Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

I am pleased to present the inaugural issue of the Bhaktivedanta Academy newsletter for the 2009-2010 school year.

By the grace of the Lord we saw all of the fundraising efforts of the prior school year come to fruition when we opened up our new Audarya Bhavan classroom to students on August 24th. This new classroom space is a significant improvement: a cramped dark space has been transformed into a spacious and vibrant learning environment. As a bonus, this new building gave us the facility to establish a multi-use room that is being well utilized for reading instruction, meetings, and other uses. Thank you to everyone who stepped forward to ensure that the new Audarya Bhavan classroom was ready to receive students on the first day of school. This project is a testament to what can be achieved when we work together to achieve a worthwhile goal.

I want to take an opportunity to welcome the new additions to the Bhaktivedanta Academy community this year:

• Janaki, Radha, and Divya – daughters of Rakesh and Pooja
• Jishnu – son of Gaura Shakti and Krishna Dhama
• Nimai Sundar – son of Jaya Gaurasundara and Gopi Paranadhana
• Nityananda Ram - son of Mahakirti and Jvalamukhi
• Nityanavina and Navakishore – sons of Bhagavan and Ananga Manjari
• Penny - daughter of Paul and Sabrina
• Rai Kisori – daughter of Ishvara Puri and Kamala
• Sarva Mangala – daughter of Kulavira and Adi Gopi
• Shyamananda – son of Pundarika Vidyanidhi and Indrani
• Surya – daughter of Rama and Phisima

We are seeing many families making the move to Alachua from far and wide to give their children the opportunity to have a unique educational experience; one that fosters both spiritual and intellectual growth.

We are taking some steps this year to continue to bring parents and the school together via the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization). The Bhaktivedanta Academy board of directors recently voted to establish the PTO as an official committee. Padmaksi and Sabrina have graciously agreed to lead the group and have been hard at work on several initiatives. Their dedication and commitment to the growth of the school have been an inspiration. Be on the look out for an invitation to the next PTO meeting and for other announcements relating to school development projects you can be a part of.

Thank you for your continued support and trust. I am looking forward to another productive year working together to continue to develop Bhaktivedanta Academy into an unequalled educational institution that Srila Prabhupada would be proud of.

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Vrindavanesvari dasi

The start of the school year ushered in a time of new beginnings for all of the children in Bhakti Bhavan.

Bhakti Bhavan students playing
together as a group.

We spent the month of September forming many new friendships and routines, and learning how to function both as individuals and as a group. We spent a lot of time focusing on lessons of Grace and Courtesy. Serving the young child’s need for orientation or order, we gave many demonstrations and lessons and role-played what to do in many scenarios.

From our three-year-olds to our six-year-olds, all our students learned very practically how to walk in the classroom (slowly), how to talk (softly), how to accept something graciously (yes, please), how to refuse something (no, thank you), how to have a proper lesson, how to put their work away, how to clean up spills, how to care for the pets and plants in our classroom, how to independently take their snack, how to take care of our classroom Deities, how to set up for lunch, and even how to resolve conflicts if and when they arise.

Harini and Chandramukhi dress
the class deities.

Such lessons go a long way towards building the foundations of a positive and harmonious classroom society filled with confident, independent children (and an adult or two or three).

Amidst all these specific rules and guidelines, we also let the children know that, really, we only have two main rules: take care of/respect all of the living things in our classroom (students, teachers, pets) and take care of all of the non-living things in our environment (which covers about everything else). Children from the age range of 3-6 are experiencing a developmental period in which they are particularly sensitive to acquiring these manners and etiquette and our hope is to take advantage of this time to equip them with lifelong skills befitting Vaisnava ladies and gentlemen.

Nataka-candrika presenting devotional
flannel board stories.

Some highlights of our first couple months of school: learning about the Govardhana Puja pastime, seeing many beautiful flannel-board stories depicting devotional tales told and presented by Nataka-candrika, and learning and putting on a play at the temple, “The Brahmana’s Wives.” This featured our whole class enacting this lila as well as collectively singing a song about this story. The line repeated three times at the end of the song: ‘Krsna is our life and soul’ sung by the children with their eyes closed, hands on their hearts, swaying gently back and forth struck me as the real essence of our philosophy, readily realized by young children who are so connected to the Lord in their hearts. The month of Karttika was observed in our class daily with Damodarastakam prayers sung and candles offered to our Lords Jagannatha, Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.

Students dressed as their favorite
devotional characters.

Our annual Harvest Festival fair at school was another highlight with teachers and staff dressing up as devotional personalities of their choosing. We had many Radhas, Krsnas, and gopis as well as a devotee dragon. The children spent the afternoon outside happily engaged in face painting, arts and crafts, cookie decorating, and an ox cart ride around the cow pasture. These are a few of the special events that have marked the first quarter of school, and there aremany more to come!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

Vishnu shows off his talents.

The first quarter of the school year was filled with new experiences in the Audarya Bhavan classroom. Talent Show Thursdays were a chance for all the students in our class to share their many talents. We had magicians, singers, dancers, and actors. We learned what it means to be a courteous audience and an effective performer. A good time was had by all.

Mahavishnupriya discusses
Hawaiian culture.

We explored the Hawaiian culture by learning Hawaiian songs and stories. Mahavishnupriya, who is of Hawaiian heritage, visited our class. She told us of her experiences while growing up in Honolulu. She shared the history of hula and many Hawaiian family traditions. We hope to have her back again.

Audarya Bhavan class deities.

Daily we worship our Deities with songs and service but in September we had a special day of worship. The children brought in fruits and vegetables for the Lord’s pleasure. Our altar was decorated with fragrant flowers and colorful pictures. Offering this service made all our hearts happy.

Bhakti Vasudeva Swami
distributes cookies.

We were honored with a visit from His Holiness Bhakti Vasudeva Swami. He told stories about Krishna and about his life as a preacher.

Lali joined the Tooth Fairy Club and we celebrated Radhe’s 7th birthday with a birthday walk and homemade fudge.

We also held our annual Star Gazing /Sleepover Night. The evening events started with a potluck dinner followed by Moon Dancing and a chance to view the night sky with friends. The first 9 weeks of school turned out to be very eventful in our classroom.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Oh no! I knew this would happen! I knew it! You must not have put in the credit card number soon enough because I checked my Reserve America account and it didn't go through! We don't have the reservation! What should I do?

Awaiting further orders,

Bali

Krishna Priya and students canoeing
on the water.

A week before our planned overnight field trip, I received the above e-mail from my student Balarama das, who had heard that the trip was cancelled. The rumor was correct. I needed a parent present the entire time, and I only had part-time volunteers. Balarama’s concern was justified; after all, he had researched the location, Gold Head Branch State Park, complete with a lake, canoeing, and comfortable cabins. He even took the extra step of creating a camping supply list and printing the directions. The rest of the students were involved as well. Nayana and Narayani had planned a menu, and Ramai, Nityananda and Narottama had already signed up as servers, pujaris and cooks. Because each student had taken responsibility for a part of the planning and preparation, they were keen on going. So when Jahnavi dropped off Balarama andannounced, “I’ll be a chaperone for the entire trip,” the students were overjoyed.

Narottama, Ramai, and Nityananda
having fun in the mud.

During my Montessori training, many teachers shared that they took students on an overnight field trip during the first six weeks of school to give them the opportunity to bond outside the classroom and thus create a stronger community when inside it. The camping trip exceeded my expectations in this regard. During the day, we swam together, canoed together, and (to confirm the worst fears of some of the parents) spotted an alligator together. In the evening, we danced like Indians around the bonfire and chanted the Lord’s holy names while high on the sugar from prasadam Smores. As a bedtime story, we listened to a gory part of the Mahabharata. While I read about the mutilation of Kichaka by Bhima, I had all the students scream on cue. After all, what is a camping trip without scary stories and creepy reptiles?

The next day, as a final activity, I had the students choose a spot in nature and write a description of what they saw. I observed Nityananda, writing furiously, pausing only to watch a flying crane ski on to the water.. I noticed Balarama and Ramai drop their notebooks, run closer to the water’s edge and point to the crane now dipping into the water and emerging with a flapping fish. As I watched my student’s wonderat one of nature’s daily cycles in, it occurred to me that when they are in an environment that thrives on interconnectedness, it is natural for them to connect with each other on a deeper level.

A special thank you to Jahnavi (Balarama’s mother) for coming and all the other parents who made this possible.

Srila Prabhupada Didn’t Write A Math Book

by Navina-Shyama das

When I first heard about the use of Montessori methods at Bhaktivedanta Academy, I wasn’t sure what to think. Here I was, about to make a commitment to help manage what I thought was a devotional school, and the first name I heard cited belonged, not to one of the goswamis or acharyas, but to Italy’s first female doctor. Since that time, however, I have come to appreciate the compatibility of many Montessori techniques with Vedic ideals, and I am convinced that Srila Prabhupada would be happy with how we use them at his school.

1. The natural touch: One of the first aspects of the Montessori classroom I noticed was the ubiquitous wooden furnishings. Plastic furniture and toys are eschewed in favor of more organic materials. From my previous study of Vedic environmental design (Vastu Veda), I already knew that synthetic, processed materials didn’t resonate as well with the human body and mind, so I welcomed the ideal. Walk into any of our classrooms, and you’ll find shelf after wooden shelf full of simple and elegant learning materials. Besides just being more natural to work with, such items are easily produced locally (Mother Akuti made most of the shelves and teachers fashion new materials all the time), more eco-friendly, and more durable.


2. Take it to the floor: Wooden or not, what you won’t find here is a room full of desks. There are certainly single-person work areas throughout the room, but the Montessori approach doesn’t keep young bodies pinned in the same place all day, like so many cubicle-workers-in-training. Instead, there are large round or U-shaped tables to work at in groups, and much of daily instruction takes place on the ground. Sitting cross-legged on the floor working on mats...not such an unfamiliar situation to devotees! This variety is good for the posture, facilitates healthy social interaction and is just plain practical in the amount of useable surface it creates.


3. Order is the order of the day: Together these elements create a pleasing and well-organized space in which learning can occur. And the children’s time is as regulated as their space. Not only does the day itself follow a fixed schedule, but the procedures for many activities also have a constant form, from the way a student unfolds a mat or napkin (left to right, top to bottom) to the way a student resolves a conflict (by getting the peace flower). Routines like these are characteristic of the mode of goodness, which is always pleasing to the mind, especially that of a developing child. Maria Montessori may have arrived at this conclusion through observation and thoughtful analysis, while we as devotees learned it from the Bhagavad Gita, but the principle is one and the same.


4. Clean as a whistle: We further enhance the mode of goodness at school by our focus on cleanliness. In addition to the after-hours cleaning carried out by staff, children rotate through various maintenance tasks throughout the day (washing dishes, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, etc.), as do students in any Montessori classroom. This practice helps them learn responsibility and conscientiousness, and it is strongly reminiscent of a traditional gurukula.

All of the above considerations were apparent to me over the course of last year, as they probably would be to anyone who even casually observed the classroom in action. Not until Krishna Priya undertook Montessori training last summer, however, did I note two broader and more subtle themes that underlie this approach, and are equally harmonious with Vedic ideals.

