Gurukul tomorrow! Please read this email carefully.

[Salt Lake City Gurukul]

Namaste,

We will have the first Gurukul session of 2014 tomorrow, i.e. on January 5^th (Sunday) beginning at 4.05 pm. Please note the important points as discussed in the parents meeting on 12/15/2013.  

1) Prayer session with shlokas and prarthana (15 minutes, 4.05-4-20pm).

2) Hindi class sessions (4.25 pm to 5.05 pm): For Hindi classes, we need parents’ support on few issues for the teachers, who are doing a very commendable and self less job by volunteering to teach these classes.

a) Short homework every week (less than 30 minutes): Please make sure you ask your kids to complete the home work every week. Parents do not need to spend any time on it. However they need to make sure home work is done. This is to ensure proper learning of a new language for them.

b) Hindi books, ID, and other assignments: Parents need to make sure that their kids bring the books and assignments to the Hindi classes.

c) Assistant teachers to help the main teachers: we will be requesting and assigning parents to assist the main teachers in the classes (help with maintaining discipline, checking homework, and in conducting tests). This will be happening once in 6-7 weeks for a given parent. If we assign you to help as an assistant teacher, please help. If you cannot make it, please arrange your substitute by calling one of your friends.

d) There will be short tests for kids every 2-3 weeks to reinforce learning.

3) Yoga and games session (5.05 pm to 5.30 pm).

Note:

- Ramayan and Ramleela: we will start discussing Ramayan from the beginning of 2014, mainly in the form of short stories and quizzes. In April 2014, we will start writing the dialogues in Hindi. Kids will write and practice dialogs in the Hindi classes. We plan to have Ramleela in Hindi this year. Kids will deliver dialogues this time without recording (with background narration in English). Ramleela will be performed in October of 2014. By that time, kids will understand the entire Ramayan and its teachings by heart. 

- Per discussion with Navin Varma jee and feedback from parents and kids, we will have Isha Upnishad sessions during special camps every 2-3 months. We are hoping to organize a camp in the early spring. We are thinking about the Sunday on the long weekend in January 2014.

If you have any questions or if you want to UNSUBSCRIBE from Gurukul emails, please send an email to one of the Gurukul coordinators at: gopikak...@gmail.com, or Oncol...@gmail.com ormil...@gmail.com.

With best regards!

Gurukul coordinator

(On behalf of Gurukul parents and teachers)

P.S: "Salt Lake City Gurukul is a forum for children to discover, learn and appreciate their cultural roots, Indian and Hindu values. This is done through didactic teaching of Hindi language, games, yoga, stories especially those from Ramayan and Mahabharat, shlokas, bhajans, arts and crafts. There are NO fees associated with Gurukul attendance.