October 30, 2010

Shouting "TJS, TJS, TJS", students at Tiger Jeet Singh Public School officially celebrated the opening of their new school on October 22 - and Tiger Jeet Singh himself celebrated along with them.

Celebrations began on the school playground with two special events. Roger Hadfield, father of Colonel Chris Hadfield, flew his bi-plane over the school, which was followed by a presentation by a Bhangra dance group in front of an excited crowd of onlookers.  

Students, staff and guests proceeded to the school’s gymnasium for the formal opening ceremonies, which were hosted by students and included a performance by the school choir. Tiger Jeet Singh provided an inspirational message for students, urging them to stay healthy and to stay in school.

The name Tiger Jeet Singh was chosen by trustees of the Halton District School Board as the official name for the school in recognition of his past and continuing philanthropic and humanitarian work in Canada and India. As a humanitarian, Tiger has served as Milton’s economic development ambassador to South-East Asia since the early 1990s. He is a recognized leader in Canada's Southeast Asian community.  

Further, whether in Canada, the United States, Japan, India or elsewhere, Tiger's humanitarian outreach is typically directed toward parents and their children -- and his message to them is a simple and relevant one: Stay in school. Stay away from drugs. Stay Tiger-fit.

The Kindergarten to Grade 7 school opened its doors on September 7, 2010 to approximately 775 students.  In following years, the school will include Grade 8 and will have French Immersion programming at all grade levels.