1. Gross to subtle: The first theme is the progression from concrete to abstract. Most evident in the Montessori approach to math and reading, the idea is to appeal to students’ various senses before appealing to their intelligence. Thus, letters are learned as sounds, traced in wooden form with one’s fingers, and color-coded as either vowels (blue) or consonants (pink) well before they are given names and assigned categories. In math, this orientation means students are able to physically handle a single bead, a row of ten beads, a grid of one hundred beads and a cube of a thousand beads instead of just looking at digits on a piece of paper that merely keep gaining zero after zero. Such a progression is also advised in the Vedic culture, as young children have keener and more active senses, while their intelligence is not ready for theoretical processes until later in their development.


2. No impersonalism here: The second theme is the Montessori focus on the individual. While mainstream classrooms have the teacher giving uniform assignments to a large number of students -- leaving only the gifted few to achieve success while the rest struggle with unaddressed needs -- both Vedic and Montessori classrooms feature personalized instruction. Children work alone or in small groups, taking assistance from either a peer or one of the teachers, who move throughout the classroom as needed. The philosophy of Krishna Consciousness makes it abundantly clear that each living entity in the material world functions under a unique combination of the three modes of material nature and is subject to a unique “karma cocktail” from previous activities. It thus makes perfect sense that each child will exhibit varying abilities, needs and speeds of progress. The Montessori approach, which involves little whole-class instruction, is highly suited to addressing this reality.

Though I had my doubts at first, I now see the logic behind adopting Montessori teaching methods at a Hare Krishna school. The simple fact is that Srila Prabhupada didn’t write a math book…or any other general subject textbooks, for that matter. That’s why gurukulas throughout ISKCON’s history have had to adopt some or other outside curriculum to meet the basic academic needs of their students. But His Divine Grace did transmit the eternal Vedic model of education, complemented by his own guidance and insights, leaving it to us to use our intelligence and common sense in applying it in a modern context. So until we have a comprehensive ISKCON curriculum (which is a worthy and attainable goal, already under development but far from complete), the careful adoption of compatible principles from the Montessori method is turning out to be an excellent strategy for educating the youngest members of Srila Prabhupada’s family.

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

As we approach the end of this school year I am heartened by the amount of cooperation and support we have received from our parents and devotee community throughout. The finest example of this was our recent Gitanjali fund-raising concert:

Gitanjali Recap
The response we received on the evening of the event exceeded our wildest expectations. It was enthusing to to see an auditorium packed full of people so excited to support the continued growth and development of the Bhaktivedanta Academy. Due to everyone's help we raised over $21,000 toward the Audarya Bhavan classroom expansion project! I truly feel that the response we received is a direct manifestation of Krishna's pleasure with all the hard work that so many have put into developing our school over the years.

Thank you to everyone who came forward to make this event a huge success. We could not have done it without you.

Tight quarters in Audarya Bhavan.

Bhaktivedanta Academy Supporters Program
For those of you that did not get an opportunity to participate, we are still in need of the additional funds necessary to purchase and setup the classroom space necessary to serve the new students coming into the Audarya Bhavan (1st - 3rd grade) class next year. We will be adding 7 new students to a class that is already cramped for those that currently occupy it. $13,000 is all that is needed to bridge the gap between what we have raised to date and what we need to setup this new classroom.

At the Gitanjali event we unveiled our Bhaktivedanta Academy supporters program:

• $500 Madhurya Rasa
  The inspired enthusiast in love with helping the youth of our community.


• $250 Vatsalya Rasa
  The devoted benefactor of Krishna’s children.


• $100 Sakhya Rasa
  The caring friend of ISKCON’s next generation.


• $50 Dasya Rasa
  The faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada’s mission.


• $30 Shanta Rasa
  The peaceful well-wisher of devotional education.

Just as we did at the event, every contributor will receive a quality gift item as a token of our appreciation for their support. If only 26 recipients of this email commit at the $500 level, we will meet our fund-raising goal! If you have not done so already, I humbly request that you consider making a donation toward the on-going development of Krishna-centered education. Checks can be sent, payable to Bhaktivedanta Academy, to: PO Box 937, Alachua, FL 32616.

Summer Camp
Registration forms went out a few weeks ago for this year's summer camp program. It will consist of themed 2-week sessions (starting 6/15/09) open to children ages 4-10 with daily spiritual activities (9 am – 3 pm). All participants receive a camp T-shirt plus daily prasadam snack and lunch.

If you are interested in having your child participate we need to receive the registration form and payment by Monday, June 1st.

Please call 386-462-2886 or email office@bhaktivedantaacademy.org for additional details.

Bhakti Bhavan Success
During a recent evaluation by the Early Learning Coalition, we learned that our Bhakti Bhavan had received the highest rating of any pre-school in Alachua County! We are continually hearing from the various agencies that inspect/evaluate child care centers in our area, how impressed they are with our program. We are very grateful to receive this recognition.

It is hard to belive that the school year is about over. It has been exciting to be a part of it and am looking forward to the next.

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

In the month of April, the students of Bhakti Bhavan explored the large continent of Africa with its many countries. Classroom shelves were filled with attractive works like the African artifact tray, a replica of an African elephant that made a trumpeting sound, African cut-out dolls in native attire and book making materials on African animals. During circle time, a favorite activity was to pound rhythm sticks to the beat of an African “talking drum” song. They also enjoyed watching a Zulu storyteller narrating stories with morals and lessons from the African culture. Older students who practiced map-making were amazed to see how one continent could contain so many countries with interesting sounding names!

Ramananda and his dad,
Sri Thakura.

We celebrated Father’s Day early by inviting the fathers to spend the morning in our classroom. After the students sung a song honoring their fathers, everyone played a “guess the father” game. Smiles and laughter filled the room as fathers tried to guess their identities based on answers given by the children to questions such as “What do you love most about your father?” Next, students took their dads around the classroom demonstrating their favorite works and letting dads try it, too. Before each dad left, he was presented with a beautiful hand-drawn picture magnet made by his child. Dads were also treated to homemade cookies. Everyone had a great time!

As Earth Day always falls in April, students in all three classes had a chance to learn about paper making and were taught the importance of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle). Along with the older students, each Bhakti Bhavan student had a chance to make a sheet of paper using recycled materials. Even at this young age, our students are conscious of the importance of not wasting resources.

In celebration of Lord Ramachandra’s Appearance Day, Bhakti Bhavan students heard and sung about this pastime with great delight. It came as no surprise when they chose the story of Lord Rama for the topic of their Student Treasures Class Book. Parents, students and teachers couldn’t be happier with the results and almost everyone ordered their own personal copy to take home and read together.

April was filled with opportunities for singing in Bhakti Bhavan. In preparation for the Spring fundraiser, the students learned a song about Krsna from the introduction to Krsna Book. Under the guidance of devotee musician, Sri Thakur Prabhu, students practiced several times a week. The end results were well worth the many hours of practice! Students also learned a new song from the translation to the Nrsimhadeva prayers which they sung at the temple on Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day. Following their unit study on the 10 incarnations, students learned a song which included mudras (hand gestures).

Circle time in Bhakti Bhavan.

For our upcoming spiritual curriculum, we will be hearing about many well known stories from the Srimad-bhagavatam such as Dhruva Maharaja, Ambarisha Maharaja, Gajendra the elephant, Jada Bharat and King Citraketu. We will also learn about the Appearance of Lord Jagannatha, as many of our students will be participating in various Rathayatra festivals throughout the summer.

Besides our regular Montessori activities, new work included learning about the parts of a fish, how to juice oranges, and brass polishing.

Finally, in May, we will be learning about the continent of Antarctica, the oceans, landforms, insects, the life cycle of a butterfly and parts of a fruit. In practical life, we will learn how to make lemonade. Sounds like a busy month ahead for the students of Bhakti Bhavan!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

April was a wonderful month in Audarya Bhavan:

Vraja, Varshana, and the rest of
Audarya Bhavan prepare for a bike ride.

Bike Week
We had some crashes and scraped knees but Bike Week turned out to be a lot of fun. One goal of Bike Week was to talk about bike safety and how to ride together in a group.

Abhaya, Node, and Ross make paper.

Earth Day
To help us understand how we can take better care of Mother Earth, Gayle from Alachua County Public Works, gave the children an opportunity to make paper from recycled material. The children had a lot of fun while at the same time reinforcing important conservation principles.

Vishnu shares classroom activities
with his father, Hanuman.

Father's Day
We had a big turn out for Father’s Day. The children were very happy to spend the morning sharing their classroom with their dads.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Ram Bol between Audarya Bhavan
and Madhurya Bhavan

Lord Rama’s Appearance Day
In honor of Lord Ramachandra's appearance day, Nataka-candrika facilitated a Ram Bol (a trancendental trivia contest) that tested the students of Audarya and Madhurya Bhavan on their knowledge of Rama lila. The dual class competition was very spirited and touched on many aspects of Lord Rama's pastimes. All participants were rewarded with maha sweets.

Writing and Reading
Before spring break, I announced to the students that they would all be writting and illustrating books as part of our annual treasure book activity. I was so impressed to learn that some students already had stories they had been working on. Many were so excited, they finished their stories over spring break. After three weeks of hard work, the students completed their stories. We are all eagerly anticipating the arrival of their bound hard cover novels!

Father's Day
Thank you to all the dads who came to visit our classroom for our Father's Day event. The students played their Bhagavad-Gita songs, shared their essays and presented video taped performances of themselves dressed up as a character from a novel. The fathers shared their experiences meeting Srila Prabhupada. Thanks dads!

A special thank you to Kripa Sindhu. He made fresh ice cream, cookies, and samosas for our class.  While listening to his stories about Srila Prabhupada, the students feasted under a tree at the old KCF. Thank you Kripa Sindhu!

A Scholar and a Gentleman

by Navina-Shyama das

That’s what Mrs. Andropolos would always call me, as I left her office after completing yet another small errand. I loved when she said that. Sure, I was just an hourly employee of the university drama department, but her way of saying thank you was so poetic, I couldn’t help but feel distinguished.

The phrase has a nice ring to it, to be sure, but it also a deep meaning. Shouldn’t every scholar be a gentleman? Traditionally, education has meant more than just rote memorization of academic subject matter; to be educated was to be refined, in behavior and character. Srila Prabhupada was also in favor of his gurukulas imparting virtues and values to the youth of our movement. He lamented that modern parents had lost interest in this more profound sense of education:

“Now people are not at all interested. If you advertise that 'We are opening one gurukula where brahminical culture will be instructed. Send your boys,' nobody will send. They are not concerned anymore that 'My son should be truthful, self-controlled, mind-controlled.'”
(Lecture in Vrindavana, 1976)

When Bhaktivedanta Academy was holding the first phase of its strategic planning over winter break last year, the staff felt that it was important to make the training of character an explicit part of our spiritual curriculum. But what traits should we aim to instill? For that, we pored over several books, including Bhagavad Gita, Nectar of Instruction and The Twenty-Six Qualities of a Devotee. Cross-referencing the lists we found and adjusting the terminology to be both clear, broad and simultaneously true to our tradition and relevant to the contemporary world, we ended up with a core list of twelve qualities.

The list is still a work in progress, but even what we’ve done with it to date has proven its potential. Each month, we have been selecting one quality to focus on, in the classroom, at morning assembly, and at home. An inspirational picture is chosen to help get students and parents alike thinking, including some ideas for practical engagement. I know I enjoy having the opportunity to bring up illustrative pastimes from out tradition based on a focused theme. One parent also shared how having to think of ways to engage her children in the selected virtue was forcing her to meditate on it and try to embody it herself.

