'Language is a vital part of culture': The new Punjabi bilingual program being offered in Seven Oaks School Division.
A new Punjabi bilingual program is coming to Seven Oaks School Division next school year.
Amber Trails Community School will be offering the program to students in kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2.
"The community is excited about having the language learning happening in public school settings, rather than them sending students only to after school programs. So they are excited it's part of the curriculum," said school principal Navjeet Kambo.
Students will receive Punjabi instruction in core subjects for about half of the day. There will also be some focus on Indian culture and history.
Registration for the program opened two weeks ago, and has been met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Vice-principal Jamil Mian said an open house held this week was a huge success.
"We were surprised to hear from the community when we opened it up to questions and comments how proud the community was to have their languages represented in Canadian schools. So that was amazing to hear," said Mian.
This is the fourth non-French bilingual program offered in the Seven Oaks School Division, which currently runs similar programs in Ukrainian, Ojibway, and Tagalog.
Kambo said Amber Trails was chosen for the Punjabi program because it is a hub for Winnipeg's Indian community. "Language is a vital part of a culture. To keep culture alive, languages need to be flowing between generations, and they need to be passed on from one generation to the other."
Seven Oaks anticipates expanding the program to other grades in the future.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.