On Friday, April 26, leadership students at Gibson Elementary will host the school's first Vaisakhi Celebration. It will take place outside near the primary playground area, weather permitting, between 1:45-2:45pm.
This month, students at the school learned about Vaisakhi and what it means, including the importance of Seva (selfless giving). Grade 7 Leadership students used the book "Garden of Peace" by Navjot Kaur to explain the importance of the five seeds of Khalsa: Daya (kindness), Dharam (fairness), Mohkam (determination), Sahib (changemaker), and Himmat (courage) during their class presentations.
Last week, Grade 6/7 classes practiced Seva by creating over 300 seed packages to distribute to each child. These colourful wildflower seed packages were made to brighten each child's day with positivity - a principle known as Chardi Kala.' As changemakers, leadership students also collectively organized a Vaisakhi Food Drive to help the greater North Delta community. Currently, they have collected 16 boxes of food which will be donated to the Guru Nanak Food Bank.
This week, each class is taking part in a Bhangra lesson thanks to Simran Sohal, owner of Rim Jhim Bhangra.
"Students wanted to create a stall experience with a focus on seva - selfless giving and building community - similar to the Nagar Kirtan that happens in Vancouver and Surrey. I am so proud of their hard work in setting up this event and their desire to give back to their local community," said Sonia Rundhawa, Child and Youth Care Worker at Gibson Elementary, who along with Satpaul Gill, Grade 3/4 Teacher, has supported students in organizing the school's Vaisakhi activities.
Stalls will be set up by the PAC and various community businesses to distribute cupcakes, popcorn, samosas, jalebis and hot drinks. There will also be various activities for children including colouring sheets, skipping ropes and outdoor chalk.
Many thanks to the Gibson PAC, Silk Lounge, Jagga Sweets, Starbucks, Universal Track & Field, Fraser Health and the Delta Police Department and Delta Fire & Emergency Services for their invaluable support of this event.
Families and community members are invited to attend the Vaisakhi Celebration at the school this Friday.