Not that this year is the first time our students are building character. Thanks to the efforts of our teachers over the years, and especially the wholesome home environments provided by so many of our parents, our young charges already impress visitors. One of the presenters at a recent Earth Day activity remarked on how much she likes coming to our school to do presentations on behalf of Alachua County: “It has such a great energy...and the kids are so nice!”

At a time when basic politeness is on the decline and children’s desire for constant stimulation and distraction is on the rise, focusing on developing some basic character traits is a formula for success, not only to those of us striving to please Srila Prabhupada, but for any parent or teacher of the future citizens of the world. As we at Bhaktivedanta Academy seek to improve the educational experience we offer, our staff has made it a priority to take Srila Prabhupada’s advice in a 1976 lecture in Mumbai literally: “First of all character...that is education.” With the help and modeling of our committed parents, we are sure that graduates of Bhaktivedanta Academy will be known for their gracious manners and deep integrity. In this way, our society will produce genuine leaders for the greater benefit of humanity at large.

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

With only 9 more days to go before our Gitanjali fund-raising concert, I am appealing for your help to make this event a great success. As many of you know, we are in desperate need to expand our classroom facilities. We have estimated that it will cost up to $37,000 to add a building to support the expanding Audarya Bhavan (1st-3rd Grade) class.

We have already raised a little over 10% of the money necessary to expand but have an opportunity to cover the majority of this expansion expense through the upcoming fund-raising event on May 1st. Here is how you can help:

Buy a ticket - I hope every one that resides in the Alachua area is planning on attending. You can purchase tickets at the Alachua temple Sunday Feast, school office, or by calling 386-462-2886. Adult tickets are $12. Children tickets (Ages 5-12) are $6.

Contact Sabrina Dobbins for additional ticket sales information: dobbins.sabrina@gmail.com or 352-317-0081.

Put a special message in the Gitanjali Program Guide - We have reserved space in the program guide for families to place special messages to their children. If you have a child, grandchild, nephew, niece, etc. in Bhaktivedanta Academy we encourage you to place a special message to them. 2 types of messages are available: 1/8 page text only for $15; 1/4 page text and picture for $25.

1/4 page with text and image - $25

Buy an advertisement or ask someone you know to place an advertisement in the Gitanjali Program Guide - If you own a business or know someone who does, we have ad space available at very reasonable rates. Ads start at 1/4 page for $25 to full page for only $100.

The deadline for ad and message submissions is Friday, April 24th. Contact Padmaksi Sutherland for more information: padisutherland@gmail.com or 352-871-8924.

Make a donation - Direct cash donations are always appreciated. Any funds raised will go directly toward the expansion of Bhaktivedanta Academy.

Ask someone you know to make a donation - Do you know someone who would like to support a great cause? If so, ask them to donate toward the expansion of Bhaktivedanta Academy.

Contact me, Visvambhara das at visvam@bhaktivedantaacademy.org or 352-474-0538 if you are interested in making a donation.

We are counting on your support. With your help we can make this the best fund-raising event in the history of the school!

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

The month of March was filled with a variety of both academic and spiritual activities. Having finished their unit study of Australasia, the students of Bhakti Bhavan were treated to a presentation on Australia by Tulasi’s father, Lindsey. Lindsey travels around the states teaching students about the culture and animals of the “land down under.” He mesmerized the children by playing on a variety of handmade wooden instruments called didgeridoos. The children also had an opportunity to act out a story of the unusual animals of Australia while playing their own wooden rhythm sticks. And as always, they made their own booklets to color and take home.

Karuna works on letter formation.

Grandparents’ Day was celebrated in March with many grandparents coming to spend the morning in our classroom. After singing a song of appreciation for their grandparents, students invited them to explore their classroom environment to see what kinds of activities they do each day. Jahnava Higgins captivated the audience as she gave a dramatic reading of her upcoming book about Narada Muni. She also brought with her the original drawings, which will be in the book.

Knowing that Lord Ramacandra’s Appearance Day was coming up, students of Bhakti Bhavan began early in the month learning about this much loved incarnation of Krsna. Each day they heard another part of the story as well as a song about Lord Rama. Teachers were pleased to hear that the students chose this story for their soon to be published class book. On the actual day of Lord Rama’s appearance, students were surprised by the appearance of special guest Deities: Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. Everyone admired Their beauty enhanced by decorations of colorful flowers from the school garden. As an offering of devotion to Them, the entire school came together to chant bhajans, lead expertly by assistant director, Navina Shyama Prabhu. Students became so absorbed in remembering Lord Rama that throughout the day, teachers could hear children singing both inside and outside of the classroom. Even during recess, students could be seen acting out the story using sticks and sand toys for improvised bows and arrows. Lord Ramacandra ki jaya!

Spring has finally arrived and the garden area of the playground has been prepared and ready for planting. So far, students have planted a few varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. Each morning when they come to school, students run to see how their plants are growing. With watering cans in hand they lovingly tend their plants with devotion and care knowing they will be offered to Krsna.

In the upcoming month we will be learning about the continent of Africa, parts of the fish, brass polishing and how to juice oranges. We will also be inviting the fathers to spend a day with us. It should be a busy, hands-on month of learning and devotion!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

Audarya Bhavan welcomed March with music and song in anticipation of the blessed event of Lord Chaitanya’s Appearance.

Mrgakshi practices with the
Audarya Bhavan students

Mrgakshi volunteered her time to help us with our Gaura Purnima presentation of the first verse of Shikshastakam. She has been teaching the children important musical components such as rhythm, breathing, timing, and diction. Sri Thakur has also started choir practice. His fist lesson concentrated on breathing techniques and the importance of singing together. We give a special thanks to these devotees who have graciously given their time so that we might serve Lord Krishna better.

Lindsey Dank graciously gave the children lessons on how to play the didgeridoo. Lindsey is an expert on the Australian culture. He taught the children how to drone and vocalize on their didgeridoos.

Lindsey demonstrates the didgeridoo.

On March 11, we celebrated the Vedic New Year 523. Navina Shyama provided sweets, horns, and hats to help us celebrate. Everyone enjoyed the fun activities.

On March 30th we had a special birthday walk for Vishnu. He turned 8 years old. We celebrated with warm thoughts and cupcakes.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Absorbing Ourselves in the Lord’s Lila
Under the direction of Kaliyaphani Prabhu, the students of Bhaktivedanta Academy geared up for another play. This one - a slow and sober mime of the appearance of Lord Rama. The unique feature this time around is that Audarya Bhavan and Madhurya Bhavan worked together. With the older students contributing their experience and the younger ones contributing their enthusiasm, the results were transcendental magic!

Ram Navami Performance

Multi-Media Bhagavada-Gita Classes
Laxmimoni Prabhu asked the students, “Have any of you ever felt bored or dissatisfied?” Everyone raised their hands. Projecting a picture of a heart onto the screen with a black hole at its center, she explained that everyone has an emptiness they’re always striving to fill. With a click of button, pictures of cellphones, cars, and toys went into the heart and faded, leaving the hole unfilled. Students discussed how they try to enjoy material objects but how such things never give them happiness that lasts. After further discussion, Laxmimoni moved a picture of Krsna into the hole in the heart. This time the picture did not fade. The lesson was simple, but profound: we feel complete when we fill our heart with Krsna. Thank you Laxmimoni for such an enriching presentation.

Naryani portrays Mary Lou

This month we finished reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. As a final project, students read excerpts from the diaries they have been keeping, each from the perspective of a different character. Afterwards, another student interviewed the character and we videotaped the presentations. The students also analyzed the different qualities the novel’s characters exhibited. They looked for examples of honesty, respect, and courage, as well as examples of opposite traits. They then discussed the consequences of these different qualities on the characters’ future lives. In this way, we all learned how developing qualities like those we focus on at Bhaktivedanta Academy can make a real difference, both in our material and spiritual lives.

Reflections on Parenting

by Nataka-candrika dasi

Krishna Swarup with his son
Purushottama.

Recently, I was asked by a young parent if I had any ideas for her regarding raising a happy, responsible, Krsna conscious child. Reflecting back to the late 70’s and 80’s when my own three children were young, I thought about the essence of my own experience as a parent. Of course, things have changed and most devotee parents today do not live and work at the temple like we did. In many families, both the husband and wife must work outside the home in order to make ends meet. By the end of the day, most admit they have little time or energy left to devote to their children. At best, they try to ask them about their day and, those who are able to, eat a family meal together. So how do we perform our Krsna Conscious duty and still balance our everyday lives? The following points may be helpful for those parents who are trying to be both good devotees and responsible parents:

1. ACCEPT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.5.18, “One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.” When you invite a spirit soul into your lives, you are accepting responsibility in all areas of the child’s life for the next 20 or so years. This not only means that you will provide the basic necessities for the child but will also give the child a Krsna Conscious foundation on which to build his or her own life.
2. LOVE THEM UNCONDITIONALLY...Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Satyabhama dasi (3-23-73) “Why should parents not feel attachment for their children? That is natural. But our affection is not simply sentimental; we offer our children the highest opportunity to become trained up in Krsna Consciousness very early so as to assure their success in this life to go back to Godhead for sure. That is real affection, to make sure my child gets back to Godhead; that is my real responsibility as a parent.” There will be times when our children will make the wrong choices in life and we will need to be there for them when they do. Let them know that you may not approve of their behavior but that you will always love them.
3. SET THE RIGHT EXAMPLE...As a parent you are the first and most important teacher in your child’s life. But often the development of character is left to the school in hopes that teachers will impart to the child the discipline and respect the parents couldn’t. Never underestimate the impact your example has on him or her. The impressions from the early years (especially the first 5 years) are the ones that shape the future of your child’s beliefs and personality. A strong family unit and a home filled with love and caring will have a life-long impact on the child and his own future family. If you want them to grow up as devotees of the Lord, let them see you chanting your rounds, reading the scriptures, engaging in practical devotional service in your home and they will get the right impression. Just as Srila Prabhupada said in a Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture in 1972 in L.A.,

   “Children’s nature is to imitate, because they have to learn. So, nature has given them the propensity to imitate. So, the first imitation begins from the parents. If the parent is nice Krishna devotee, naturally the children become devotees. That is the opportunity of taking birth in a Vaisnava family. So you are all Vaisnavas. If your children do not become Vaisnava in the future, then it is a great, I mean to say, fault on your part. So you should be very cautious, careful, that children are not going astray, they are becoming Krsna conscious. That means you have to imitate, you have to be devotee, and they will imitate. By imitation, imitation, imitation, they will come to Krishna consciousness. Then they will never give it up.”

4. TAKE TIME TO TEACH THEM...Young children need guidance in all aspects of their lives. They look to their parents to see what kinds of values they should have and what is right or wrong behavior. Education is an on-going process. In this world, they are going to be exposed to many evils and in spite of all your efforts to keep them protected, there will be times when you find you have no other shelter than prayer and the words of Sri Krsna to guide you.
   Part of your teaching should include what you have allowed them to view and read, and with whom and how they spend their time. They should be taught to be patient, tolerant and how to respect others. They should also be taught that cleanliness is next to Godliness. That is the responsibility of each family. This may not be an easy process, but the results will be well worth the time you spent teaching these lessons.
5. DISCIPLINE WITH LOVE...Srila Prabhupada explains in the Caitanya-caritamrta, (Adi-lila, Vol. One, Preface, p.xi),

   “A child can be stopped from engaging in nonsense by being engaged in superior activities.”

