Message From The Director

by Visvambhara das

Uniforms
We have at long last received confirmation from our supplier in India that our school uniform order has been shipped! The uniforms are due to arrive by the end of the month and will be distributed before spring break along with a revised appearance code. Compulsory use of uniforms will begin on Monday, April 13th.

To help offset the cost of uniforms we are implementing a uniform buy-back program. If your child outgrows their uniform or transfers out of Bhaktivedanta Academy, we will buy-back tops and/or bottoms in good condition for re-sale at a reduced price. Exact details of this program will be distributed shortly.

Enrollment
We are in the midst of processing enrollment applications for new and returning students for the upcoming school year. It is great to see so many of our current students opting to re-enroll. We had set a 90% re-enrollment goal for next year and it certainly looks like we will meet and possibly surpass this important benchmark. Thank you so much for reaffirming your faith in us and what the Bhaktivedanta Academy is providing to your child.

Expansion Update
Now that our enrollment for next year is coming into clearer focus, there is no doubt that the expansion of the Audarya Bhavan classroom is an absolute necessity. We are in the process of looking to see if the county will give us permission to amend our special use permit to bring a fourth classroom onto the property. If so, we will keep the current Audarya Bhavan classroom in place and will add another larger building next to Bhakti Bhavan for the 1st-3rd grade class to occupy next year.

Within the coming weeks we will have a good estimate of what it will take to get the new classroom in place. Once we have that data in hand I will be calling on everyone to help to make this expansion a reality. I personally have no doubt we can do this, as you all have demonstrated in the past, but it will take a collective effort and the grace of Lord Krishna.

Your servant,

Visvambhara das
Director

Bhakti Bhavan - Pre-K/Kindergarten

by Nataka-candrika dasi

Last month, the students at Bhakti Bhavan continued with their study of Asia, since it is such a large continent. They learned about map-making, the cultures of several Asian countries, made books about some of the unique animals of Asia, and tried on clothing from Japan and China. One of the practical life works included a beautifully painted Japanese Tea Set for our pouring work.

For Biology, students learned about reptiles. They explored the varieties of reptiles and had fun “washing” a life-size replica of a box turtle. Physical science included experimenting with objects that sink or float.

Practical life included a new work teaching students how to spread softened butter on crackers. Practical life work is always popular especially when it's time to “taste the fruit” of their labor!

In art, several projects took on a holiday theme. For Valentine's Day, students made cards for their parents decorated with Krsna Conscious pictures. Some chose to spend time “push-pinning” green shamrocks to glue onto paper (great for fine motor development) and for Grandparents' Day, everyone made attractive hand print cards with their own personal message written inside. (More on that in the next newsletter).

Students from all three classes sing for
Lord Nityananda's appearance day.

February was full of spiritual celebrations such as the appearance of Advaita Acarya, Lord Varaha and Lord Nityananda. We sang a beautiful song called “Jai Nitai” at the temple in His honor. We talked about the life and some of the accomplishments of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. This was also the beginning of our unit on Lord Caitanya so we have been hearing a new pastime each day. We worked hard, along with Mother Mrgaksi, learning some new songs that we sang on Gaura Purnima.

March/April promises to be a busy month with our new themes like Spring, Australasia, flowers and amphibians. As the warmer weather takes over, we hope to plant a flower and vegetable garden in our playground area. Besides being educational, growing flowers and vegetables for Krsna will certainly help to cultivate the seed of bhakti in our hearts.

Audarya Bhavan - Grade 1-3

by Satyaki dasi

On February 19th, Audarya Bhavan held our first annual Spelling Bee. The children were very enthusiastic about the idea. To prepare for the event, for several weeks the children studied together in two groups headed by a team leader. The aims of the Spelling Bee were to promote camaraderie among younger and older students, sportsmanship, and leadership. And of course, the children had fun learning to spell words in an engaging way. Afterwards we had an ice cream party!

Dr. Allin (Gaura Shakti) talks to Audarya
Bhavan students about dental health.

Krishangi's father, Gaura Shakti, gave an informative talk about teeth and dental hygiene. He was able to answer many questions, and later he read a book about a mouse dentist entitled Dr. DeSoto.

For Bhaktisiddhanta's Apperarance Day, we visited the Krishna House Preaching Center in Gainesville. Kalakanta, president of the center, gave us a tour of the temple, kitchen, and storage room. He said that they serve 1000 meals a day. Later we held kirtan at UF and at noon broke our fast with a delicious lunch.

Naveen Krishna & Madhavi visit
with Madhuri for Grandparents Day.

On March 4th, we celebrated Grandparents Day in our classroom. Eleven grandparents were able to attend. The children sang several songs and some grandparents shared songs, stories, and artwork with the children. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Madhurya Bhavan - Grade 4-6

by Krishna Priya dasi

The Kazi's Insignia

Madhurya Bhavan students perform
in the Kazi's Insignia

On Gaura Purnima day, the Madhurya Bhavan actors stole the stage with their dramatic performance, “The Kazi's Insignia.” After a month and a half of focused effort, sacrificing after school hours, the student's hard work paid off. Nayana, a Muslim guard, shocked the audience with her bold acting. Aravind, the Kazi, frightened the audience with his threats and Vishaka, as Lord Chaitanya, calmed the audience with her words of wisdom. Together this all-star cast pulled off a superb show. Thank you to Kaliyaphani and all of the Mothers and friends of the school who helped out. Thank you!

