Our Approach To Teaching

Philosophy and Approach to Teaching:

Establishing the school has been identified as the most important step for the community to enhance and preparedness of young children need as they effectively assume leadership roles, within the own community, as well as with in the broader Canadian and Global community. “ਮਾਨਸ ਕੀ ਜਾਤ ਸਬੈਏਕੈਪਹਚਾਨਬੋ”- recognize whole human race as one. At Gobind Sarvar, we believe in equality and equity where we inspire our students and staff to respect all despite of others’ race, nationality, religion, different opinion or sexuality. To make sure our students receive the highest level of education; we provide our teachers with high-quality professional development opportunities. At Gobind Sarvar we believe in three pillars of live: mind, body and soul. Therefore, facilitating and supporting to develop mentally, spiritually, and physically is must. These pillars aim build strong foundational skills to reach the students highest potential even during challenging times of life. Gobind Sarvar also supports keeping the children connected to their roots which would help them grow up to be a mindful and responsible citizen who will serve the global community without any judgments.

Our mission is to create lifelong learners and as such to foster this we believe in using an inquiry method. Lessons are guided by student’s curiosity, engagement and questions. We believe in extending consciousness through inquiry approaches along with Gurbani and Keertan curriculum. At Gobind Sarvar we believe that the external as well as internal spiritual growth is important.
Bringing in nature and creating an environment which is calm for students thereby avoiding loud, colourful distracting environment. Giving students ownership of their classroom and how it is set up and decorated.
Gurmat and Gurbani curriculum is integrated into Alberta Education Curriculum. It shows how Gurbani is interconnected with our personal growth.
Every morning, the whole student population and teachers come together in the Meditation room to participate in morning Simran.

At Gobind Sarvar, We believe in:
Inspiring students to follow Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s teachings and to stay connected to their Sikh heritage and values.
Creating an atmosphere of mindfulness. Strengthening the links between Family, School, Darbar Sahib and Community.

At Gobind Sarvar, We believe in:

Supporting students in the construction of their own “knowledge and process bank” through an
inquiry approach to discovering, exploring, and problem solving.
Providing students with the tools, confidence and encouragement they need to succeed in our
ever-changing “Global Village”.
Sustaining and promoting high quality personal, educational and moral standards.
Utilizing today’s technology to build a foundation to exceed tomorrow’s expectations.
Inspiring students to follow Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s teachings and to stay connected to their Sikh heritage.
Creating an atmosphere of mindfulness.
Strengthening the links between Family, School, Gurdwara and Community.

At Gobind Sarvar, We expect students to:

Respect themselves and their peers, teachers, staff and visitors at school.
Follow and live by Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji’s teachings.
Work hard to the best of their abilities, learn from mistakes and live by growth mind set.
Accept the uniqueness of all human beings, respect for all, and realize that others might have different opinions and they can be right.

Character Education Program – Essential Values

Gobind Sarvar School has a unique character education program. We teach the students the “Eight Core values of Sikhi”. The Global Gobind Sarvar community delved deep into the teachings of Sikhi and formed the Core Eight values which are universal throughout the Gobind Sarvar Schools. The staff will continue to add to their collection of lessons plans that they are developing to teach these values. All staff members will be encouraged to use the School essential values’ language correlating with Gurbani whenever possible. We are looking forward to making a great impact in our students’ lives.

Agenda Planners

Students from Grade 1- 3 through will have an agenda planner. This planner has many purposes. It is to keep track of daily homework and forthcoming tests, school events, and notices. It guides students to take responsibility and planning their learning. All parents are expected to check and sign the agenda on a daily basis. In order to stay in touch with parents, teachers also use Google Classrooms. Google class will be updated by teachers on a regular basis to make parents aware of the learning taking place in the classrooms.

Student Recognition

Celebrating student success is important at Gobind Sarvar School. In our classes and at school assemblies the staff and the school will make every effort to recognize the positive attitudes and achievements of students. Throughout the year, to encourage students to perform to the best of their ability in all areas, students are recognized for academic awards at the end of each term. At the end of the year, an awards assembly will be held to recognize the achievement of all students. During this assembly, academic achievement awards will be presented to students for outstanding performances. As well, each month, we will hold a Core Values Assembly. In this assembly, teachers will recognize students in their class who worked hard during the prior month to learn and follow an essential value that the whole school would have focused on.