   Parents can take advantage of the association of other like-minded parents to engage their children in meaningful activities. Many temple communities offer social and cultural opportunities for the children and youth such as drama, music and dance. I have seen practically how these kinds of engagements, coupled with a strong focus on devotional service in one’s own family, can help during the most challenging years. According to Canakya Pandit,

   “Lalane bahavo dosah. If you become lenient, there will be many faults.”

   Discipline through force and chastisement is the lazy way. Love is the opposite of laziness. Discipline with love means you are constantly endeavoring to redirect deviant behavior through immersing the child in more positive, beneficial activities. If you are committing to the above four points, you are already demonstrating a tremendous amount of love. I believe this is the crux of Srila Prabhupada's system.

Although these guidelines may be helpful to parents, no one thing assures success in raising Krsna Conscious children. There are no magic formulas, just a lot of prayers and plain old-fashioned hard work!

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

With only 9 more days to go before our Gitanjali fund-raising concert, I am appealing for your help to make this event a great success. As many of you know, we are in desperate need to expand our classroom facilities. We have estimated that it will cost up to $37,000 to add a building to support the expanding Audarya Bhavan (1st-3rd Grade) class.

We have already raised a little over 10% of the money necessary to expand but have an opportunity to cover the majority of this expansion expense through the upcoming fund-raising event on May 1st. Here is how you can help:

Buy a ticket - I hope every one that resides in the Alachua area is planning on attending. You can purchase tickets at the Alachua temple Sunday Feast, school office, or by calling 386-462-2886. Adult tickets are $12. Children tickets (Ages 5-12) are $6.

Contact Sabrina Dobbins for additional ticket sales information: dobbins.sabrina@gmail.com or 352-317-0081.

Put a special message in the Gitanjali Program Guide - We have reserved space in the program guide for families to place special messages to their children. If you have a child, grandchild, nephew, niece, etc. in Bhaktivedanta Academy we encourage you to place a special message to them. 2 types of messages are available: 1/8 page text only for $15; 1/4 page text and picture for $25.

1/4 page with text and image - $25

Buy an advertisement or ask someone you know to place an advertisement in the Gitanjali Program Guide - If you own a business or know someone who does, we have ad space available at very reasonable rates. Ads start at 1/4 page for $25 to full page for only $100.

The deadline for ad and message submissions is Friday, April 24th. Contact Padmaksi Sutherland for more information: padisutherland@gmail.com or 352-871-8924.

Make a donation - Direct cash donations are always appreciated. Any funds raised will go directly toward the expansion of Bhaktivedanta Academy.

Ask someone you know to make a donation - Do you know someone who would like to support a great cause? If so, ask them to donate toward the expansion of Bhaktivedanta Academy.

Contact me, Visvambhara das at visvam@bhaktivedantaacademy.org or 352-474-0538 if you are interested in making a donation.

We are counting on your support. With your help we can make this the best fund-raising event in the history of the school!

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

The month of March was filled with a variety of both academic and spiritual activities. Having finished their unit study of Australasia, the students of Bhakti Bhavan were treated to a presentation on Australia by Tulasi’s father, Lindsey. Lindsay travels around the states teaching students about the culture and animals of the “land down under.” He mesmerized the children by playing on a variety of handmade wooden instruments called didgeridoos. The children also had an opportunity to act out a story of the unusual animals of Australia while playing their own wooden rhythm sticks. And as always, they made their own booklets to color and take home.

Grandparents’ Day was celebrated in March with many grandparents coming to spend the morning in our classroom. After singing a song of appreciation for their grandparents, students invited them to explore their classroom environment to see what kinds of activities they do each day. Jahnava Higgins captivated the audience as she gave a dramatic reading of her upcoming book about Narada Muni. She also brought with her the original drawings, which will be in the book.

Knowing that Lord Ramacandra’s Appearance Day was coming up, students of Bhakti Bhavan began early in the month learning about this much loved incarnation of Krsna. Each day they heard another part of the story as well as a song about Lord Rama. Teachers were pleased to hear that the students chose this story for their soon to be published class book. On the actual day of Lord Rama’s appearance, students were surprised by the appearance of special guest Deities: Rama, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman. Everyone admired Their beauty enhanced by decorations of colorful flowers from the school garden. As an offering of devotion to Them, the entire school came together to chant bhajans, lead expertly by assistant director, Navina Shyama Prabhu. Students became so absorbed in remembering Lord Rama that throughout the day, teachers could hear children singing both inside and outside of the classroom. Even during recess, students could be seen acting out the story using sticks and sand toys for improvised bows and arrows. Lord Ramacandra ki jaya!

Spring has finally arrived and the garden area of the playground has been prepared and ready for planting. So far, students have planted a few varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs. Each morning when they come to school, students run to see how their plants are growing. With watering cans in hand they lovingly tend their plants with devotion and care knowing they will be offered to Krsna.

In the upcoming month we will be learning about the continent of Africa, parts of the fish, brass polishing and how to juice oranges. We will also be inviting the fathers to spend a day with us. It should be a busy, hands-on month of learning and devotion!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

Audarya Bhavan welcomed March with music and song in anticipation of the blessed event of Lord Chaitanya’s Appearance.

Mrgakshi practices with the
Audarya Bhavan students

Mrgakshi volunteered her time to help us with our Gaura Purnima presentation of the first verse of Sikshastakam. She has been teaching the children important musical components such as rhythm, breathing, timing, and diction. Sri Thakur has also started choir practice. His fist lesson concentrated on breathing techniques and the importance of singing together. We give a special thanks to these devotees who have graciously given their time so that we might serve Lord Krishna better.

Lindsey Dank graciously gave the children lessons on how to play the didgeridoo. Lindsey is an expert on the Australian culture. He taught the children how drone and vocalize on their didgeridoos.

Lindsey demonstrates the didgeridoo.

On March 11, we celebrated the Vedic New Year 523. Navina Shyama provided sweets, horns, and hats to help us celebrate. Everyone enjoyed the fun activities.

On March 30th we had a special birthday walk for Vishnu. He turned 8 years old. We celebrated with warm thoughts and cupcakes.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Absorbing Ourselves in the Lord’s Lila
Under the direction of Kaliyaphani Prabhu, the students of Bhaktivedanta Academy geared up for another play. This one - a slow and sober mime of the appearance of Lord Rama. The unique feature this time around is that Audarya Bhavan and the Madhurya Bhavan worked together. With the older students contributing their experience and the younger ones contributing their enthusiasm, the results were transcendental magic!

Ram Navami Performance

Multi-Media Bhagavada-Gita Classes
Laxmimoni Prabhu asked the students, “Have any of you ever felt bored or dissatisfied?” Everyone raised their hands. Projecting a picture of a heart onto the screen with a black hole at its center, she explained that everyone has an emptiness they’re always striving to fill. With a click of button, pictures of cellphones, cars, and toys went into the heart and faded, leaving the hole unfilled. Students discussed how they try to enjoy material objects but how such things never give them happiness that lasts. After further discussion, Laxmimoni moved a picture of Krsna into the hole in the heart. This time the picture did not fade. The lesson was simple, but profound: we feel complete when we fill our heart with Krsna. Thank you Laxmimoni for such an enriching presentation.

Naryani portrays Mary Lou

This month we finished reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. As a final project, students read excerpts from the diaries they have been keeping, each from the perspective of a different character. Afterwards, another student interviewed the character and we videotaped the presentations. The students also analyzed the different qualities the novel’s characters exhibited. They looked for examples of honesty, respect, and courage, as well as examples of opposite traits. They then discussed the consequences of these different qualities on the characters’ future lives. In this way, we all learned how developing qualities like those we focus on at Bhaktivedanta Academy can make a real difference, both in our material and spiritual lives.

Reflections on Parenting

by Nataka-candrika dasi

Krishna Swarup with his son
Purushottam.

Recently, I was asked by a young parent if I had any ideas for her regarding raising a happy, responsible, Krsna conscious child. Reflecting back to the late 70’s and 80’s when my own three children were young, I thought about the essence of my own experience as a parent. Of course, things have changed and most devotee parents today do not live and work at the temple like we did. In many families, both the husband and wife must work outside the home in order to make ends meet. By the end of the day, most admit they have little time or energy left to devote to their children. At best, they try to ask them about their day and, those who are able to, eat a family meal together. So how do we perform our Krsna Conscious duty and still balance our everyday lives? The following points may be helpful for those parents who are trying to be both good devotees and responsible parents:

1. ACCEPT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...It is stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.5.18, “One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.” When you invite a spirit soul into your lives, you are accepting responsibility in all areas of the child’s life for the next 20 or so years. This not only means that you will provide the basic necessities for the child but will also give the child a Krsna Conscious foundation on which to build his or her own life.
2. LOVE THEM UNCONDITIONALLY...Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Satyabhama dasi (3-23-73) “Why should parents not feel attachment for their children? That is natural. But our affection is not simply sentimental; we offer our children the highest opportunity to become trained up in Krsna Consciousness very early so as to assure their success in this life to go back to Godhead for sure. That is real affection, to make sure my child gets back to Godhead; that is my real responsibility as a parent.” There will be times when our children will make the wrong choices in life and we will need to be there for them when they do. Let them know that you may not approve of their behavior but that you will always love them.
3. SET THE RIGHT EXAMPLE...As a parent you are the first and most important teacher in your child’s life. But often the development of character is left to the school in hopes that teachers will impart to the child the discipline and respect the parents couldn’t. Never underestimate the impact your example has on him or her. The impressions from the early years (especially the first 5 years) are the ones that shape the future of your child’s beliefs and personality. A strong family unit and a home filled with love and caring will have a life-long impact on the child and his own future family. If you want them to grow up as devotees of the Lord, let them see you chanting your rounds, reading the scriptures, engaging in practical devotional service in your home and they will get the right impression. Just as Srila Prabhupada said in a Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture in 1972 in L.A.,

   “Children’s nature is to imitate, because they have to learn. So, nature has given them the propensity to imitate. So, the first imitation begins from the parents. If the parent is nice Krishna devotee, naturally the children become devotees. That is the opportunity of taking birth in a Vaisnava family. So you are all Vaisnavas. If your children do not become Vaisnava in the future, then it is a great, I mean to say, fault on your part. So you should be very cautious, careful, that children are not going astray, they are becoming Krsna conscious. That means you have to imitate, you have to be devotee, and they will imitate. By imitation, imitation, imitation, they will come to Krishna consciousness. Then they will never give it up.”

4. TAKE TIME TO TEACH THEM...Young children need guidance in all aspects of their lives. They look to their parents to see what kinds of values they should have and what is right or wrong behavior. Education is an on-going process. In this world, they are going to be exposed to many evils and in spite of all your efforts to keep them protected, there will be times when you find you have no other shelter than prayer and the words of Sri Krsna to guide you.
   Part of your teaching should include what you have allowed them to view and read, and with whom and how they spend their time. They should be taught to be patient, tolerant and how to respect others. They should also be taught that cleanliness is next to Godliness. That is the responsibility of each family. This may not be an easy process, but the results will be well worth the time you spent teaching these lessons.
5. DISCIPLINE WITH LOVE...Srila Prabhupada explains in the Caitanya-caritamrta, (Adi-lila, Vol. One, Preface, p.xi),

   “A child can be stopped from engaging in nonsense by being engaged in superior activities.”

