The Holy Saka Dawa Festival

It is celebrated on the 4^th month of the Tibetan calendar. It is the most revered day for Buddhist followers. It is believed that this day corresponds with three important events of Buddha’s life including His Birth, Enlightment and Parinirvana (death). It is observed for whole month. During Saka Dawa, the Tibetans and Buddhist would involve in deliberate religious activities like abstaining from eating meat, setting free of animals, Sutra Chanting, Chum dancing, visiting holy temples, giving alms to the poor and changing flag poles near the temples etc. It is believed that the merit thus accumulated will be multiplied thousand times.

In the light of this belief, the school organize many religious and cultural activities like three days  Kangyur Reading, Soltsok offering on full moon day, invitation of monks from the hermitage centre for reading scriptures, taking of Kangyur and Tengyur scriptures around the school campus to ward off the obstacles and sanctify the school campus. The entire students and the staff members of the school had the rare privilege of attending Avalokiteswara Six Syllable Empowerment by HH The Dalai Lama on the first day of Saka Dawa. All these activities are carried out to enhance the cultural and religious aspects of our tradition.

Choephel (Mr.)

 

Advertisements

Department of Education, CTA Five Month’s LongProgram on Promotion of Secular Ethics in Tibetan Schools and Community (May to Nov., 2018)

Venerable Yeshe Gyaltsen and Ms. Palmo from DOE, Central Tibetan Administration were here in our school for two days ( 16-17 May 2018) as part of five month program on creating awareness about Secular Ethics in Tibetan schools and Tibetan community. The first day of his talk was attended by around 350 students of class X till XII, and the second day by all the staff members of Upper TCV. It was funded by Fonds De Dotation Mon Ou, France. The talk cum interaction was held at Dekyi Tsering Hall in the evening. Ms. Palmo gave a welcome speech followed by brief introduction about Geshe Yeshe Gyaltsen from Sera Monastry who was the key speaker on Secular Ethic Beyond Religion.

Venerable Geshe Yeshi Gyaltsen began with the brief overview about how the idea or a concept about Secular Ethics Beyond Religion was formally initiated and conceived by HH The Dalai Lama .He said that it is based on two books by HH The Dalai Lama (i.e, Ethics for the New Millennium and The Secular Ethics Beyond Religion) and public talk in Europe ,America and  England in early 70’s.

Compassion, warm heartedness, altruistic mind, universal responsibility, contentment, tolerance etc are some of the important human values that HH the Dalai Lama has been sharing with the people around the world. He further said that teachers have a great role in stimulating the ethical values latent in the minds of our youngsters. To this end, teacher must have three basic criteria and he/she should be a role model for the students.

As envisioned by HH the Dalai Lama, Emory University in America has already incorporated Secular Ethics in their educational curriculum and it has now become time tested program in their university. Since it is becoming very  urgent and realistic in the fast changing materialistic world , DOE, Central Tibetan Administration is leaving no stones unturned to create awareness about Secular Ethics and making sure to fit it into the school curriculum by organizing many high level meetings, discussion , workshops and related programs over the years.

For better understanding and interaction with the audience, Ven. Yeshi Gyaltsen left the podium open for question answer session where we get to see many questions and answers pouring in from both the end. Mr. Tsultrim Dorjee, The School  Village Director proposed a vote of thanks to Ven. Yeshi Gyaltsen and the  organizer by offering traditional white scarf and a handsome gift as a token of gratitude.

Chophel

 

Senior School Dhagcha Mongsel 2018

Dhagcha Mongsel is very much like the English Spelling Bee Contest. It is a spelling contest in Tibetan where they would test your spelling proficiency in Tibetan words, tenses and phrases etc. It has now become an annual feature in our literary program. It is conducted separately for Secondary and Senior Secondary School so that maximum number of students can take part in it.

Senior School Dhagcha Mongsel has become one of the much awaited Tibetan literary program of the school where the selection and sieving of the student are done throughout the year with the 10 finalist participating during the final Senior School Dhagcha Mongsel Contest. The teachers had to work round the clock in finding the best speller of the year. The entire students from class IX to XII participated in it. Every student in the Senior Section underwent four rounds of spelling test. The final of the Senior School Dhagcha Mongsel 2018 took place on 09 May 18 at Herman Gmeiner Hall. Miss Tenzin Namdol from XII ‘A’ won the Championship of the Dhagcha Mongsel 2018 and walked away with a whooping cash prize of Rs 1500/- and a handsome gift hamper.

She was closely contested by Miss Tenzin Tsayang from IX ‘D’ who won a cash prize of Rs 1000/-a certificate and a handsome gift hamper. When asked about her feelings on winning (runners up), she said.” Obviously, I felt very proud and more confident now. Having participated whole heartedly in Dhagcha Mongsel, I no longer had to consult others for Tibetan spellings and its usages now and then. It has helped me in my writings as well.”

Choephel (Mr.)

Introduction of Falun Dafa Exercise and Meditation

Ms. Chris, a social activist from Germany visited our school, and introduced Falun Dafa Exercise and Meditation for two days (8May-9May 2018) to all the staff and students of our school in five different sessions.

Mrs. Ngawang Lhamo, the Principal, of our school gave a brief introduction about Ms. Chris and importance of Falun Dafa Exercise and Meditation in our day to day life.

Before she gave demonstration on five simple exercises for all ages, she talked about the history of Falun Dafa practice and how it successfully developed over the years. According to her, the three main characteristics of Falun Dafa meditation and exercise are cultivation of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. She further said that Falun Dafa is neither political nor religious but it is based on an advanced cultivation practice of mind and body. Through these practice all our negative thoughts and desire lose their influence gradually. A clear and peaceful mind, incredible health and harmony can be achieved through this holistic practice.

Later she gave a live demonstration on five simple exercises for all ages and let the students follow her with a sweet music at the background .For the profound understanding of each exercise she explained in detail about the benefit of each exercises. She further said that these exercise can relax and energize our entire body and mind. They can be practiced on daily basis with no concern to location, time and direction.

At the end she dwelt on peaceful practices of Falun Dafa and how the peaceful practitioners/followers were ruthlessly persecuted by the Communist Chinese Party in 1999 thereby denying them the basis human rights like freedom of religion and thought. She urged everyone to raise awareness about it to as many people as possible. At last, Mrs NawangLhamo, the school Principal thanked Ms. Chris for giving a brief introduction to Falun Dafa and its related meditation and exercises.

Choephel (Mr.)

ART & DRAWING CONTEST, 2018

Art, drawing and creativity has become an essential part of the academic learning process, and their advantage to the development of a child needs no mention. Thus, following the advice of the Department of Education regarding holding an Art and Drawing Contest for the students, the Principal, Section Heads and the Senior Section Art teacher met on April 16 to discuss the procedure of the contest.

The Senior Section underwent 4 rounds to get the 5 finalists. The preliminary round of selection started from April 17, 2018. All the students of class VI till VIII with the total number of 400 students were made to draw or paint on the topics specified by the DOE and explained by the Art teacher during the art class. Since there is no art and drawing period for class IX and above, the students of class IX and above were announced about the participation opportunity during the assembly. The topics were explained by the art teacher to the interested students, and they were given a specific time frame to submit their art work. 67 students participated and gave their works to the art teacher.

From the 467 students who took part in the preliminary round, 100 students were further selected for the final round which took place on Saturday, 28^th April, 2018 from 12.10 p.m. to 1.30 p.m. The students based on their need and choices were made to sit either in the Art classroom or outside the class; i.e in the laps of nature to better facilitate their creativity. The Art teacher after receiving the works of the students selected 14 best artworks and sorted the same based on the various topics.

For the final judgement, 7 teachers from various backgrounds such as religious, language, creativity and social studies were involved. Each teacher graded the paintings based on their background. The five paintings with the maximum marks were declared the winners. The artists are Tsering Dolkar of 7 D, Tenzin Tashi of 8 D, Kalsang Wangchuk of XP, Tenzin Sherab of XII B and Tenzin Choeyang of XII A. Each of the students was awarded Rs. 500/- each sponsored by the DOE.The paintings of these 5 students will be further taken by the Art teacher to the Art Teacher’s workshop, organized by the DOE which will be held from 7^th May till 11^th May at Nyatri House, Gangchen Kyishong, where all the art teachers will bring the best works of their students. The DOE will then make posters out of the best paintings from the selected paintings and will send the same to the respective schools. We earnestly hope and wait to get the posters of our students.

Tenzin Choekyi Dralnang

Senior School Inter Class English Debate 2018

 

Senior School Inter Class English Debate was held on 26 April 2018 at Dekyi Tsering Hall. The said contest was between classIX and X on the motion ‘That Reintroduction of CBSE Class X Board Exam is Crucial for Children’s Academic Improvement’.

Mr. Dorjee, Asst Head Master of Senior Section was the Chief Guest. Miss Tenzin Yangkyi from class X D and Miss Tenzin Choenyi from class X S were adjudged as the best speakers of the debate. Before the prize presentation, Mr Tenzin Dhargyal, the officer -Incharge of TCV Teacher’s Professional Development who was one of judges in the panel stood up and motivated the students to make the best use of the opportunities by participating actively in all the scholastic and non-scholastic activities in the school. Mr. Dorjee, the Chief Guest did the honor by giving away the prizes and certificates to the participants.

Choephel

Inter class Senior School Soccer Match

S Soccer Game is one of the most popular games in our school. Be it during the school hours or on Sunday, one would see scores of team from different division playing many matches on the same ground. With Dharamsala Men’s Soccer Premier League round the corner, the kids are showing even more enthusiasm and they are seen organizing many friendly matches donning branded t-shirts from leading soccer clubs of the world.

Senior School Annual Inter Class Soccer Match kicked off on 15 April.  10 teams took part and it was played on league cum knock out basis. After grueling two weeks of preliminary matches, two teams from X and one team from class IX and XII emerged victorious for the Semi Final. The final Inter Class Soccer Tournament was played between IX P and X P on 28 April. Both the team put up their best performance and it could not be decided within the stipulated time. Hence it has to be decided through spot kick where IX P emerged victorious with 5 goals to 4. The tournament saw four teams from girls also. DFT (Direct from Tibet) team won the final match by a solitary goal. Unlike previous year, this year saw many skilled and talented prayers from various team so Mr Passang Tsering, the school PTI had tough time selecting the best players for the school team. The tournament ended with good note with no untoward incidents. They played with true sportsmanship spirit.

Choephel