Here is the Test from 9-29-2013.  We covered Guru Nanak's Life, the reasons we need a Guru, and why we want to be Sikhs in the month of September.  In October we will cover Guru Angad's and Guru Amar Das's lives and contributions.  The Quiz below is worth a 100 points (4 points each question then 20 points for the essay).

Number	Question
1	What city was Guru Nanak born in?
2	In what country today is Gurudwara Janam Asthan?
3	What is the name of Guru Nanak's sister?
4	What job did Guru Nanak do when he was 16 years old?
5	What city did Guru Nanak help create?
6	What was the name of Guru Angad before he became Guru?
7	What does the name "Angad" mean?
8	Who said "No koi Hindu, na koi Musalman" after he came out of the river?
9	Name at least 2 languages that Guru Nanak studied
10	Which Guru questioned the pandit about why he had to wear a sacred thread?
11	What was the name of Guru Nanak's companion?
12	Who wrote Japji Sahib?
13	What was the name of the Hindu group that Guru Nanak met in the mountains?
14	What was the name of the Hindu social system that Sikhs think is not fair?
15	What is the name of Guru Nanak's older son?
19	From whom did Guru Amar Das learn about Guru Nanak and Guru Angad ?
20	What were the names of Guru Nanak's parents?
20 points	Why are you a Sikh?

5 Takhts

1) Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Amritsar- 1609)
2) Takht Sri Harmander Sahib (Patna-1666)
3) Takht Sri Kes Garh Sahib(Anandpur- 1699)
4) Takht Sri Hazoor Sahib(Nander- 1708)
5) Takht Sri Damdama Sahib(Talwandi- 1966)

Minutes from Sept 2nd meeting

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!

Minutes (roughly) from September 2, 2013:

Present:  Ajay S, Amardeep S, Ranjit K, Amarpreet S, Sonia K,Sukhchain S, Jaspal S, Rajdeep S, Jasmeen K

Absent: Suneet K, Satiandra S, Harpreet K, Aman S,Dharminder S, Rimmi K, Savinaypal S, Gureet K,

.

Class material discussion

b.

Virsa

i.

Focus for levels 3 will still be the Guru Periodbut more in depth

ii.

More focus on Gurbani

iii.

Jaspal S, Savinay S, and Amarpreet S will be teaching Virsa

iv.

More efforts by parents to educate those kids that are having challenges

v.

We need to cite our references/sources for some topics and share resources with each other and with the parents if possible.

vi.

Level 4 to be figured out by Ajay and Rajdeep

1.

Maharaja Ranjeet Singh to pre-independence era

2.

Gurudwara Reform, Singh Sabhamovement.

3.

Some Gurmat Concepts

c.

Jasmeen K will be taking a course and not available until Mid-October

i.

Gureet K or alternative teacher will need to fill in

 

.

Classes start September 8th

a.

Akhand Paath planned this Sept 8thmeans assembly will be downstairs

b.

New Format starts at 9:15 am promptly

c.

Hukamnama board needed for the foyer/main entry to the Gurudwara

i.

Rahao tuk should be placed on the board

d.

Until Board decides on structure for Sept 8th Rajdeep S will be the administrator of the school for the day

 

.

Administrative structure

a.

Sunday September 15th board meeting

b.

Proposal to have Amardeep S and Rajdeep S as 2 administrative sevadaars

c.

We still need to be inclusive with other parents as much as possible

d.

Parents are allowed and encouraged to attend school meetings

e.

Amarpreet reviewed the reasons for an Education committee

i.

Sense that kids are being hand-picked for educational activities and others not feeling included

ii.

Need and concern for more kids to be included in the school has been recognized for some time, but this is counter-balanced by other issues:

1.

Competitive issues for space – if we get many more kids wewill have even a harder time than already exists in finding classroom space.

2.

Concern that some kids/parents don’t maintain involvement unless trulyinterested.  Most of the parents that are interested already are coming; not sure it’s worth pushing others to come more than has already been done.

f.

Reinforced that a lot of great ideas came from the Educational Meeting and strong desire for Education committee members to stay involved and that the meeting 2 weeks ago was simply to make sure we are all in agreement regarding the best ways to move forward.

i.

Vaisakhi mela

ii.