   Parents can take advantage of the association of other like-minded parents to engage their children in meaningful activities. Many temple communities offer social and cultural opportunities for the children and youth such as drama, music and dance. I have seen practically how these kinds of engagements, coupled with a strong focus on devotional service in one’s own family, can help during the most challenging years. According to Canakya Pandit,

   “Lalane bahavo dosah. If you become lenient, there will be many faults.”

   Discipline through force and chastisement is the lazy way. Love is the opposite of laziness. Discipline with love means you are constantly endeavoring to redirect deviant behavior through immersing the child in more positive, beneficial activities. If you are committing to the above four points, you are already demonstrating a tremendous amount of love. I believe this is the crux of Srila Prabhupada's system.

Although these guidelines may be helpful to parents, no one thing assures success in raising Krsna Conscious children. There are no magic formulas, just a lot of prayers and plain old-fashioned hard work!

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

It is hard to believe that we are already well into the second half of the school year. We have just finished up the second quarter and our teachers, administration, and students are diligently focusing on everything that needs to be accomplished by the end of the school year.

Christmas Fundraising
I want to take a minute to sincerely thank Padmaksi (congratulations on the birth of her new son, and hopefully future Bhaktivedanta Academy student!), and Sabrina for spearheading the Christmas fundraising effort. Through their tireless organization and contributions from many parents and New Raman Reti community members, the effort was a great success! We sold out all the fudge and cookies that were produced for a total profit of almost $2,000. This money has been put into our school expansion fund, which now has over $3,000.

Yadu (Anasuya's Mother) was the
winner of a Krishna.com gift certificate.

I also want to thank Krishna.com for contributing a $50 gift certificate that we raffled off at the prasadam sales table.

Special Guests
Prior to the Christmas break we had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Advaita Acarya and his wife, Sarad Bihari, along with Tamohara and Mantrini to the school to present gifts to all of our students. Advaita Acarya conceived of and solicited support from others to give children $30 gift cards ($20 for Target and $10 for Krishna.com) as an expression of affection from the elders of the New Raman Reti community for the holidays. Needless to say, the gifts were very well received by all students. We hope that this was just the first of many visits from estemed elders in our community to the Bhaktivedanta Academy. Thank you to Advaita Acarya and Sarad Bihari for setting such a fine example of lovinging exchanges between devotees.

Strategic Planning
Over the holiday break we took an opportunity to envision the future development of Bhaktivedanta Academy via a strategic planning process. Prema Caru, a business-planning consultant, flew out from California and facilitated many intensive sessions where members of the board, administration, and teaching staff, along with some parents, evaluated where we are at today and where we want the school to be in the next 3-5 years. It was a very powerful and enlivening experience.

Presentation of gifts to students in
Audarya Bhavan by Advaita Acarya,
Sarad Bihari, Tamohara, & Mantrini.

Much of what was done over the holiday was preliminary but through this process we will be finalizing a vision and will define specific objectives in four areas: curriculum, operations, facilities, and finances. Our goal is to have an initial draft of the plan complete sometime in March. This plan will then become our roadmap for the future growth and development of Bhaktivedanta Academy. If anyone has any interest and/or expertise, particularly in the areas of operations, facilities, and finance/fundraising, please contact us. We would greatly appreciate your input.

Spring Fundraiser
Our annual spring fundraising event is quickly approaching and we need all the help we can get to make it a great success. We are depending on the proceeds from this event to help fund the much-needed expansion of the Audarya Bhavan (Grade 1-3) classroom. As in previous years, Jahnava Hausner has taken the responsibility for organizing the event, but is counting on the assistance of our parents to make this the most successful fundraiser in the history of the school.

Specifically, we are looking for a highly skilled entertainer/performer to headline the event. We will also need assistance in organizing ticket sales, prasadam sales, sponsorships, and an auction. Please let Jahnava know what you can do to help.

Summer School
I am happy to announce that we are currently in the process of organizing a summer school/camp for this year. Satyaki and Radha Kunda Rico will be leading this project. Details are still being sorted out but it promises to be a fun and enriching experience.

I am grateful that Krishna has blessed us with a wonderful year so far and look forward to everything he has in store for us as we head toward the summer!

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

In the months of December/January we introduced our students to the continents of Europe and Asia. (We will continue our study of Asia into the month of February). Along with map making, students have been learning about the animals and cultures of these two continents. They especially enjoy making their own animal books and the Kindergartners had an opportunity to research the animal of their choice. After learning about their chosen animal, each Kindergartner student gave an oral presentation to the rest of the class, much to the delight of their younger classmates. At the end, the Kindergartners even fielded questions from the audience.

Vrindavanesvari gives Shyama a lesson
using sandpaper letters

For Biology, students learned about the parts of a bird and a turtle. They explored the varieties of each and put a lot of energy into making their own booklets to take home.

In practical life, one of the most popular choices was the nut cracking work on the shelf. Little hands and fingers were daily strengthened as many varieties of nuts were cracked (on a manual nut cracker) and served out to friends. Wood polishing continued to be a popular choice as well.

Isha distributes prasadam to his
classmates for his birthday

To help students better understand a time line, we talked about the life of Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Thakura. (They also had a lot of practice with time lines as six of their classmates had birthdays over the last two months!)

Since there were several religious (and non-religious) holidays during December and January, students had an opportunity to try their hand at making such things as colorful paper chains, snowflakes and mandalas. Art projects are definitely something they all enjoy!

Finally, the students of Bhakti Bhavan have had daily practice in chanting the maha mantra, offering obeisances to their Deities and the vaishnavas, taking caranamrta, and hearing about the wonderful pastimes of Krsna. For Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day we have been practicing a song called “Jai Nitai” (written by Mrgaksi dasi) which will be sung for His pleasure at the temple. We will begin hearing soon about Lord Caitanya's pastimes since Gaura Purnima is just around the corner. With all the wonderful spiritual festivals coming up, we have a lot to look forward to!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

In January Audarya Bhavan discussed voting, our nation's capital, our presidents, and national and local governments. On January 20th we watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama. We also took the opportunity to talk about Florida's governor and our local mayor.

Audarya Bhavan students at
Alachua City Hall

Concluding our study, we took a tour of Alachua City Hall and the police station at the Alachua Municipal Complex. The children were able to see the council chamber, where Alachua's City Council makes local ordinances. They also had the special privilege of viewing the secret vault where Alachua's records are stored. At the police station children were shown the evidence room and the jail cells. We concluded our tour with Officer William Baldry showing us his motorcycle and speed gun.

Officer Baldry shows his police motorcycle
to Audarya Bhavan students

Also this month we studied haiku poetry and onomatopoeia. We combined the two elements of literature and created our own haiku with onomatopoetic words. Here is a poem we wrote together:

Rain
All is very wet.
Rain is falling very hard.
Drip, drip, dribble, drop!

This next haiku was written by Madhuri, and is entitled "The Wind:"

Whoosh, whoosh, the wind blows.
The wind is blowing hard now.
The leaves are spreading.

January was an exciting month and February promises more of the same.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Krsna Cranium board game

In Bhagavada Gita class we are creating a board game on the three modes of material nature. As we learn and read about each mode, the students create cards that will bring them two steps closer to Krsna, keep them in the material world or even land them in the lower planets for one turn. A sample mode of passion card from Nityananda is "You wanted praise for playing a soccer game. Go back one space." Or a card from Aravind, "You just ate a rasagulla offered to Krsna. Go forward two spaces." Creating the cards helps students apply the modes to the choices they make in life and it drives home the point that the mode of goodness is conducive to Krsna consciosness, the mode of passion binds you in the material world and the mode of ignorance can have extremely negative consequences.     

In social studies the students have just started to create an almanac for a state or country of their choice. Each week they research a flower, an animal or even a famous person in their state or country. They write a paragraph or draw a picture for each of these, and at the end of the year they will bind it into a book organized alphabetically. This project brings together skills from across the academic disciplines. Students are focusing on expository writing and reading and simultaneously learning about both science and history in their chosen state or country.

Aravind represented our school
at the Alachua County Spelling Bee

The last week of January was a special week for two students: Aravind and Vishaka. Aravind won first place in the  Madhurya Bhavan class Spelling Bee and Vishaka won second place. Aravind went on to compete in the Alachua County Spelling Bee. His first word was "servant" (which every Vaisnava knows how to spell) and his second was "tithe" (which he knew because of the temple tithing campaigns). But alas, he stumbled on the word "etymology." Vrnda was the winner amongst the fourth graders and Vishnu was the winner amongst the fifth graders.

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

As the year comes to an end, it is only fitting for me to announce that this will be the last newsletter produced by the New Raman Reti School. No, the school is not closing – we are changing our name! Due to the need to properly structure the school as a not-for-profit charitable organization, we are establishing a new corporation. When we were advised to do this, the administration and staff began to conceive of many different names for the school. One consistent theme began to emerge – the desire to prominently affirm our institutions dedication to serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission. As such, all of the final name suggestions contained his name. With three finalists in hand, I asked our students and staff to vote. The results were definitive; the winning name garnered over 90% of the votes. So, beginning January 1st, the New Raman Reti School will become the Bhaktivedanta Academy.

We have a couple changes in store for the new year. First of all – uniforms. Krishna Dhama has been working very hard for the last few months to coordinate with our suppliers in India to produce a colorful devotional uniform for our students. After much debate, we have settled on a sky blue and navy blue color scheme that looks great. If we can get all our orders in on time, we hope to have all our students in their bright new uniforms by the end of January. Thank you to everyone who has turned in an order form. If you have not done so already, please get them in right away, as uniforms will be required as part of our revised dress and appearance policy.

Lunch time for Bhakti Bhavan

If any of you have had an opportunity to observe our Bhakti Bhavan (Pre-K/Kindergarten) class, you have probably noticed how nicely they assemble for lunch every day. Each student has a proper table setting, complete with placemat, napkin, plate, and utensils. They have all been trained to eat their prasadam lunch in an orderly and respectful manner. We want to share this same experience with the upper grade classes, so starting in January, Audarya (Grade 1-3) and Madhurya (Grade 4-6) Bhavans will begin to have their lunches in the same manner.

After seeing how much everyone has appreciated the after school classes organized by Padmaksi and Radhika Rani, we are looking to coordinate some more activities. You will soon get information on a devotionally themed physical education/exercise class. We are also looking into bringing Vishvambhara back to lead another series of bhajan classes. We would like to offer so much more, but need the help of our parents and community members. If you have a special talent/skill that could be shared with our students or know of someone that does, let us know.

Lastly, I want to say thank you for your support, encouragement, and trust. It is an honor to serve these young Vaishnavas. I look forward to seeing everyone back after the holiday break.

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

November seemed to fly by for teachers and students of Bhakti Bhavan! We started off the month focusing on the life and accomplishments of our founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Children love hearing about his childhood pastimes and sat with rapt attention while they were being narrated. A few weeks later we spoke about the life of Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji and his role in our line of acaryas.

Radhesh and Tulasi participate
in a playground Rasa Dance

We also just completed the first volume of the children's Krsna Book by Parvati devi dasi. After students heard the story of "The Rasa Dance", teachers were surprised and happy to witness most of the children acting out this pastime during their playtime outside. We also learned about Srimati Tulasi Devi and invited a few students from Audarya Bhavan to come in and lead us in the Tulasi prayers while one of the older students demonstrated how to do Tulasi puja.

