{"id":2239,"date":"2025-04-14T15:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/?p=2239"},"modified":"2025-04-14T15:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:18:11","slug":"what-is-vaisakhi-sd42-students-explain-how-they-celebrate-in-new-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/what-is-vaisakhi-sd42-students-explain-how-they-celebrate-in-new-video\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Vaisakhi? SD42 students explain how they celebrate in new video"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2240\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress1.blob.core.windows.net\/harryhooge\/2025\/04\/Vaisakhi-Explainer-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Students from three Maple Ridge elementary schools are explaining what Vaisakhi is and how it\u2019s celebrated in a new educational video.<\/p>\n<p>Albion Elementary, Fairview Elementary and Harry Hooge Elementary students in grades 3 to 6 participated, with guidance from English Language Learners (ELL) teachers Harjit Chauhan, Sukhdeep Birdi and Kawaldeep Ghuman. ELL teachers Kana Wiens and Susan\u00a0Eskandari also helped some students practice their parts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to make a video about Vaisakhi to share our students\u2019 experiences and educate our school communities about this important festival in the South Asian community,\u201d explained Chauhan, ELL teacher at Fairview Elementary.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aGRgPGF97v4?si=2yErxkIlG6m-Z17q\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Vaisakhi (or Baisakhi) is a spring festival that celebrates the beginning of the harvest season and the founding of the Khalsa in 1699. It is celebrated by Sikhs around the world and in Punjab, India, where many people rely on farming for their livelihood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur South Asian students, parents and extended family members have come from or have lived in this area and continue to farm in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows,\u201d said Kawaldeep Ghuman, ELL teacher at Harry Hooge Elementary. \u201cIt\u2019s important to acknowledge Vaisakhi because it is meaningful to our students, their families and us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When you acknowledge and showcase different cultures and traditions, you are fostering a sense of inclusion and belonging, she added.<\/p>\n<p>In the video, students break down the meaning of Vaisakhi, the different ways it\u2019s celebrated, and the importance of the harvest. They describe visiting a gurdwara, the Vaisakhi parade (nagar kirtan) and the selfless service (seva) that takes place during the celebration. The students also explain the different traditions they take part in and their significance.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-18765 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/assets\/media\/Vaisakhi-Explainer-4.jpg\" alt=\"ELL teachers Sukhdeep Birdi, Kawaldeep Ghuman, and Harjit Chauhan.\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudents were excited to participate and share their knowledge and experiences about Vaisakhi in the video,\u201d said Sukhdeep Birdi, ELL teacher at Albion Elementary. \u201cThey were excited to dress up in traditional clothing such as their Punjabi suits and kurta pajamas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When students were rehearsing their lines for the video, Chauhan added, they were looking forward to the upcoming celebrations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe could hear the excitement in our students\u2019 voices when they described their Vaisakhi plans such as getting together with family and meeting with their cousins at the parade,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>These discussions were wonderful to take part in, Ghuman added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was interesting to learn how students celebrate Vaisakhi in their own special ways and it was wonderful to make our own personal connections too,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>Vaisakhi is all about spending time with loved ones, dressing up, enjoying traditional food, and spirituality, said Birdi, noting it is much like other spring celebrations in that sense.<\/p>\n<p>In past years, the group of ELL teachers have produced other educational videos with their students highlighting different holidays and traditions, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/district-highlight\/teachers-students-stories\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ramadan<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/district-highlight\/sd42-celebrates-diwali\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Diwali<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/district-highlight\/students-explain-nowruz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nowruz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hope that our Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows school communities gain a better understanding of Vaisakhi and continue to learn about the different festivals that represent our students,\u201d said Chahaun.<\/p>\n<p>This year, Vaisakhi falls on April 14, 2025.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18764\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sd42.ca\/assets\/media\/Vaisakhi-Explainer-2.jpg\" alt=\"Fairview Elementary students stand in front of a Vaisakhi backdrop.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Students from three Maple Ridge elementary schools are explaining what Vaisakhi is and how it\u2019s celebrated in a new educational video. Albion Elementary, Fairview Elementary and Harry Hooge Elementary students [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":2240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2239"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2242,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2239\/revisions\/2242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elementary.sd42.ca\/harryhooge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}