also talked some about our expansion to serve 7th and 8th grade students beginning in the 2013-14 school year. We will continue to utilize the Montessori method through these grades but are considering complimenting it with the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Here is a short synopsis of the IB MYP:

“The IB Middle Years Programme, for students aged 11 to 16, provides a framework of academic challenge that encourages students to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become critical and reflective thinkers.”

More information about IB can be found at www.ibo.org/myp.

Building Community
The main focus of our meeting was a conversation on how we can work together to develop our parent community. Through this discussion, several suggestions were presented:

Proactively promote the positive feedback we receive from parents and agencies, such as the Early Learning Coalition.

Create more opportunities for families to come together and have spiritually enlivening association, picnics, and volunteer days.

Establish a requirement for families to commit to a minimum number of hours of volunteer time at the school. Possibly offer a buyout option for families who cannot give time.

The concept of clarity of commitment was brought up as a means to be clear from the beginning of what is expected in terms of parental involvement and what can actually be committed to by a family.

Attract greater attendance at parent meetings by:
- Inspiring those who missed to come by hearing positive things from those who did attend.
- In-person invitations.
- Following-up with those who did not attend to let them know they were missed.
- Have students invite their family to come.
- Involve students in running and/or presenting at meetings.
- Create incentive to attend by highlighting topics of interest to the parent community and an opportunity to give input on initiatives.
- An earlier start time - 5:30 p.m. or 6:00 p.m.
- Saturday meetings with potluck.

The need for the establishment of an active parent association. After the meeting Yadurani, Radhika, and Krishna Dhama expressed interest in being a part of it. We are still seeking others who want to participate.

Montessori
At the end of the meeting there was a short discussion about the effectiveness of the Montessori method for some types of children. Parents were encouraged to schedule an observation in their child’s class and to conference with their teacher about any specific areas of concern.

If you had an opportunity to attend the meeting, please take a few minutes to complete a short survey about the event. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

We will be scheduling a follow-up activity very soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please know that my door is always open and I am happy to talk at any time. In fact, having the chance to interact with our families is one of the highlights of my day.

It is a pleasure to serve the educational needs of your children and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to develop Bhaktivedanta Academy together for their benefit.

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

Rummage Sale Reminder

David Aguilera — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:39:30 +0000

The Bhaktivedanta Academy rummage sale is Thursday, February 9th from 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Funds raised through this event will go toward the purchase of a comprehensive Spanish language curriculum program.

Please help your child in their effort to be part of the sale by helping them collect some items to sell and being ready to shop Thursday afternoon. Any students selling items are asked to bring them in a box or a bag along with a sheet, blanket, or towel to display their items on.

See the linked rummage sale flyer produced by the students of Madhurya Bhavan for more details.

Thank you!

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

Raceway Completion Ceremony Video Online

David Aguilera — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Congratulations to Syamali, Naya, Shyamananda, and Chandramukhi for completing the Raceway Reading program.

Lord Nityananda's Song Encore Performance

David Aguilera — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Due to the scheduling mix-up on Sunday, we are hosting an encore performance of Nityananda's Song for all Bhaktivedanta Academy families this Thursday in the Bhakti Bhavan classroom at 8:30 a.m. We look forward to seeing you!

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

Sanskrit & Music Classes Start February 10th

David Aguilera — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:01:10 +0000

Our next series of after school Sanskrit and classical music classes start next Friday. Classes are offered in nine weekly Friday sessions for Bhaktivedanta Academy students age 5 and up.

Registration forms are being sent home with students in their Friday folders. You can also download the form. Registration forms and payment are due on Monday, February 6th.

Feel free to contact the school office at 386-462-2886 or at office@bhaktivedantaacademy.org if you have any questions.

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

TXT MSG Opt-In

David Aguilera — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:17:45 +0000

Stay connected with Bhaktivedanta Academy via text messages to your mobile phone. Follow these simple steps to opt-in:

Send the message "Alert" to 22300.

Within a few minutes you will receive a confirmation message from our communications service.

If you have any trouble opting-in, let us know in the school office and we can help you.

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

Parent Community Meeting Reminder

David Aguilera — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:48:34 +0000

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

David Aguilera — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:15:27 +0000

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.