Bhakti Bhavan students greet
a special guest - Mali

November 12th was the last day of Kartika and since we had been collecting all month to buy hay for the cows of New Raman Reti, we invited Devaki, who is in charge of the cows, to come to our school. She brought one of the cows, Mali, with her and all of the students had an opportunity to feed and pet her. Finally, we presented to Devaki our collection of $52, just enough to buy one bale of hay. Everyone agreed this was a great way to honor one of the seven mothers.

Other areas we learned about were the continent, culture and animals of South America and in practical life, we learned to polish wood and slice carrots. These are in addition to some wonderful art projects such as making models of Tulasi trees, paper stand-up cows, tissue paper corn cobs and "thankful hands" pilgrims.

Bhakti Bhavan students enjoy a
wonderful Thanksgiving meal

We spent the last few days before Thanksgiving talking about the story of Thanksgiving and why we are grateful for the things we have. On the last day of school before the break, students and staff were treated to a delicious feast of over a dozen preparations provided by the parents. Tables were set with new place mats and napkins and vases filled with colorful flowers added a special touch. After saying an enthusiastic prasadam prayer, students honored the special lunch and ate to their full satisfaction! Thank you, parents!

Finally, Bhakti Bhavan students were surprised by the appearance of a special guest…singer/songwriter, Asta Sakhi, from Prabhupada Village in North Carolina. She is one of the main singers on the much-loved children's tape/CD titled Krishna's Children. In addition to leading the students in a few old favorites, Asta Sakhi taught them a new song, "Seven Mothers" which we will add to our song list for circle time. Next month, we will learn all about Europe, birds, time lines, nut cracking, the seasonal holidays of winter and more about Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's life.

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

Hare Krishna! Audarya Bhavan has been very busy this month.

Lindsey demonstrates the didgeridoo

The children raised $51 for one bale of hay. Our gift was presented to Devaki when she brought over one of her cows, Mali, to the school for the children to pet and feed.

Also this month, Lindsey Dank, Tulasi's dad, gave a presentation on Australia. One of the highlights of the performance was when each child was given a chance to play their own didgeridoo.

Recycling presentation

Later in the month, Patrick and Gail from the Public Works Department visited our school to show us how to recycle at school and at home. The children enjoyed playing a relay game to help reinforce their understanding of which everyday items can be recycled. They left us with the slogan: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rethink. The children were given pencils made out of recycled denim and money, and shopping bags made out of recycled plastic.

Asta Sakhi visited our classroom. She sang some of her classic songs and then taught us a new one about our seven mothers.

To conclude the month, we visited the Alachua Library where librarian Renee read stories to our students and showed them how to use the library's resources for independent research.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Vaishnava Saint Trading Cards

Vaishnava Saint Trading Cards
The Madhurya Bhavan students are currently working on creating a whole deck of Vaishnava saint trading cards. Each student chooses a saint from the Vaishnava calendar, they draw a picture of their chosen saint and research background information on them. When complete, I format and laminate the pictures. Many have chosen to research the Vaishnava saint they are named after. On the appearance day of that saint they will give a presentation on him or her and pass out their trading cards. By the end of the year, students will have a full deck of Vaishnava trading cards and they will know all the saints on the calendar. So do you know who Sita Thakurani is? Ask a student from the Madhurya Bhavan.

Science Learning Centers
Nayana eagerly pulled Narayani's arm. "Lets go to the Creative Writing Center." Narayani convinced her instead to go to the Make Your Own Magnet Center. Nayana and Narayani had already completed four of the seven learning center activities. After a few failed experiments (and a minor baking soda and vinegar explosion), I realized I needed to come up with a foolproof way of teaching science. Then...bam! An explosion in my head: Learning Centers! Learning Centers are activity stations where students choose the type of activity they would like to do. For example, during the last Science class we learned about magnetism. We had seven stations where students could do magnetic experiments, write a creative story linked to a lesson on pigeons and magnetic fields or even do creative math problems about magnets in our every day life. The key factors are independent student-driven learning and choice.

Madhurya Bhavan students share their stories

Book Club
If you have ever visited the Madhurya Bhavan classroom on Wednesday after lunch you will see the Sugar'n Spice and Chemical X girls huddled in one corner and the Lightning Bolts huddled in another. They'll be giggling and whispering and sharing their book artifacts to their book club. Each month the students have a different genre of books to choose from. This month they are reading historical fiction. As they read the books, they write letters about them to their book club and they create artifacts that explore the characters, setting and themes. Last week Chandrika and Nayana created dioramas from boxes showing the setting and the characters and Jalangi and Aravind created open minds that showed the inner turmoil of their characters. The book club motivates students to read independently, to explore alternate genres and develop their own tastes as readers.

What is an Education?

by Navina-Shyama das

Is education a race, wherein one should get ahead by any means? Or is it a wild adventure, wherein one should find one's own destination by one's own means? Or perhaps it's a roulette wheel: you just pop yourself in and see where you end up. During my short tenure so far as an administrator at New Raman Reti School, I can already see that the answer to this question is (and should be) quite different here than it was during my own academic experiences.

My high school years were like a no-holds-barred wrestling match. No one was really sure why we were there or what we were supposed to be doing, but we just got into the frenzy of trying to outdo each other in whatever seemed to please our different teachers. Memorize that Roosevelt's economic plan was called the New Deal? Sure. Calculate the volume of a torus plus a pyramid minus a cone? Okay. Read a modern Portuguese epic inspired by the ancient Greek Iliad? No problem. And through it all, shrouded in the most impenetrable of mists, was the vague goal of getting into a good college and securing a good job.

A Vaishnava education is markedly different. School is not a place where attendance is just a legal requirement and where every teacher has their own life philosophy that they are trying to imprint on the young minds in their midst. The activities consist of more than just memorizing obscure historical facts, performing bizarre and abstract calculations, and absorbing the mental impressions of anyone that can put pen to paper. And the goal is something more tangible and weighty than a sheet of paper with a fancy seal (or just a pile of green paper, for that matter!) Indeed, the relationship, activities and goal for a Vaishnava student are all clear and sublime.

The sambandha (structure of relationships) at a gurukula centers on the guru. For ISKCON, this guru is Srila Prabhupada, and he serves as the harmonizing center for all the members of the school community: parents, teachers, and students. He is the common authority for all three of these constituencies, and his teachings are the shared standard for conduct. I have a large poster of Srila Prabhupada above my office desk to remind me of this, but his influence at New Raman Reti School goes beyond mere symbolism. The teachers dress in the attire he brought to the West, each of the classrooms has altars with the same deities he installed in his temples, and when the children sing kirtana or read scripture, it is the mantras and purports he gave us that they recite.

The abhideya (process of practice) at a devotee school is to follow in the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada as bhaktivedantas. As he stated in a letter in 1972:

“The main point is that these children may be given the two-fold program of education in Krishna Consciousness, namely chanting and performing devotional activities on the one hand, and some knowledge of our philosophy and other subjects of knowledge on the other.”

Whereas devotional activities are critical for the spiritual development of the students themselves, mastering philosophy and other subjects aims at the betterment of society. Only if the children are equipped with a complete array of academic and intellectual skills will they be able to effectively share Krishna Consciousness with others and influence them with their exemplary behavior. These ideals are put into practice at New Raman Reti School by reserving the first part of the morning for kirtana and Bhagavad Gita study, and the remainder of the day in honing the students' skills in mathematics, reading and writing English, systematic inquiry into the natural world, and fundamental historic and geographic knowledge. Particularly with regards to the latter two areas, every effort is made to show how contemporary empiric knowledge is a small subset of the greater and more comprehensive framework of Krishna Consciousness.

The prayojana (goal and standard of success) at an ISKCON school is to produce Vaikuntha ladies and gentlemen. The children are trained to be of the highest character for we expect them to become the leaders of the world. As Srila Prabhupada stated in another letter in 1971:

“If children are given practical guidance on the transcendental platform, above the bodily and mental conception of life, then they will develop into perfect citizens - moral, honest, hard-working, law-abiding, clean, faithful to home and country.”

Adorned with such attractive traits and well-acquainted with an array of skills, graduates of a Vaishnava education will lead others along the path to self-realization, and show that there is more to being successful than mundane wealth and fame. Surely, such enlightened individuals are sorely needed in today's troubled times.

I am excited by what I am seeing and doing at New Raman Reti School because of these differences in structure, activity and goal compared to what I experienced in my own education. But I am even more excited by the opportunity that lies ahead to more fully develop these principles. As part of an institution that is at the vanguard of education, I look forward to playing my part in helping our students see education as more than a race or a game or a maze, but as a path to perfection.

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara dasa

Govardhan Puja Play
I had no idea what would be involved when I asked our teachers to organize plays for the Govardhana Puja festival. I am still awed by the amount of determination, patience, talent, and professionalism that our staff and students demonstrated to put on 3 wonderful performances for the pleasure of the New Raman Reti devotee community. I am a bit biased, but I came away from the recent festival feeling that our children's presence was a major highlight of the festivities. I want to extend a special thank you to Kaliyapani for giving many hours of his time to direct the Madhurya Bhavan student's performance.

Our Goal: $30,000

Fund-Raising Kickoff
The recent festival also gave us an opportunity to kickoff our New Raman Reti School expansion fund-raising campaign. At present we are at or near capacity in all of our classes. This is especially true in the Audarya Bhavan (Grade 1-3) class. We are expecting at least 5 new students into this class next year but do not have the space to accommodate them. Our present classroom building has served us well over the last 3 years, but it is time to expand, so even more children can have the opportunity to learn under the exceptional guidance of Satyaki.

The cost of this expansion is projected to be $30,000, so we are earnestly moving forward to raise these funds before summer. Over the course of this school year we will be looking at many ways to bring these funds in. Our first effort was the Govardhana Puja baked goods auction. Due to a bounty of quality cakes, pies, and cookies and the great auctioneering skills of Navina-Shyama and Radhika Rani, we raised $1200! Thank you to everyone who participated.

Parent Teacher Organization
At our last parent meeting we discussed the goal of establishing a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) to support the development of the New Raman Reti School community. I felt very privileged to have an opportunity to participate in the first meeting of this group last Tuesday. I came away feeling very encouraged by the commitment and spirit that the parents that attended conveyed. Raina (Tulasi's mother) will be sending out notes from the first meeting very soon. If you can afford a little time, I would really encourage all our parents to get in touch with Raina, Padmaksi, or Radhika to learn what the PTO is up to and how you can get involved.

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

Radhe Offers Candle

This month has been packed full of a variety of spiritual activities for the students of Bhakti Bhavan. To celebrate the month of Kartika, each morning the students and staff have been singing the Damodarastakam prayers while offering a candle to Krishna in His form as a baby. To honor one of our seven mothers, the cow, students have also been bringing in money to put in a special collection jar on Lord Jagannatha's altar. At the end of Kartika we will invite Devaki (and one of New Raman Reti's cows) to the school to present whatever we have collected. Since Diwali (the Festival of Lights and Hindu New Year) came in the month of October this year, we talked about how it is celebrated around the world, especially in India. Students had the chance to color beautiful Rangoli designs to hang up in their homes.

