Preserving the Past...Preparing for the Future

Khalsa School Calgary Division 1 Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Vaisakhi Celebration 2

Teachers’ Corner 3-4

100th Day Celebrations

5

Grade 1 Penguin Day 5

Div. 1 Speech Results 5

April Calendar 6

Vaisakhi Celebration Khalsa School Calgary is celebrating ‘Khalsa Saajna Divas’ (Vaisakhi) on Friday,

April 5th, 2019. The schedule is as follows:

8:20 am - 9:30 am Special Assembly in the big gym

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Vaisakhi Centres

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Langar

1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Learning Families Activities

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Homeroom

Your support and contribution enable us to maintain our faith-based en-

vironment, ensuring that we are able to both preserve the past for our

students and prepare them for the future. In order to make this celebra-

tion a success, we kindly request volunteers to assist with all programs at

Khalsa School and langar preparations at Gurdwara Dashmesh Culture

Centre.

Note: April 5th will be “Dastaar Day” for all staff and students. All students

are encouraged to tie beautiful and graceful dastaars from home. The most

beautiful Dastaar will be rewarded with special recognition.

Important Dates

April 5– Vaisakhi Celebration

Bana Day, Dastaar Day

April 6 to 22– Vaisakhi Holidays

School Closed

April 23– Back to School

April 26– Casual Day

April 29– Fire Drill Practice

May 2– PAC Meeting at 6pm

April 2019

Habit of the Month:

Synergize

Synergy is all about working

together as a creative team to

achieve a common goal. This

month, students will be learn-

ing about and practicing this

important habit.

Page 2

What is Vaisakhi? Vaisakhi (Baisakhi) is a very important day for Sikhs

and one of the most colourful events in the Sikh calen-

dar. It occurs during mid-April every year and tradi-

tionally happens in the Punjab region with the first har-

vesting of the crops. As well as being a harvest festival,

since 1699 it has marked the very significant religious

event of the creation of the Khalsa Panth by the 10th

Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. It falls on Sunday, April 14

this year and is celebrated by attending the Gurdwara

before dawn with flowers and offerings, and with pa-

rades (Nagar Kirtan), SEVA, full day Kirtan, and fairs

and festivals.

The Story of Vaisakhi On Vaisakhi day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Ji sum-

moned Sikhs from all over India to the city of

Anandpur Sahib. At this gathering, he called upon Sikhs

to uphold their faith and preserve the Sikh religion.

Lifting his sword, he asked that anyone prepared to

give their life for their faith come forward. There was a

big silence, but the Guru Ji continued to repeat his de-

mand. One Sikh finally came forward and followed him

into a tent. Shortly after, the Guru Ji reappeared alone

with his sword covered in blood and asked for a sec-

ond volunteer. Another Sikh stepped forward and was

taken into the tent. The Guru Ji reappeared alone with

blood on his sword. This was repeated until five Sikhs

had offered their heads for the Guru. Finally, the Guru

Ji came out of the tent with all five men dressed piously

in blue. Guru Gobind Singh Ji called the five Sikhs the

Panj Pyare, the Five Beloved Ones. The Panj Pyare

were then baptized in a ceremony called pahul. The

Panj Pyare were the first members of the Sikh commu-

nity called the Khalsa. Guru Gobind Singh Ji gave the

Khalsa a unique identity with five symbols of purity and

courage, known as the Five K’s (kesh, kara, kanga,

kaccha, and kirpan). He also gave all Khalsa men the

surname Singh (lion) as a reminder to be courageous,

and women the surname Kaur (princess) to emphasize

dignity. With the distinct Khalsa identity, Guru Gobind

Sing Ji gave all Sikhs the opportunity to live lives of

courage, sacrifice, and equality. These Sikhs were to

dedicate their lives to the service of others and the

pursuit of justice.

Source: www.littlesikhs.com

Image: sikhanswers.com

Spring has arrived and it’s hard to believe that there are only a couple of months left in Kindergarten.

In Literacy, we have continued to work on our letter booklets, learning blends and new sight words. Students have begun reading short sentences in their letter booklets. In Science, we will be starting our unit on insects, butterflies and dinosaurs. In Math, the focus has been on some extensive patterns, shapes and sorting based on single attributes. We will also continue to work on colours and number words up to 10. Working with numbers

11-20 and measuring using non-standard units will also be a focus. In Social Studies, we will be exploring “where we come from?” The habit of the month is Habit 6: Synergize, which is the habit of teamwork. Students will practice synergizing by working together cooperatively to achieve a common goal.

Ms. Kaur and Ms. Chidley

Literacy: We will be finishing narrative writing, and then focusing on procedural texts and biographies. Procedural texts tell the reader how to do something, for example, how to make cookies, feed a pet, or play a game. In our biographies unit, students will learn the steps in order to complete a biography. Students will get the opportunity to research and complete a biography on an author who writes children’s books.

Math: We will be focusing on our Linear Measurement unit. We will be focusing on estimating, measuring, comparing, and de-scribing height using multiple copies of non–standard units. Students will recognize that the measurements of given dimensions stay constant regardless of orientation. Students will learn that changing the orientation of an object does not alter the measure-

ments of its attributes.