Newsletter

 

.

Panjabi lessons

a.

Will be posted on the Blog site

b.

Main focusing

i.

Reading

ii.

Vocabulary

iii.

Writing

c.

Emphasize practice at home

d.

Level 4 wants to help write full sentences.

 

.

Attendance

a.

Ajay proposed an attendance log

b.

Prize for those students that have accumulated a certain number of points

 

.

Supplies

a.

White board on Easel

b.

Meaning comes from Professor Sahib Singh

c.

More markers (dry erase)

d.

Looseleaf papers needed

e.

3 hole punch

f.

Spiral Notebooks preferred

g.

Parents

h.

Pocket folders for Level I

 

.

Sharing of Information

a.

Updated information is kept at:http://cltpunjabischool.blogspot.com/.

i.

Maintains the correct current email distribution list in this manner

ii.

Free, low maintenance, easy to get onto Ipad,iphone etc.

Minutes from Aug 18th meeting

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!

Minutes (roughly) from 8-18-2013:

Present:  Satiandra S, Ajay S, Rajdeep S, Aman S, Amardeep S, Sukhchain S, Suneet K, Jaspal S, Dhaminder S, Harpreet K, Ranjit K, Sonia K

Absent: Amarpreet  S, Rimmi K, Savinaypal S, Gureet K, Jasmeen K

I.                    Administrative Discussion  – there was a long discussion regarding the administrative structure  and needs of the school, current role of the Education committee, the needs of the community/sangat members, and  the need for regular communication with the gurudwara management. The formation and role of the current education committee was discussed. General consensus was that the structure should be defined by consensus of the group and then presented to the gurudwara management board for approval rather than having appointed members by the board. It was felt that the above objectives will be best achieved by democratic process of electing members from the core group of teachers, who will work then with coordinators of various school activities.  The structures that were put forth and discussed included: the 5 member education committee, one person liaison, and 2-person sevadaars.     .   Pros/cons of various methods to move forward were discussed.  After much thought there was a vote regarding the  options proposed::

a.       5-member education committee of 5 Sevadaars – 0 votes

b.      2-person Education Sevadaars – 11 votes

c.       1-person Education Sevadaar – 0 votes

d.      (note: one person abstained)

The above voting results will be presented to the president of the Gurudwara Dr. Mac and the gurudwara management board.

II.                  Role of Elected Education Sevadaars – this is to be further refined by the group, but essentially:

a.       To serve the varied educational needs of the Charlotte Gurudwara sangat, including the Gurmat School, its students, and teachers, by assisting in coordinating the efforts of various educational activities.

b.      To regularly update and work in concert with the Charlotte Gurudwara Management committee and its Board regarding the educational activities being implemented, and assist as needed.

c.       Help define and identify additional resources that might be needed for such efforts.

d.      To lead a quarterly (roughly) education meeting in which all teachers, parents, and interested parties are welcome to attend which is to be used to re-align efforts

III.                Guiding principles of Education Sevadaars

a.       To represent the Charlotte Sangat as a whole in a Gurmat-aligned and professional manner

b.      Sevadaars will be elected by the members of the Gurmat school

c.       Primary Sevadaar will assume the lead role for that year and will rotate off duty at the end of that year.

d.      Secondary Sevadaar will, after one year of seva, assume primary responsibility and take over Primary role

e.      A new secondary sevadaar will then be appointed at the end of the year.

f.        Only adult members of the Charlotte Sangat, who are designated Sikhs as defined by the Sikh Rehat Maryada as published by the SGPC, and actively participate in the ongoing gurudwara school activities are eligible for nomination to be Sevadaars.

