'I really feel welcome here': Prince George elementary starts after-school Punjabi classes

[Squishybear]

CBC drivel

A new after-school Punjabi-language program at Peden Hill Elementary School in Prince George, B.C., is forging connections between staff members, students and their families.

Principal Nicole Polhuis created the program after she was approached by parents who were worried their children would become disconnected from their Punjabi language and culture.

"Peden Hill has about a 40 per cent Indo-Canadian population, many of which are Punjabi speaking in the home, with a range of fluency levels within our students," she said.

"So we decided to start with an after-school program to see what the interest was and lots of students expressed interest right away, which again made it an easy yes."

The after-school Punjabi classes started in April and run once a week on Mondays until the end of the school year.

"I really like how they're introducing this language to everybody," said Grade 4 student Mehnoor Dhaliwal, who is taking part in the program and speaks Punjabi at home. "I really feel welcome here."

The program is led by Kamaljeet Saini, an fluent Punjabi speaker and educational assistant at Peden Hill, who moved from India to Canada in 2023.

"It's a very proud moment for this school," she said.

Saini said she agreed to lead the after-school program because she's met many people in the Sikh and Punjabi communities in Prince George who want to teach their children Punjabi.

"I think it's necessary because there is a gap between kids and their grandparents," she said. "Students are speaking in English, so how will they converse with their grandparents because they are Punjabi speaking?"

Saini says some of the students in the class are fluent and some are learning Punjabi for the first time. The class is a mix between Punjabi and non-Punjabi learners including school staff members.

"I'm in it myself as well," said Polhuis. "I really admired our staff members that got out and are learning alongside the students — that takes a little bit of bravery to do and I am impressed they were willing to do that with us."

Grade 5 student Manvansh Sidhu, who moved to Canada from India in 2024, said he is happy his principal is learning Punjabi.

"She is doing good. All she knows is just one word, but I think she will get more next time," he laughed, adding that he thinks it's a good thing his school started a Punjabi language program.

"There are, like, a lot of students who are here in Punjabi and they want to learn their language and it's good that they learn your own languages for talking to their grandparents."

Community support​

Polhuis said the after school program is currently open to Grade 4 and 5 students, but she hopes to expand it to more grades next year. She would like to see other schools in the district start running similar after-school programs.

"The Sikh community within Prince George has certainly supported us and really showed a sense of appreciation for what we are doing, so there is certainly a need within our community to focus on language preservation," she said.

"You don't see that very often where everybody is behind something. The community wanted this, staff wanted this, parents wanted this, kids wanted this, and that's the most exciting thing when you can see something come together that everybody values."

Elbows up India… I mean Canada!

 

[ovarieasy]

Take your worthless scum family to English classes if you want your disgusting little vermin to converse with them. Better yet, you should all fuck off back to Pooland.

 

[border_humper]

They’re 40% of the school.

 

[hugh_madd]

I agree with ovarieasy and my answer would remain unchanged.

 

[border_humper]

@hugh_madd Not disagreeing just gobsmacked that one ethnic group is now 40% of a school system.

 

[ex_libris]

@border_humper
I've seen photos showing school class photos in Brampton in 1985 and 2025 and it's like looking at a film photo and its undeveloped negative.