Director of Education

Message from Director of Education

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Dear Parents and Students,
What a year! We saw our schools close down and go fully online last March due to the global pandemic, and in September 2020 we re-started schools under new Health and Safety guidelines. Despite all of the challenges, Khalsa Lions remained determined, resilient and in Chardi Kala.

At Khalsa Schools, our goal is to provide a safe, positive and an educationally stimulating environment for our students. Teachers, administrators and support staff rose to this challenge throughout this year. I saw our youngest students at Khalsa School Newton to our secondary students at Khalsa Secondary School plant community gardens. Our students at Khalsa School
Old Yale Elementary educated their classmates on safe school practices on Pink Shirt Day. Khalsa School Fraser Valley has flourished after merging with our Mission campus and it was thrilling to see students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 participate so enthusiastically in the school wide Science Fair. Students were so proud of their accomplishments. It is always a joy to
see them learn.

Alongside the pandemic this year, we saw many social justice issues arise in our global community. Our students learned about justice, equality, standing up for the rights of others and most importantly, how to start conversations in regard to these issues. We saw our farmers start to fight for basic human rights in India, and they continue to fight this battle today. Our
students passionately raised funds, learned about, and attended Covid-safe gatherings to have their voices be heard about these issues. Our Khalsa School Newton students raised thousands of dollars to support hospitals in India during the COVID crisis. All of our students participated in Orange Shirt Day at the beginning of the school year, and again organized events to further Truth and Reconciliation efforts in our school community after the tragic discovery of 215 children’s remains at a former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Due to these global events, our students really focused on learning how to speak up for others who are suffering and explored important values such as justice and equality, just as our Gurus taught us.

Justice, equality, compassion, courage are just a few of the values instilled within academic and Gurmat education at Khalsa Schools of BC. Every month our Gurmat Department works with our academic teachers to share virtues and values taught by our Gurus, so that our students may learn how these values are so important in today’s world. We work to help students make these connections, so that alongside being high achieving in the academic, sport and Gurmat fields, they are also being raised to better the Sikh panth and the global community.

I am extremely proud of all of our students at Khalsa Schools of BC. I can say with the utmost confidence that due to their supporting home environments and their education at Khalsa
Schools, they make our community and this world a better place. 

Finally, we look forward to once again welcoming our parents back at our school events in September 2021. It has been a lonely year without you physically there supporting your children and our schools! We cannot do any of this without you, so thank you for all that you do.

Please enjoy your summer and always stay in Chardi Kala!

Sincerely,

Gurminder Kaur Malik
Director of Education
Khalsa Schools of BC