On 8 December, 30 educators primarily from the Guru Gobind Singh Academy joined Jasmine Kaur,Director of Education, and Harliv Kaur, Curriculum Developer, for an all-day Advanced Teacher Training. The sessions were centered around challenging teachers to identify their teaching styles and then striving to incorporate other styles to match student-learning styles.

"We consider SikhRI an extension of our team and despite multiple trainings over the last 5 years, we continue to be inspired by the tools, techniques and Sojhi we take away from their visits,” said Ranjit Singh, school administrator and instructor. “To reinforce our learning, we also get to observe SikhRI apply the techniques directly with our students as well as meet with parents to ensure there is holistic learning and application. Our school would not be where it is today without the strong partnership and support of SikhRI, and above all Waheguru's kirpa."

Later in the day educators practiced strategies and activities which addressed Boli (language arts) and Virsa(Sikh history). “When faculty gets together they bounce ideas off each other,” said Ekta Bhatia, from Norwalk,CT. “We were provoked to think differently, trust our students to reach the goal in their own way, and unlearn that there is one right way of doing things, allowing them to be more creative.”

On 9 December, workshops were held for students and parents. The students workshop, “Sikhi and Self Confidence” was presented for two age groups: Harliv Kaur lead one for 60 elementary students and Jasmine Kaur lead one for 20 middle and high school students. Both workshops were introduced as discussion forums where the students could engage with each other and the facilitators to explore what self-confidence means through the lens of Sikhi. Students talked about how to arrive at a clear knowledge of who you are and to harness the clarity of purpose and positive attitude that are key to demonstrating the power of self-confidence.

In the afternoon, about 50 parents gathered to engage on the topic“Nurturing Sikhi in Your Child.” Jasmine Kaur facilitated the discussion which centered around developing value patterns in the home and family that would be passed on to the next generation as well. Harliv Kaur ran a class for preschool aged children so that their parents could enjoy the workshop. The youngsters explored the Gurmukhi letter sassa and went on a scavenger hunt to build their vocabulary of sassa words.

Immediately after the parents and students workshops, Jasmine Kaur addressed the gurduara sangat, thanking them for hosting the trainings and emphasizing the productive importance of nurturing growth and development in education at all levels.

“The administration of the Guru Gobind Singh Academy has made a very conscious effort over the years to invest in customized trainings for their educators because they realize that strong teachers equipped with confidence and educational tools create ripples of strength and knowledge in their classrooms and the community.” said Jasmine Kaur.

I have been fortunate enough to attend the training by SikhRI for the second year and I am very happy to say that each year I am learning more strategies of how to engage the children in class. The hands-on training that we get during the day is amazing,” said Kuldip Samra, from Stamford, CT. “I look forward to implementing what I have learned today into my daily teaching with my own children at home. Sikhri puts a lot of energy and thought into the training day and I would recommend it anytime.”

Contact Person: Varinder Kaur | info@SikhRI.org | +1.210.757.4555