Cowherd Boys with Krishna and Balaram
Govardhana Puja Play

One of the main highlights of the temple's Govardhana Puja celebration were the plays presented by the NRRS. Bhakti Bhavan did a musical version of Makanataskara (the butter thief). Everyone worked hard and the community of devotees really appreciated how sweetly the actors played their roles. Finally, on the actual day of Govardhana Puja, the entire school participated in making and circumambulating our very own halava hill (put together by Radhakunda of BB and a number of students from the school). We want to thank all of the students and parents who brought preparations for the hill. There were plenty of tasty treats to go around and everyone agreed that the appearance of Giriraja atop the hill (courtesy of Braja's family) was auspicious, especially when a large black cow came to the fence to moo and watch the festivities!

Other topics we have focused on are Mexico, Canada, the parts of a leaf, the human body, and Native American people and their culture. Lindsey and Raina, Tulasi's parents, who are knowledgeable in Native American people and culture, did a very interesting presentation for the class. They played several kinds of flutes and musical instruments while we practiced sitting quietly listening to the different sounds of the instruments. Thank you again, Lindsey and Raina, for adding something special to our unit study!

Tulasi Doing Practical Life Work

In Practical Life, we have been learning mirror polishing and apple slicing. In Art, we made leaf rubbings and watercolor paintings to hang in our windows. Students made their own individual Govardhana Hill scene and learned how to make paper-mâché butter pots which were used as props in the play.

Next month, we plan to continue with stories from Krishna Book, learn about the life of Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji and learn about appreciation during our unit on Thanksgiving. We will also explore the land and cultures of South America and learn about mammals. For practical life, we will learn how to peel and slice carrots. It should be a busy and exciting month ahead for Bhakti Bhavan!

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

Audarya Bhavan Ox Cart Ride

In Audarya Bhavan, October was filled with guests and spiritual activities. Babhru returned from his stay in Nicoya, Costa Rica. He shared his experiences with the children about caring for the farm's cows, hearing howler monkeys, and using Costa Rican currency. We also had a visit from Mahatma who discussed the importance of chanting japa. He stressed correct pronunciation of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra; he had the children play a few games to reinforce proper attention while chanting. Dravida, who was visiting from California, came in to share his devotional poetry with the children. He showed the children how he uses "alliteration" in his poetry to make it sweeter and pleasing to the ear. Haridas' grandmother, Bev, came and read Pirate Bob to the class. It was a great choice, and the children loved the illustrations as well as the story. We ended October with our annual Harvest Day Festival, for which the children and teachers dressed up as devotional characters. Krishna Dhama arranged different activities such as cookie decorating, noodle art, bounce house, and, ox cart ride.

Radhe Shyam's Volcano

The older students presented "The Story of Creation of the Universe." This is one of the "Great Lessons" that Dr. Montessori wrote and it presents theories about the beginning of the Universe through the formation of the galaxies, solar systems, the sun, and the Earth. The goal of this and other great lessons is to understand that all life and all things are interconnected and interdependent, that every species and individual has a role to play in the web of existence.

Haridas (Narada) and Ross (Yogi)
Govardhana Puja Play

October was filled with spiritual activities as well. We practiced and performed our play "Krishna's Headache" on Sunday October 26th. The children received many wonderful comments on their performance. One devotee said, "I'm inspired by your performance!" Amrita came in on Wednesdays this month to make a Govardhana Hill out of paper-mâché. The whole school celebrated Govardhana Puja by contributing decorations and preparations for the school's Govardhana Hill. What really added to the joy of the celebration was the attendance of one of the bulls that joined us during kirtan. Bhaktivinode said, "This is the funnest day ever."

November promises to be just as full as October. We will discuss the Disappearance of Srila Prabhupada, and learn more verses from Bhagavad-gita Chapter 1. On November 7th, our school will lead the Damodarastakam Prayers at the temple. Also on November 7, volunteers from the recycle center will visit our school and show us how to make paper. On November 14th, Lindsey Dank will teach the children how to play a didgeridoo. He will also help us understand about the aboriginal culture of Australia. In preparation for the Math Fair in early 2009, we will present the "Story of Numbers," and collaborate on a classroom book about how we use math every day. For United States history we will present the "Story of Thanksgiving."

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

The Universal Form

Bhagavada-Gita
Blue arms, heads and faces were still strewn across the classroom. It was the day of the harvest festival and the whole class was busy drilling, painting, dressing, recording, and assembling the lights for the three-dimensional diorama of the Universal Form depicted in the 11th chapter of the Bhagavada-Gita. It was almost 11:30 and the multi-arms and faces of the universal form had still not been assembled! After working all morning the students were hungry and the harvest festival was to begin in half an hour. Most of the students put down their paintbrushes and opted to go for lunch but a few decided to stay. As we positioned the parts together and raised our three-dimensional rendition of the Universal Form, I watched the arms, heads and faces quickly begin to slide to the floor! Chandrika grabbed a drill. Visnu shouted to Jalangi to get the string. I stepped back bewildered while these three girls used creative problem solving strategies to assemble our diorama of the Universal Form. Ten minutes later, parents, students and teachers walked into our dark classroom and watched the Universal Form flashing with Christmas lights and strobe lights echo, "Time I am creator and destroyer of this entire cosmic manifestation."

Thank You Mother Akuti for helping us put this show together.

Math Olympiad Team
This past Thursday Ajay came to the classroom while the students shifted restlessly in their seats. Nayana, Chandrika, Aravind, Narottama, Nityananda, and Narayani were especially excited. They had signed up to be on the Math Olympiad Team. The M.O.E.M is a national organization with the goal to stimulate enthusiasm and a love for Mathematics. Students compete with other students on-line in five contests throughout the school year. Each week the math team meets with their club leaders Ajay and Vidya. They challenge themselves with critical thinking math problems and they learn to work together.

Govardhana Puja - A Family Affair

by Nataka-Candrika dasi

Family traditions have existed in cultures around the world for thousands of years. In our ISKCON "family" and in temples around the world, this time of year is special. During the auspicious Kartika season, devotees create family traditions of trying to increase their service to the Lord in a variety of ways. Since our New Raman Reti community is so large and diverse, I started wondering what kinds of traditions families here might be passing on to their children.

Gopis with Mother Yasoda
Govardhana Puja Play

How exciting it must be for a child growing up in a devotee family! What memories will stand out in five, ten or twenty years? What will be their most memorable childhood experiences? Curious, I decided to talk to some of our second generation. The majority of them mentioned the festivals, specifically things like fasting, staying up late on Janmastami or playing the role of Lord Balarama in a play. Other memories that they talked about included singing Krishna Conscious songs and doing fingerplays they were taught in nursery school. To this day, many still recite the songs with great pleasure!

NRRS Govardhana Puja Celebration

Since we just celebrated the Govardhana Puja festival, I was interested to know if our New Raman Reti School families have any Govardhana Puja traditions of their own. Every family I spoke with mentioned their participation in the temple festival which included circumambulating the hill, Go-puja worship, and attending the aratis and kirtans. Several families mentioned cooking with their kids and bringing the preps to the temple to be offered to Giriraja on the hill or on the altar. This year since the students did plays, families were involved in everything from helping their children get ready to bringing baked goods to be auctioned off during intermission. A few families spoke of inviting friends and family members to their homes where they had created their own hill decorated with toy cows, sweets and their own Govardhana silas. One mother said her family members dress up like Nanda Maharaja, Yasoda, Krishna and Balarama during these festivities.

Since offerings to Lord Damodara are also done on this day, many families spoke of offering candles to the temple Deities and their home Deities. One family spoke of annually reading together the Krishna Book pastime of Krishna Lifting Govardhana Hill and singing the much beloved song. A few families said they always go to Mangal arati on these special days and try to chant as many extra rounds as they can. One family, who is serving Giriraja in their home, said they bring Him to sit atop the hill on the temple altar. The wife prepares a special form of Krishna made from cow dung. They also invite friends over for a special program of kirtan and prayers to be able to increase their service to Him.

Another family celebrates by baking special dark and light cookies (to represent Krishna and Balarama) to offer to their home Deities.

Kamala Prepares for the Play

What great fortune to be born into such families! We can only imagine what pious activities they must have performed to have this opportunity! How exciting to see the next several generations continuing the traditions that Srila Prabhupada gave us. As one of our third generation students recently told her father (a second generation devotee), "Even though we didn't meet him (Srila Prabhupada), Dadaji (first generation grandpa) met him, and he made him (Dadaji) a devotee...and Dadaji made you a devotee...and you made me a devotee...and I'm going to make my kid a devotee...so it's all because of Srila Prabhupada that we are all devotees." Now won't that be a tradition worth passing down!

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Mahajan Corner

Mahajan Spotlight

Ajay Gupta was born in India, but moved to the United States shortly thereafter and spent most of his childhood in Texas. He first came in contact with Krishna Consciousness when his family moved to Gainesville and started looking for a local temple to attend. Since then, they have become regulars at New Raman Reti, volunteering their time to assist with festivals, host home programs and conduct outreach activities. Three years ago, his parents took initiation from His Holiness Mahavishnu Swami, as Sarvaisvarya Krsna Dasa and Divya Sakti Dasi.

Ajay enjoys working with children and they have a natural affinity for him. He spent a year at the local afterschool activity center, O2B Kids, and is currently helping tutor Madhurya Bhavan students in math in addition to coaching their Math Olympiad team. When he's not at the school or busy playing basketball, canoeing or drawing, Ajay attends the University of Florida, where he is pursuing his Masters degree in Pharmacy.

Current Mahajans

Thanks to the following "Mahajans" for volunteering their time, talent or treasure to the school:

Bali: The Givers of Charity

• Anasuya's family for a globe.
• The families of Chandrika and Narottama for science supplies.
• Harini and Krsnaya's family for a bag of basmati rice.
• The families of Karuna, Shyam, and Tulasi for books from the book fair.
• Krishangi's family for an electric sweeper.
• Node's family for a sand timer.
• Ross's family for a digital camera.

Bhishma: The Dutiful Bhaktas

• Deva Deva (Venu Madhava and Madhumati's mother), Kirtan (Harini and Krsnaya's mother), Gopi (Kamala's mother), Yadu (Anasuya's mother) and Madhava (Srivas and Ramai's father) for cooking for our Govardhana Hill.
• Indrani (Narottama's mother) for driving students to the "Grossology" exhibit at the UF Natural History museum.
• Lalita Sakhi (Haridasa and Karuna's mother), Padmaksi (Naya's mother) and Yadu for assisting with our book fair night.
• Radhika (Madhuri and Vrindavani's mother), Padmaksi, Deva Deva, Yadu and Maury (Lali's Grandfather) for running the different activities for our annual harvest festival.

Brahma: Getting Things Started

• Jahnavi (Balarama's mother) and Guruseva (Srivas and Ramai's mother) for organizing (and driving for) our field trip to the "Grossology" exhibit.
• Krishna Dhama (Krishangi's mother) and Radha Kunda Delaney for organizing our Harvest festival, complete with games, art activities and a hay ride.
• Padmaksi for organizing Pritha's afterschool dance class and facilitating it by taking care of the daily classroom cleanup every Tuesday. She also started a Google Group to help parents connect with each other.

Kumaras: Assisting the Instruction of Your Kumaras and Kumaris

• Akuti for helping us create a "Universal Form" display.
• Amrita for helping build Audarya Bhavan's Govardhana Hill.
• Ekadasi Vrata (Vishnupriya and Abhay's mother) and Mrkanda (Madhuri and Vrindavani's father) for helping with make-up for our plays.
• Jvalamukhi (Abhi's mother), Divyanga (Radhe's father) and Navina-Shyama for leading Damodarastakam in Bhakti Bhavan.
• The families of Krsnaya, Harini, Naya, Karuna, and Tulasi, in addition to Mother Nataka-candrika for bringing in materials for food-cutting work.