Mississippi Monologues
This week the Madhurya Bhavan students are completing the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor. This book, set in Mississippi in the 1930's, addresses the themes of racism and self-respect. Every two chapters the students have written a diary entry from the perspective of a character. As a culminating project they will synthesize their diary entries and write a monologue. Dressed as their character, they will perform their monologues before the class. These will be videotaped and be available for viewing.

Everyday and Out-of-the-Way
Have you ever wondered how Lego sets are made? Or how mummies are embalmed? Well, currently the fourth and fifth grade students of the Madhurya Bhavan classroom are writing about a process that interests them. They are writing a developed essay that explores the hows and whys of everyday and out-of-the-way processes in life. After completing their essays, the students will explain this process to the class using visual aids and public speaking skills. During this process Srivas discovered that paint balls have gelatin in them, and though he loves the sport has decided not to play or write about it, though, he is exploring vegan options. Go Srivas!

Playing with Krishna

by Navina-Shyama das

Setting loose the calves, they sat down on the ground
With Krsna in the center and the boys grouped around.
They opened the lunch-boxes they had brought from home
And with their eyes on Krsna, the calves could roam.

In various letters he sent to educators within ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada repeatedly suggested engaging children in reenacting the pastimes of the Lord. If in this world they could dovetail their natural propensity to play by acting as cows and cowherd boys and girls, they would reawaken their natural love for Krishna and then be able to continue such play in the spiritual world. With this instruction in mind, I was excited to help Bhaktivedanta Academy resume the New Raman Reti community tradition of student dramas at our large festivals. But over the course of the year, I've been reminded that transcendental felicity is not just limited to rehearsed productions.

When I lived in Alachua several years ago, plays were my favorite part of holidays like Radhastami and Nrsimha Caturdasi. Kirtana, philosophy, prasadam: these are all wonderful and powerful engagements, but plays are the one thing that set these special days apart. After sometimes fasting for twelve hours, even the most simple and guileless drama offered a unique opportunity to absorb my mind in the pastimes of the Supreme. Despite my personal failings, I would inevitably taste a few drops of divine nectar on such special occasions, savoring hasya rasa when Jatila was tricked into chastising her own son thinking he was Krishna, or adbhuta rasa when the Lord manifested his amazing half-lion half-man form before the evil-minded Hiranyakasipu.

By and large, these presentations were made by children, many of them students of New Raman Reti School. That's why when I returned to Alachua last fall, I was glad to play a part in reviving this tradition. And the endeavor has certainly been a success. For Govardhana Puja, each bhavan put on its own production (the opening lines of this article are from Madhurya Bhavan's script), and we again had a mix of singing and dramatic presentations for the Gaura Purnima festival.

Bhakti Bhavan students reenact Krishna's
Vrindavan pastimes.

In the midst of planning all this structured immersion in the lilas of the Lord, I was struck one day by a delightful sight of more spontaneous but equally divine play. Eating lunch by the Bhakti Bhavan playground, I noted two of our girls doing something curious. Nadia had a ribbon slung around one of the poles in the fence, with one end in each hand. As she pulled one side and then the other in a rhythmic alternating fashion, she began crying “Krishna, Krishna!” Immediately, Vrindavani came running from under the playset and sat down at Nadia's feet. In a few moments she was rewarded with an invisible pot of (what else?) butter!

Several days later, I needed to walk into the playground to speak with a teacher, and on my way out I heard two plaintive voices:

“Oh no! You have your shoes on in the temple room!”

“Yes, you must take them off!”

Peering down, I noticed I had crossed into a semicircular space that had been carved into the playground sand. At its center was a large mound, around which Radhe Shyam and Kinnara were dutifully engaged in worship. The presiding deities were apparently Gaura Nitai, or so I concluded. You see, they were in a rather unique form: blue and yellow plastic shovels! I quickly and respectfully withdrew, commending the high standard maintained by these two young pujaris.

As I pondered these two incidents, I recalled a similar sort of play in my own childhood. When my sister and I were growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, our parents would take us to the local ISKCON temple every Sunday (we called it Jaya Jaya). Once, we were inspired to hold our own feast at home. Gathering our stuffed bears and tigers into a circle, we chanted the maha mantra for a few minutes. I then gave a very profound class on how even furry inanimate beings could join Lord Caitanya's movement (or maybe it was on why butterscotch is better than chocolate syrup, I can never remember). My sister and I then both cut up an apple and an orange and distributed the prasad to our congregation.

So it turns out there's more than one way to have children participate in the activities of the spiritual world and satisfy Srila Prabhupada's desire. One is certainly to organize dramatic performances on festival days for the pleasure of the devotees. The hours spent repeating the words of the Lord and his associates and envisioning how they might have looked and acted leave such a nice impression on actors and audience alike. But just surrounding children with the rich pastimes found in our scriptures - both at home and at school - and actively engaging in transcendental activities ourselves creates an atmosphere in which it is only natural for them to do the same. Parents, teachers and community members, we all have the precious opportunity and pressing responsibility to immerse our young ones in the philosophy and histories of Krishna Consciousness to the point that such divine thoughts become the subject matter even of their dreams and recess games. Only then will be truly preparing them to play with Krishna in the spiritual world.

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