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Asian - American Heritage - Punjabis in Canada, a chronology. . 1998
- Founding of First Sikh Preschool in Northern
California
Darshan Singh signals the end of religious ceremonies dedicating the Guru Ram Das Khalsa preschool. The new school is the first Sikh school in Northern California. Sacramento Bee, March 9, 1998, Section B, 1
Photograph: Chris Crewell Harpeet Bains of Yuba City, left, holds son Barron, 3, while Diljit Bains, center, and Nina Gill talk Sunday after a 72-hour prayer to bring good luck to the new Guru Ram Das Khalsa preschool in Yuba City. Sacramento Bee, March 9, 1998, Section B, 1 (with permission) by Peter Hecht, Bee Staff Writer. Sikhs Come Together to Celebrate Opening of Yuba City School Yuba City - For members of the Sikh religious community in Sutter County and across the Sacramento region, the Guru Ram Das Khalsa preschool was a long held dream. For years, many in the 10,000-member Sikh community had talked about opening a school to provide a multicultural education for their children, who were quickly assimilating into American society without learning the language, culture and history of their ancestors. On Sunday, scores of Sikhs gathered to celebrate the opening of the first Sikh school in Northern California. The Guru Ram Das Khalsa school, opened in converted offices at the Sikh Temples in Yuba City, will start as a preschool for children for ages 3 to 5. It will eventually expand to serve children in kindergarten through the third grade. The church is building a permanent school on Lincoln Road in Yuba City. "More than anything, we saw that with each generation, our youth was losing touch with their culture," said Diljit Bains, a real estate developer in the Yuba-Sutter region and a member of the board of trustees for the new school. "I think that culture needs to be put back into the schools to maintain it. " On Sunday, as some the first 30 preschoolers excitedly cavorted on the playground, the proud adults dined on potato samosas, a carrot dessert and eggless cake. For 72 straight hours prior to the celebration, members of the Sikh community had honored the school by praying in alternating shifts-reading from the Guru Granth Sahib, the 1,430-page collection of writing from Sikh holy masters. Dr. Jasbir Kang, a Yuba City physician and another member of the school's board of trustees, said he is pleased that many of the children will be able to learn the native language-Punjabi-of their India-born parents. But he also said the school will have both Sikh and non-Sikh teachers to give pupils a multicultural experience.
Source: Sacramento Bee Monday 3/9/1998 B1, B3, Col.1
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