Celebration of Learning

We believe that each student has their own learning strengths and needs. Throughout the school year students make many accomplishments in all subject areas. At Gobind Sarvar, we recognize and share students’ learning and their work with the school community and parents. Parents will have the opportunity to meet with the teachers during scheduled Parent-Teacher conferences at least three times a year. These conferences provide opportunities for parents and teachers to work together as a team to help the child reach their full potential. Please check the school calendar to see when the “Celebration of Learning” sessions are scheduled for 2022-2023 school year. Prior to the Celebration of Learning, a newsletter will be sent home to advise parents to book an appointment with their child(ren)’s teacher.

Student Assessment and Evaluation

At Gobind Sarvar, we believe utilizing different assessment strategies will create positive outcomes in students’ learning. These outcomes include an increase of students’ self-esteem, motivation, clear understanding of expect-ations, and progress reports that can be made available to the teachers, parents, and students. Using various forms of assessment contributes to the mastery of 21st century competencies such as problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. We will use a balanced assessment approach to assess all of our students according to their learning needs. At Gobind Sarvar we value assessment for learning as it is equally beneficial for teachers as much as it is for students. Students will be assessed daily to effectively monitor their growth. Parents can expect to hear regularly from teachers about their child’s progress in various subjects. After each unit and appropriate to grade level, there will be a summative assessment. Since our focus continues to be on Literacy, all students’ initial reading assessments will be done in the month of September.

Gurmukhi, Gurmat and Gurmat Sangeet Instruction

The students at Gobind Sarvar School will have Gurmukhi and Gurmat classes every week. The
teacher will use the “Gobind Sarvar Gurmukhi Curriculum” to guide teaching. This program will be supplemented by other books and resources as required. Kirtan will be the main focus of our
music program. The students will receive instructions on Kirtan lessons on alternating days with their Gurmat / Punjabi studies. In these classes, the students will learn Shabads and the basic elements and skills of music. Each student will be introduced to playing both the harmonium and
tabla.

Homework

Gobind Sarvar wishes for students to participate in extracurricular activities after school such as sports, afterschool clubs and go to Darbar Sahib with parents and siblings. However, to encourage students to develop the confidence, responsibility and self-discipline to work on their own, we believe that homework is an essential skill to have that not only helps to succeed academically but in many other aspects of life. We encourage our students to practice new knowledge and skills (e.g., practice physical skills, practice harmonium or tabla, use new knowledge to complete a project, or practice basic literacy and math skills). The teachers will not usually set substantial homework tasks to be completed for younger grades. We request parents’ support to help in completing assigned learning. In the elementary grades, enjoying reading is a key factor in overall academic success. Therefore, we would like students to spend at least 15-20 minutes reading every night. Parents are encouraged to read with their child when possible. We want all of our students to succeed. Therefore, if a student is struggling in any subject area the teacher will be in touch with parents to set up an individual success plan.

Discipline Philosophy

The goal of discipline is to create a safe, caring and dynamic learning environment and school culture. At Gobind Sarvar we aim for discipline instead of punishment therefore parents and school cooperatively to facilitate the best discipline procedure. Discipline is based on the principle of respect, equality, equity and consistency. Student discipline plan focuses on individual student needs and are consistent and flexible.

Discipline Delivery

At Gobind Sarvar, we believe that each student is an important individual who deserves the best education possible. This means that students must be prepared to adhere to the following expectations.

Attend school regularly and punctually

Respect all members of school community

Cooperate fully with school staff

Parents are accepted to cooperatively work with the school.

The goal of Gobind Sarvar is to provide our students with a encouraging environment where they can conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with their expectations. When students violate these standards, they will be referred to the Gobind Sarvar pyramid of intervention. The goal of these interventions is to help students recognize their responsibilities and make better choices going forward.

Administration will directly deal with incidents which fall under:
Fighting
Bullying, Harassment or threat
Absence
Disciplinary interventions are designed to help students recognize their responsibilities and make better decisions in the future. They will also be dealt with according to their discipline.
To deal with minor incident, teachers will deal with minor infractions through a variety of methods such as discussion, problem-solving, and parental contact. If the behavior isn’t being corrected, they will refer the student to the administration. This can be done through further discussions with the parents or through the involvement of the administration.