Science: We will be focusing on our Boats and Buoyancy unit. In the Boats and Buoyancy unit, we will be looking at materials and components that are appropriate for designing and building a boat. Social Studies: We have continued learning about Meteghan, Saskatoon, and Iqaluit. We will be focusing on our third unit,

which is “Looking at Work”. Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of how geography, culture, language, heritage, economics, and resources shape and change Canada’s communities.

Ms. Gill and Mrs. Salmon

Teacher’s Corner

Grade 2

Grade 1

Literacy: In April students will be working on retelling important events in a story through sequencing and will be working on

identifying the main ideas of the texts. Long vowels are completed. Remember to review the rules with your child. Students will

be learning verb tenses and adjectives to help add detail and depth to their writing.

Math: Students will continue to hone addition and subtraction skills from 0-20. Students will begin to explore shape and space

and explore 2D and 3D shapes and their characteristics.

Science: Students will begin to explore the needs of plants and animals. Students will be exploring living and non-living things.

Students will be exploring how to keep plants and animals alive as well as exploring local species. Students will be visiting the

Calgary Zoo to explore Canadian wildlife in May!

Social: Our students are learning about their families and are learning to recognize how their ancestors contributed to their

sense of identity within their family and communities.

Ms. Raeewal & Mrs. Kaur

Page 3

Kindergarten

Students started March with their strongest foot forward and great excitement

for the blooming (and warmer) season of spring.

In language arts, students have learnt about the features of persuasive writing. They are focus-

ing on Descriptive writing next. At the same time, students are expanding their vocabulary

knowledge with “text-talks.” On spelling tests, students have been challenged to pay more

attention to the meanings of words. Research shows that spelling tests are ineffective when

students are asked to just memorize information which is only a short-term practice. If not

regularly used, the memorized information will be lost very quickly. In science, both Engineer-

ing companies have done a fantastic job testing a variety of materials. They already built vari-

ous structures by taking what we learned and applying it to various projects. We are looking

forward to the bridges that they are going to design from home during their Vaisakhi Break

and then build them at school after they come back. In Math, students are currently working

on the Measurement Unit. Students are learning how to relate the passage of time to com-

mon activities, using nonstandard and standard units. They will demonstrate an understanding

of measuring length and mass throughout the unit. Following the Measurement unit is the

Fractions unit. In Social Studies, we have departed on our last trip of the year to “INDIA”.

We will hope to explore in detail what this wonderful country has to offer. Good luck, every-

one! Woah! It’s going to be a busy month in the Grade 3 classes.

Mrs. Parhar and Mrs. Konrad

Punjabi

Grade 3

Teacher’s Corner

Division 1: Punjabi/Gurmat

KG : Most students in KG have shown excellent progress in Punjabi/ Gurmat class. We really

appreciate parents’ support at home in reading and writing Punjabi words. They will be sent indi-

vidualized homework for Visakhi break. The parents are requested to help them in completing

the assigned homework so that they continue learning new matra sounds. The students are also

encouraged to memorize at least next 3-4 pauris of Japji Sahib.

G-1, 2 & 3: All students will be working on their assigned homework for Visakhi break. They will be

getting differentiated homework according to their present level. The parents are requested to en-

courage them to complete their homework and assist them in doing reading and writing practice at

home. The students are also encouraged to memorize at least next 3-4 pauris of Japji Sahib.

The Punjabi Team: Mrs. Kaur, Mrs. Khara, and Mrs. Gill

Page 4

Page 5

Students in division 1 celebrated the

100th day of school on March 5th. There

were some great costumes worn by stu-

dents dressing like they were 100! Stu-

dents did various 100 related activities

within their classrooms such as art pro-

jects, math activities, exercises, writing,

and reading challenges to celebrate 100

days of learning this school year. It was a

lot of fun for everyone! Here are some

pictures from Mrs. Salmon’s grade 2

class!

We celebrated the end of our penguin unit

by celebrating penguin day in division 1 on

March 1st. Students wore black and white

and participated in various penguin activities.

Throughout the penguin unit we learned

about the parts of the penguin, about their

habitat and their food, as well as about a

penguin’s life cycle. Students created various

penguin art pieces throughout the unit.

Division 1 Speech Competition Results

A big congratulations to all semi-finalists and finalists in the division 1 speech competition! The winners are:

Kindergarten and Grade 1: Baani Hallan, Grade 1, Mrs. Kaur

Grades 2 and 3: Ravneek Brar, Grade 3, Mrs. Konrad

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

31

Gurdwara Visit

10:30-11:15 am

1

2

3

Spring bus evacuation

drill– 7:30 am

Southland

4

5

Bana Day

Dastaar Day

Vaisakhi Celebration

6

Vaisakhi Break

Begins

7 8 9

Joti Jot Guru

Angad Dev Ji

10

Joti Jot Guru

Hargobid Singh Ji

11

12

13

14

Vaisakhi

15 16 17

Gurgadhi Guru Teg

Bahadar Ji

Joti Jot Guru

Harkrishan Sahib Ji

18 19

Good Friday

20

21

Easter Sunday

22

Vaisakhi Break

Ends

Easter Monday

23

Welcome

Back!

24

Parkash Guru Teg

Bahadar Sahib Ji

Staff Meeting– 3:15pm

25

26

Casual Day

Parkash Guru Arjan

Dev Sahib Ji

27

28 29

Fire Drill

30 1

2

6pm– PAC Meeting

3

Bana Day/Pizza Lunch

Progress Reports

1pm– L.H. Assembly

4

Page 6