Narada Muni: The Visiting Teachers

• Ajay Gupta and Vidya (Aravind's mother) for agreeing to help coach our Math Olympiad team.
• Babhru (Satyaki's husband) for sharing his experiences in Costa Rica.
• Bev (Haridasa's grandmother) for reading to the class.
• Dravida for sharing some of his transcendental poetry.
• Lindsey and Raina (Tulasi's parents) for their flute and didgeridoo Native American presentation.
• Mahatma (Braja's father) for a class on maintaining good japa.

Future Mahajans

We need the following services for the upcoming month:

Bali: The Givers of Charity

We need:

• A candle snuffer for circle time. (Audarya Bhavan)
• 5 lb. bag of potatoes, butter and corn on the cob for Thanksgiving cooking class. (Audarya Bhavan)
• All of our classrooms are collecting money this month to help buy winter hay for the cows. If you would like to contribute, please send a donation with your child.
• High-quality paper shredder (Office).

Bhishma: The Dutiful Bhaktas

• If you have a child in Pritha's dance class and are available afterwards to help with the classroom cleanup afterwards, please stay behind and speak with Padmaksi.

Brahma: Getting Things Started

• We need someone to help plan and coordinate drivers for field trips in Audarya Bhavan. The first one will be to the local library.

Kapila: Parents and Children Helping Each Other Learn

• Audarya Bhavan parents are requested to read to their children daily, help them work on their spelling words and make sure they memorize their weekly math facts.

Kumaras: Assisting the Instruction of Your Kumaras and Kumaris

• Parents are requested to send more pencils and erasers for their children immediately. They go through them quickly! (Audarya Bhavan).

Narada Muni: The Visiting Teachers

• Guest readers are invited to come in the morning and read to Bhakti Bhavan. Just show up at 8:30 with your favorite book.

Prahlada: Creating the Right Conditions to Learn

• For Bhakti Bhavan parents, please be sure to check your child's cubby daily. The students regularly get their clothes wet/dirty during the course of the day, and if we don't have at least three full sets of replacements, it becomes extremely difficult to properly care for your children.

Yamaraja: The Ever-Watchful

• Anyone interested in helping supervise the students of Audarya and Madhurya Bhavans during lunch recess (12-12:30 PM) should contact Navina-Shyama at 386-462-2886 or navin108@gmail.com. (If you can arrange some sort of sport or other exercise, so much the better, but even just another set of eyes would be a great help!)

Message From The Director

by Visvambhara dasa

I am happy to present the first issue of the New Raman Reti School monthly newsletter for the 2008-2009 school year.

Beginning of year ceremony

Thank you all for your participation in our beginning of year ceremony. It was great to have Srila Prabhupada in his murti form and so many devotees present as we celebrated the beginning of what is already looking to be a wonderful school year.

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the new additions to the New Raman Reti School community:

• Abhimanyu Suta - son of Mahakirti and Jvalamukhi
• Aravind - son of Anil and Vidya
• Hladini - daughter of Mathura and Bhakti
• Jalangi - daughter of Mathura Lila and Kriphanidhi
• Kamala Sundari - daughter of Jaya Gaurasundara and Gopi Paranadhana
• Madhumati and Venumadhava - children of Madhava Pandit and Deva Deva
• Narottama - son of Pundarika Vidyanidhi and Indrani
• Radhesa - son of Jaya Kirtan and Ananga Manjari
• Ramananda Raya - son of Sri Thakura and Krishna Preshta
• Ross - son of Paul and Sabrina
• Syamali - daughter of Radha Vallabha and Krsna Vallabha
• Tulasi – daughter of Raina and Lindsey

As I compiled this list I was struck by how many families are not only new to the school but also to our temple community - some traveling from as far away as Vancouver just to attend. Thank you so much for placing your faith and trust in us. I, along with the rest of the administrative and educational team, are absolutely committed to providing the best Krishna-centered educational experience possible for our young students.

I am convinced that the long-term growth and development of the New Raman Reti community is dependent on the continued success of our school. As I look beyond this year, we are going to have to start investing resources now to ensure that we can meet the needs of our burgeoning child population. Now is the time to start thinking about how we would like to see the New Raman Reti School develop. Your input is essential, so I am asking for your help. Over the next week or so think about what you would like to see for our children now and in the future and how New Raman Reti School can be a part of that. Please share your thoughts and ideas with me. I can be reached by phone: 386-462-2886 or email: david.aguilera@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-Candrika dasi

New Name: The 3-6 year old class (formerly Bambini Bhavan) now has a new name: Bhakti Bhavan, or place of devotion. We also have brand new 12” Deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra which were donated by mother Iccha Sakti. They are situated on Their new altar and are served daily by the students. Thank you, mother Iccha Sakti!

August/September: We focused on several themes including the spiritual festivals of Janmastami, Srila Prabhupada’s Appearance and Radhastami. We have been hearing and chanting about these wonderful pastimes and the students never seem to tire of singing the many songs about the Lord and His devotees.

Ramanda Raya receives a lesson

Other areas we have focused on are the Fall season, the parts of a tree, land, air, and water, the world, living and non-living things, vertebrate and invertebrates, as well as magnetic and non-magnetic objects.

In Practical Life we have been learning new work such as mirror polishing while doing some of their old favorites like banana cutting.

October: We will continue with our Fall unit but will focus on the annual celebrations of Kartika such as Diwali, Govardhana Puja and Go-puja. Next week, we will start rehearsing for a play which will be performed by the class on Govardhana Puja. We are looking forward to this and if anyone is interested in helping out in any way, please let the teachers know.

Themes for October: North America (featuring Native American people and culture), the human body, leaves, art projects centered around cows and pumpkins, and new Practical Life work such as apple slicing.

We are also planning on participating in the annual Harvest Festival coming up later this month.

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

The 6-9 year old class is called Audarya Bhavan, which means the place of generosity and magnanimity. Lord Chaitanya was the most magnanimous and generous in giving freely the Holy Names of Krishna to all fallen souls in this age of Kali, and we are practicing to follow in His footsteps. The Deities that we worship are Gaura -Nitai and Lord Nrisinghadeva. The children serve the Deities every day by offering arotik and kirtan. On Thursdays, we offer arotik to Tulasi –devi while the children circumambulate and water her.

Our themes for August/September were Janamastami, Radhastami, and the Appearance days of Vamanadev and Srila Bhaktivinoda. We also started a classroom book entitled “Who Am I?” This will be finished in October.

Tulasi puja

Academically, we focused on the five kingdoms of life, external parts of animals, points, lines, and solids, images in stories and poetry, parts of a paragraph, land forms and the history of writing.

In practical life we focused on greeting a guest and the art of conversation.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

Technology in the Classroom: In Madhurya Bhavan we created digital Photostories of the Tenth Chapter of the Gita. Each group was composed of a music master, digital story master, Narrator and picture hunter. In only two weeks time the students created a narrative with digital pictures, music and narration, which they recently shared with their fellow students in the Audarya Bhavan.

Balaram worships Gopal

We have also created a classroom Google group where students can dialogue about hot topics related to lessons in the class. Last week, Narayani posted the question, "What would you do if you were not invited to a birthday party by a friend." Students debated online what the most appropriate response would be and how they would respond. The Google group is a safe online space for students to converse, upload their work and even download their homework!

Classroom Newsletter: This month we also started our classroom newsletter. Students will take turns being the Editor, Graphic Designer and Journalists. This month Bali and Srivas are the Graphic Designers and Aravind and Narottama are the editors. Because the newsletter is student driven, they even voted on the name - Madhurya Mountain Winds. Stay tuned; the first edition is due to be completed shortly!

Counting Our Blessings

by Nataka-Candrika dasi

Pouting, with tears welling up in her eyes, 4 year-old Nadia rushes toward her teacher. With the words tumbling out of her mouth, she points to a classmate, 3 year-old, Hladini. “She took the sand bucket I was playing with!” Hladini, also on the brink of tears, defends her position. “She left it so I took it!” Calmly, in a loving tone, their teacher tells Hladini, “Talk to Nadia, tell her with your words.” Just then, Nadia exclaims, “We need the peace flower!” as she runs to get it. Taking turns holding the flower, each girl explains her side of the story and how she’s feeling. Back and forth the flower is passed until they come to an agreement. Each girl smiles and runs back to play, oblivious of their teacher who observes from a distance.

Nataka-Candrika reads Krishna book

As a newcomer to Bhakti Bhavan and the Montessori method, I never cease to be amazed at the myriad of events such as these that take place on a typical day in our classroom. Admittedly, as a former pre-school teacher, I had my reservations about teaching in a Montessori classroom. After all, I had run my own Krishna Conscious pre-school for many years so why the change? Aren’t most classrooms pretty much alike? But after learning about this system by taking training courses and visiting several Montessori classrooms, I can honestly say that our classroom is unique-unique because it offers the best of both worlds!

Recently, I have been reflecting on how fortunate we are as the parents, students and teachers of Bhakti Bhavan. It is encouraging to see such loving parents, who are the first and foremost teachers in a child’s life. Daily, I witness these loving exchanges as the children are dropped off and picked up at the school. Each morning children kiss their parents good-bye and run off to play with friends in an attractive and safe environment. I think about how the parents have given so much time and care to see that their child is sent to school clean, well-fed, and rested. For instance, the contents of the healthy lunches (sent in earth friendly containers) are a testimony to the love of these parents for their children. Indeed, it is refreshing to see!

During the school day, I can’t praise the teachers enough for providing a clean, beautiful atmosphere of warmth, love and care. They treat the students as they would their own children. Recognizing each child’s unique characteristics and developmental stage, the teachers guide them towards appropriate activities, always encouraging them to “be their best self!” Daily I observe the respectful manner in which all of the children are treated. I am in awe of the teachers’ ability to keep so many things running smoothly in a classroom of 23 students! These teachers deserve so much credit for their attention to the details in their environment. From the beautiful place settings (using real silverware, cloth napkins, and glass plates) to the child-sized furniture and materials made of natural products, the teachers have created an aesthetically pleasing learning environment.

Lunch time!

As for our students-we think we are blessed to have the privilege of training these great souls. Krishna has surely sent them to teach us what is most important in life. This is evident as they naturally bow to our classroom Deities each morning and bring their small offerings of wild flowers. Recently, as I offered my obeisances to the Deities, I noticed a small necklace made from pasta around Lady Subhadra’s neck. One of the students had offered Her this small token of love. This is real bhakti...offering our service and love to Krishna. As part of their daily circle time, the children sing songs and do finger plays about Krishna. One of their favorite activities is hearing a flannel board story about Krishna’s pastimes told by teacher assistant, Radhakunda dasi. As Srila Prabhupada said,

“These children are given to us by Krishna, they are Vaisnavas and we must be very careful to protect them. These are not ordinary children, they are Vaikuntha children, and we are very fortunate we can give them chance to advance further in Krishna consciousness. That is a very great responsibility, do not neglect it or be confused. Your duty is very clear.”

- Srila Prabhupada letter to Arundhati, 7/30/72

Dedicated to the the service of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada