Country Canada Census division 6 Post office 1909-04-01 Elevation 610 m Population 245 (2011) Province Saskatchewan | Region Saskatchewan Rural Municipality Mount Hope Incorporated (Village) 1909 Area 68 ha Local time Thursday 1:41 AM Area code 306 | |
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Weather 3°C, Wind E at 8 km/h, 70% Humidity | ||
Punnichy /ˈpʌnᵻtʃaɪ/ is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is approximately seventy-nine miles northeast of Regina. This town is part of the original "Alphabet Line" of the main Canadian National Railway line with Lestock to the east and Quinton to the west (the M, N, O towns have long since been deserted). Punnichy derived its name from panacay, "fledgling bird with few feathers", a Saulteaux joke referring to the appearance of a pioneer merchant.
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Map of Punnichy, SK, Canada
Punnichy is located along Highway 15 in the heart of the Touchwood Hills between the villages of Quinton and Lestock. It is surrounded by four First Nation reserves: Muskowekwan, Kawacatoose, Daystar and Gordon. As of the 2011 census, the population of Punnichy was 245. Punnichy was the location of one of the last operating Residential Schools in Canada, Gordon Indian Residential School, which closed in 1996.
Punnichy is surrounded by the rural municipality of Mount Hope No. 279 and is part of the provincial constituency Last Mountain-Touchwood and federal constituency Regina—Qu'Appelle.
The town has one of the largest RCMP detachments in the area.
In 2009, Punnichy celebrated its centennial.
Education
Punnichy has an elementary school, high school and has a Carlton Trail Regional College centre.
Punnichy Community High School is unique within the Horizon School Division, in that it is run on the pentamester system, with five terms in a school year. The students take two classes each pentamester, one all morning and one all afternoon. Each pentamester is roughly 38 days long.
A satellite facility of Punnichy high school is the George Gordon Computer Education Centre located in the community centre on Gordon First Nation. The facility assists First Nations students to return to school or pick up extra classes to move into post-secondary or job training. The program is "at your own pace" and is similar to "store front" programs in urban centres.