IV.                Curriculum for next year (roughly)

a.       More emphasis in trying to coordinate the Virsa lessons with the Gurupurab that is near the time period

b.      Nanakshahi calendar fairly easy to align to except for Guru Nanak’s birth which we will leave as traditionally celebrated which this year is November 17^th

c.       Assembly: to start at 9:15 am in the Divaan Hall (unless ongoing activity)

                                                               i.      Choti Ardaas to start

                                                             ii.      10 Gurus, 4 Sahibzade, 5 piare, 5 takhts

                                                            iii.      1 pauri from Japji Sahib to recite together

                                                           iv.      1 line from hukamnama to be read/reviewed briefly

                                                             v.      Dress: dastaars encouraged and shorts/skirts discouraged

d.      9:30am class starts in usual classrooms (see spreadsheet for teachers, student listings)

                                                               i.      Level 1 – same focus as last year

1.       Lead teacher may switch from Suneet Kaur to another few teachers including Jasmeen, Simran,  and Tarun, others?

                                                             ii.      Level 2 – More focus in Panjabi on motor skills in writing, and in Virsa on Guru period

1.       Panjabi by Rimmi and Harpreet

2.       Virsa by Harpreet and Suneet . The older level 4 students can also be used as learning buddy helpers on an as needed basis.

                                                            iii.      Level 3 – Continued Panjabi development and in Virsa to incorporate lines from Gurbani with the Guru’s history

1.       Panjabi by Ranjit and Sonia

2.       Virsa by Jaspal and a 2^nd teacher needed(Possibly Satiandra or I. Rajpal)

                                                           iv.      Level 4 – Panjabi reading and writing.  Some discussion on whether 2 of the students should move up, but for now group felt to leave as current groups.  Virsa to focus on Ranjit Singh time period and beyond, finish with pre-Independence?  Also, the Panjabi and Gurmat to similarly align with historical concepts.

1.       Panjabi by Aman and Amar

2.       Virsa by Rajdeep and Ajay

V.                  Sharing of Information

a.       Amar has been using Google weblog software where all the information can be seen by all who are interested

                                                               i.      Requires the individual to log in with their email(There’s no log in currently needed to just view – but can be made if needed). Email/Login is needed to contribute or post content.

                                                             ii.      Updates are emailed automatically

                                                            iii.      Maintains the correct current email distribution list in this manner

                                                           iv.      Free, low maintenance, easy to get onto Ipad, iphone etc.

b.      This is easy to align with any gurwara website under construction and Amar will work with gurdwara management to make sure it   aligns well  with the structure and information on the Charlotte Gurudwara website

c.       Education sevadaars will play an active role in these efforts

VI.                Calendar:  we had a nice discussion regarding which Gurpurabs to celebrate at the school (4 this year) and incorporate the others into the classroom curriculum.  We also discussed that traditional school holidays except for Memorial Day, most of us are in town anyways and would rather have the kids in class.  We decided to not take spring breaks “off” since the calendars for the various school systems are off.

a.       September 2013:  Classes on 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29. 

                                                               i.      No specific Gurupurab celebrations planned

b.      October 2013 – Classes on 10/6, 10/13, 10/20. 

                                                               i.      Oct 9^th – Gurpurab planned

                                                             ii.      Gurta Guddi Divas Oct 21^st at the Gurudwara.(I thought we were going combine this with gurudwara celebration next week – October 27^th)

                                                            iii.      Note: 10 year anniversary of the Gurudwara this year will be held that month 

c.       November 2013 – Classes Nov 3^rd, 10^th, 24^th

                                                               i.      Nov 17^th – Gurupurab Guu Nanak

d.      December 2013 – Classes Dec 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd (we decided to continue for now)

                                                               i.      Class on December 29^th is preparation for Gurpurab January 5^th

e.      January 2014 – Classes Jan 12^th, 19^th, 26^th

                                                               i.      Jan 5^th is Gurupurab  for Guru Gobind Singh

f.        February 2014 – Classes Feb 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th

g.       March 2014 – Classs March 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th

h.      April 2014 – Classes April 6^th, 13^th, 20^th, 27^th

                                                               i.      April 14^th is Vaisakhi

i.         May 2014 – May 4^th, 11^th, 18^th

                                                               i.      Taking off Memorial Day

j.        June 1^st – Class June 1^st will be a discussion/celebration of the Shaheedi of Guru Arjan and other Gurpurabs that month

VII.              Resources needed – there was general consensus that we all want to hold classes during the actual Divaan time so that the kids and sangat can participate collectively in activities at the Gurudwara.  However, space is an issue and so we decided to keep the classrooms as currently being discussed but considering a trailer solution until there is more defined classroom space.

a.       Amar and Jaspal were going to look into the trailer logistics

b.      Will then present to the group as a whole at the next meeting regarding the funds needed for this.