People
The Khalsa Community School: of Brampton
One of the Best Performing Schools of the Region
TERRY DAVIDSON
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Simran, Sewa, and Sadachar.
Respect for God, responsibility, and morality.
This is the motto of the Khalsa Community School, a private elementary school that teaches its academics against the backdrop of Sikh believes, culture and practices around disciplined study, religious reflection, self respect and respecting others.
The teaching of these values, says school administrator Ripsodhak Singh Grewal, is what drives the school’s 665 students to maintain high academic standards -- right from kindergarten to Grade 8.
“These values are incorporated into their day-to-day instructions,” said Principal Ripsodhak Singh, clad in a suit and Sikh turban. “As students, they have to learn responsibility first of all, how they are going to learn from their own selves ... (how) to achieve goals, whatever it is they set their minds on, and continue their efforts.”
The school, which just recently moved from Mississauga to Brampton, made the Fraser Institute’s list of the 10 best performing schools in Mississauga for the 2011-12 school year with a near-perfect score of 9.8 out of 10.
Typical of a private school, a uniform is worn by all of Khalsa’s students: the boys keep their unshorn hair wrapped in a patka and many of the girls wear a headscarf. The head coverings -- all blue in colour -- are accompanied by white tops and grey slacks.
Parents pay over $5,000 to send a child to the Khalsa School for a year, but are eligible for a progressive set of discounts if they enroll more than one.
“It is our philosophy to teach students to think outside of the box, where they develop their reasoning and logical (thinking),” Ripsodkak Singh said as he watched a Grade 6 class play a game of handball. During a timeout, a boy approaches him, clasps his hands together, and quietly addresses his principal in Punjabi.
Ripsodhak Singh explained this to be a standard Sikh greeting: 'Khalsa is of the Lord, and victory is of the Lord.'
He also insisted that the Khalsa school, named after the term given for when someone has been initiated into the full discipline of the Sikh faith, is different from a typical public school due to its teaching of “diligence and moral values”.
[Courtesy: Toronto Sun]
February 18, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Pardeep Singh Nagra (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), February 18, 2013, 11:11 AM.
First and foremost, congratulations to the students and staff for their great achievements. The Khalsa School has shown it's responsibility in achieving great results on the Fraser scorecard. It's now our responsibility as a community to support the school in all the ways possible so that it may continue to nurture great students. I am proud to say that the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada has a great partnership with the school and has set up various historic Sikh exhibitions at the school for the students, staff and community.
2: Pritam Singh,Grewal (Canada), February 18, 2013, 6:07 PM.
Having been myself a Khalsa School student in the 1940s at the Khalsa High School in Qila Raipur, now internationally known as the seat of the rural Olympics in Punjab, I can vouchsafe the standard quality of this best performing community institution.
3: Pashaura Singh (Riverside, California,, USA), February 18, 2013, 11:05 PM.
I was delighted to read this report on the functioning of Brampton's Khalsa Community School. This is a tremendous achievement of the Ontario Sikh community. Much of the credit for its efficient running goes to the Principal, Sardar Ripsodhak Singh Grewal -- son of Sardar Rajinder Singh, the famous headmaster of my own school, G.H.G. Khalsa High[er Secondary] School, Gurusar Sudhar, in the late 1950s and early 60s. It is no wonder that Ripsodhak Singh carries on the rich legacy of his father in running a Khalsa school in Canada. My heartiest congratulations to him! Keep it up!
4: Pritam Singh Grewal (Canada), February 19, 2013, 8:20 AM.
This interesting conversation reminds me about well known educationists like S.Rajinder Singh, S.Iqbal Singh and Giani Harbhagat Singh who laid the foundations of the Khalsa School tradition in Ludhiana district in Punjab. Their contribution, espcially in the rural sector, remains historical.
5: Gurpreet Singh (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), February 19, 2013, 9:29 AM.
Question for my elders and others who understand kids from different cultures brought up together. How would these Sikh kids cope with the challenge of mingling with other students when they hit university? Do they normally do well or they are under stress or depression? Is there any data available for kids from minority communities attending schools designed for their community only and then how do they perform academically and mentally after reaching university? (Assuming they stay in such community schools till Grade 12.)
6: Bikramjeet Singh (India), February 06, 2014, 3:09 AM.
You have done great work.